› added 1 year ago

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TIL that the Silnas brothers, owners of the St. Louis Spirits of the ABA, refused a buyout of $3 million from the NBA in 1976 and instead negotiated a 1/7th share of TV rights (in perpetuity) with each of four future NBA teams. That TV deal made them over $800 million by 2014.

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XNpX TIL that coral reefs once thought completely dead from heat, bleaching, CO2 induced ocean acidification, and other stressors can recover faster than anyone thought in what’s called the Phoenix Effect
QJZBa TIL that applause was invented in 6th Century BC so that audiences had to clap in approval of their leader, since there were too many people to meet individually.
GYjEG TIL the legendary golden fleece sought by Jason and the Argonauts in Greek mythology is thought to have been inspired by the lustrous fur of the golden takin, a hoofed animal native to the eastern Himalayan mountain range and one of four takin subspecies. The takin is the national animal of Bhutan.
EMmX TIL that during filming of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back the actor playing Darth Vader was instructed to say “Obi-Wan killed your father” instead of “I am your father” in order to hide the secret twist from even the actors until the final movie
aZk0 TIL that a mob from a nearby county threatened to lynch Black newspaper editor John Mitchell Jr. for writing an editorial condemning a lynching. Armed with two pistols, he then traveled to that same county to report on the lynching on-site.