› added 6 years ago

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TIL that the box office flop "Idiocracy" (2006) was released in as few theaters as possible by 20th Century Fox so as to not offend the negatively portrayed advertisers in the movie. Fox then planned, and succeeded, in recuperating its budget by purposefully making the movie garner a cult following

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l7o7N TIL that Antarctica has a museum, gift shop and post office in the same building, known as Port Lockroy, which is all open to the public. It is operated by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust. Around 70,000 cards are sent from the post office each year.
wLGe6 TIL of Si Kaddour Benghabrit, the rector of the Great Mosque of Paris who helped over 500 Jews disguise themselves as Muslims by making the administrative staff grant them certificates of Muslim identity, which allowed them to avoid arrest and deportation.
d8GVd TIL Deals Gap, North Carolina's "Tail of the Dragon," a popular mountain pass, famous for its 318 curves in 11 miles. Approximately 37 traffic fatalities were recorded on this stretch of road from 2000 to 2017.
GMGg TIL Caesar built an 18km wall around a Gaulish fort he was seiging and then a 21km wall facing outwards, essentially building a fort around a fort. He then beat 300,000+ Gauls attacking from both sides with only 60,000 men
4RR5 TIL billionaire J. Paul Getty refused to pay $17m ransom for his kidnapped Grandson. When the teenager’s severed ear arrived, he agreed $3m but only paid $2.2m… the maximum that would be tax deductable. He lent the other $800k to his son on the condition that he pay it back with 4% interest.