› added 1 year ago

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TIL that in Speed 2 the scene where the ship crashes into the island was made with a non-animated partial boat crashing into the real island, and was the most expensive stunt ever filmed at $25M in 1997.

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VMDyQ TIL of the HMS Cockchafer, a British gunboat involved in the Wanhsien Incident. Chinese soldiers tried to seize British merchant ships as compensation for a boat accidentally sunk by a British ship and the Cockchafer intervened; the Cockchafer killed over 1000 Chinese and destroyed 1000 buildings.
Y7PlW TIL that Canada's Dempster Highway, the only public road to cross the Arctic Circle, once had a 109-mile stretch called Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road. Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road was purely made of ice and could only be operated, especially by large trucks, during the winter as the river below was frozen.
oB4NY TIL that the purpose of the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast" was to help young girls accept arranged marriages.
VeaQ TIL that Hyder, Alaska uses Canadian electricity, a Canadian area code, Canadian police, and mostly Canadian currency; you need a passport to travel from Hyder to the rest of the United States, but not to travel from Canada to Hyder.
x64Xb TIL that Moana is called Vaiana in France due to a perfume brand with the same name. I also learned that she's called Oceania in Italy because of an adult actress called Moana