VBbNQ TIL That pioneer of hard-boiled detective fiction, Dashiell Hammett, previously worked as a detective for the defence in Fatty Arbuckle’s murder trial.
X0bB6 TIL Kalmyk dairy farmers used to milk stubborn cattle by penetrating the cows with large wooden dildos, forcing them to be stimulated enough to get a higher yield
OGvO6 TIL that Friedrich Nietzsche is the originator of the phrase "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger"
69wl7 TIL that both the Beatles and the Beach Boys' first singles in England were released on the same day: October 5, 1962.
wo4DE TIL according to Greg Sestero from his book "The Disaster Artist", Tommy Wiseau took 3 hours and 32 takes to complete the "I did not hit her, it's not true! It's bullshit! I did not hit her! I did not. Oh hi, Mark." scene in "The Room".
R5yel TIL there’s a giant antelope species called Nilgai native to India that were introduced to Texas in the 1920’s and maintain an active population. Males can reach 5 ft at the shoulders and weight nearly 700lbs.
W7br9 TIL about Frank Matthews, the drug kingpin who built a nationwide empire, skipped bail with $20 million, vanished in 1973 and has never been found.
9wXB6 TIL that Teenie Beanies are miniature Beanie Babies that were offered as McDonald's Happy Meal promotions from 1997 to 2000. At the peak of its popularity in 1998, Tennie Beanies caused many fights at McDonald's locations, resulting in police calls, criminal charges, and injuries.
nWMDr TIL John von Neumann pioneered the basis of modern computers; game theory; mathematics of quantum mechanics; operator, ergodic and set theory; self-replicating cellular automata; climate and weather simulation sciences; and game-theoretic nuclear deterrence strategies during the Cold War
4kWPN TIL that the 1970 single "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath was intended to be a "3 minute filler" track for the album of the same name, built around a Tony Iommi riff of entirely power chords. It has since reached over 1.5 billion Spotify streams and is considered one of the best heavy metal songs ever.
x6nmk TIL Mister Rogers invited Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch of the West) onto his show to help explain that her character was make-believe and the real Margaret wasn’t scary at all.
epb5D TIL the title of "prime minister" was originally a derogatory epithet used by 18th century British members of parliament to compare the role of Robert Walpole, First Lord of the Treasury, to that of the tyrannical Cardinal Richelieu of France.