› added 8 years ago

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TIL the author of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was an experimental test subject of the CIA’s MK Ultra program.

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rRmVy TIL in 1921 a group of workers in a fertilizer factory stuck dynamite in a 4.5k lbs block of hardened ammonium nitrate to loosen it up. The resulting explosion killed 500 people, destroyed 80% of the surrounding homes and ripped the roofs off of buildings 15 miles away.
QBG9 TIL firing squads issue a blank cartridge to either all-but-one, or one-but-not-all, of the members. No member of the squad is told beforehand if he is using live ammunition. This is called the “conscience round” which allows each member to believe they did not personally fire the fatal shot.
oBYK8 TIL Some scholars believe smiling was an invention of the Middle Ages and point out that not all cultures today use smiles to show happiness. This challenges the popular notion of 7 universal facial expressions.
mpOY TIL Homestarrunner was the original creator of the misspelling Doge
VBEwZ TIL that John C. Reilly described his sex scene with Jennifer Aniston like this: "So I climb into the bed, she opens up the sheet and I swear, she had two pairs of sweatpants on, winter socks, a long-sleeved T-shirt. Her body is basically like a burqa from the neck down."