› added 9 years ago

91

TIL Romans used urine to clean their clothes.

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Wk6BB TIL a German woman and her son on Christmas Eve 1944 fed and sheltered 3 American and 4 German soldiers in her small cabin in the Huertgen forest. Both sides disarmed themselves for that night, and the next morning the Germans gave their adversaries a compass and directions before leaving.
8ann4 TIL actor Edward James Olmos who played William Adama in the show Battlestar Galactica, had a clause in his contract about no aliens. "The first four-eyed monster I see, I'm going to faint on camera, and you're going to write me off the show." The show became a cult classic for its gritty realism.
5WoD TIL an FBI informant investigating corruption in LA jail was transferred to different jails, kept in isolation, held under various aliases, and watched around the clock to prevent FBI handlers from finding him. The corruption included brutality and staging “gladiator style fights” between inmates.
awMw9 TIL that in the 1960's cigarette vending machines had a problem. They would accept two quarters (50 cents) but cigarettes only cost .47 cents. The solution was to package the cigarettes with three pennies right in the cellophane wrapping. Product and change came out together.
b9ZbQ TIL After Jean-Claude Van Damme's biggest movie hit (Timecop 1994), he was offered a 3 picture deal at $12M per picture. He turned it down and demanded he get the same deal as Jim Carrey - $20M per movie. He was rejected and his career never recovered. He later admitted he "acted like an idiot"