› added 1 year ago

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TIL there are 80,000 Americans living in Saudi Arabia, housing compounds with luxurious amenities, such as swimming pools and tennis courts. They are walled off and provide "some security and privacy from the country's strict Islamic code on matters of dress and social mixing."

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GAQa4 TIL While making SORCERER, William Friedkin had trouble detonating a giant kaoba tree for a key scene in the film using his SFX guy, so he hired an arsonist from Queens named "Marvin the Torch" who showed up on the set and blew it up perfectly in one take.
YpVX7 TIL that Helen Keller, an American author who was deaf and blind, could distinguish people by the vibration of their footsteps
kad5 TIL: The inventor of the Heimlich maneuver believes that the cure for Cancer and HIV is Malaria and has been having unregulated studies conducted in Africa to prove the theory.
WkYPN TIL “Chad” is among the few Anglo-Saxon names to remain in common use.
WkY1N TIL The Battle of the Somme ended with roughly 420,000 British, 200,000 French, and 500,000 German casualties, the result of the 141-day battle was the British frontline moving just 6 miles into German territory.