› added 11 years ago

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TIL that when Voltaire was asked to renounce Satan on his deathbed, his last words were: “Now is not the time for making enemies.”

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epMgD TIL about Frederick Valentich, an Australian pilot who disappeared during a flight in 1978 after reporting an unidentified object following him and saying, 'It's not an aircraft.'
6EK9W TIL that in the 1950s, Mao's government purged capitalists and political opponents by abusing them verbally and physically until they confessed, often committing suicide. Jumping from tall buildings became so common that people avoided walking near skyscrapers, afraid that bodies might land on them
rREBx TIL that Bolaji Badejo, the 6'10 man who played the alien in Alien (1979) didn't audition for the role but was casted by the film's casting agent Peter Ardram, Ardram casted Badejo in a London pub, since he was looking for a tall and thin man to fit the role. This was Badejo's first acting role
R5pD4 TIL about Jeanne de Clisson, a noblewoman who became a privateer to avenge her husband after he was executed for treason by the French King Philip VI. She crossed the English Channel targeting French ships. It was her practice to leave at least one sailor alive to carry her message of vengeance.
9107 TIL when auditioning for the part of Apollo Creed in “Rocky,” Carl Weathers told producers, “I could do a lot better if you got me a real actor to work with.” Unbeknownst to him, the man feeding him his lines was Sylvester Stallone.