› added 5 years ago

80

TIL that by transmitting diseases, mosquitoes cause the deaths of more people than any other animal taxon: over 700,000 each year. It has been claimed that almost half of the people who have ever lived have died of mosquito-vectored disease.

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Arkw TIL that the Titanic sistership RMS Olympic was told not to go rescue Titanic survivors, as “it would cause panic amongst the survivors of the disaster to see a virtual mirror-image of the Titanic appear and ask them to board”…
7rZwr TIL that E.T. was originally a horror movie titled Night Skies, which involved a crew of aliens attacking a family in their home. One of the aliens, who was less evil than the others, made friends with the family's son, and Steven Spielberg eventually dropped the rest of the film to focus on this.
LQOn0 TIL that Mark DeFriest, known as the Houdini of Florida, is a prisoner in the Florida State Prison. His original four-year sentence has since developed into 34 years for 13 escape attempts, 7 of them successful, and hundreds of disciplinary reports.
GAePQ TIL that Obsidian receives no royalties from Fallout: New Vegas because they signed a contract with Bethesda stipulating that they would only do so if the game matched or exceeded an 85 rating on Metacritic. Fallout: New Vegas received an 84 rating.
6E408 TIL that immediately after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, her secretary will inform the Prime Minister via a secure phone line by saying "London Bridge is down", thus initiating Operation London Bridge, a detailed procedure that outlines the action for days and weeks after the sovereign's death.