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TIL Werner Herzog once made a bet with director Errol Morris that he would eat his shoe if Morris ever finished his film "Gates of Heaven." Morris won, and Herzog had to boil and eat the shoe. The event is immortalized in the documentary "Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe." (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted by Ghostaire to /r/todayilearned

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TIL In the original 'Good Will Hunting' script, there is a surprise gay sex scene between the two straight leads. It was purposely put there as a test to see if studios actually read the script. Harvey Weinstein was the only producer who mentioned the scene, so his studio got the movie. (mentalfloss.com)

submitted by Ghostaire to /r/todayilearned

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TIL Numerous people have been killed singing the Frank Sinatra song "My Way" in karaoke bars in the Philippines. The news media has recorded at least half a dozen "My Way Killings" in the last decade, and many bars have removed the song from their playbooks. (nytimes.com)

submitted by Ghostaire to /r/todayilearned

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TIL A&W tried to capitalize on the success of the Quarter Pounder by introducing a 1/3 pound burger in the 1980s. Despite being larger and outperforming the Quarter Pounder in blind taste tests, the 1/3 pounder failed because consumers didn't know that 1/3 was bigger than 1/4.(R.5) Misleading (mentalfloss.com)

submitted by Ghostaire to /r/todayilearned

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TIL Austrian mathematician Kurt Gödel had an obsessive fear of being poisoned, and would only eat food that his wife prepared for him. When she had to be hospitalized for six months in 1977, he refused to eat at all and died weighing 65 pounds. (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted by Ghostaire to /r/todayilearned

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TIL several intelligence agencies banned Furbies from their offices due to the popular myth that they learned words that were said around them. In fact, Furbies are programmed from the very beginning to start speaking more English and less "Furbish" as time goes on. (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted by Ghostaire to /r/todayilearned

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TIL Because of its fierce resistance to British occupation in the Revolutionary War, British commander Lord Cornwallis referred to Charlotte, NC as "a veritable hornet's nest of rebellion". This is how the Charlotte Hornets basketball team got its name. (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted by Ghostaire to /r/todayilearned

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TIL Ed Smith created a fake student called George Burdell when Georgia Tech sent him two enrolment forms by mistake. He signed Burdell up for all his classes and did all his work twice with minor changes so teachers wouldn't catch him. The school awarded Burdell a bachelor's and a master's degree. (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted by Ghostaire to /r/todayilearned

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TIL Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President of the United States, had electricity installed in the White House for the first time. He and his wife were so scared of being electrocuted that they wouldn't touch the light switches, often going to sleep with the lights on. (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted by Ghostaire to /r/todayilearned

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TIL Mount Kosciuszko was thought to be the highest mountain in Australia until Mount Townsend was found to be slightly taller. Rather than re-educating the public that Townsend was the new highest mountain, the New South Wales Lands Department simply switched their names. (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted by Ghostaire to /r/todayilearned

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TIL A Russian man ran out of money in a poker game and offered his wife to his opponent instead. He lost, and when his wife found out, she divorced him and married the winner.(R.1) Not verifiable (metro.co.uk)

submitted by Ghostaire to /r/todayilearned

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TIL the Tennessee Aquarium has an electric eel named Miguel Wattson that posts from its own Twitter account. Its exhibit is wired to a small computer that sends out a prewritten tweet when it discharges enough electricity. (en.wikipedia.org)

submitted by Ghostaire to /r/todayilearned

“Tell the leaders of Turkey to stop killing the Kurds,” announced Rabbi Michael Lerner on Friday at the funeral ceremony of legendary boxer and Muslim Muhammad Ali, where President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had not been allowed to speak. by 2A1ZA in worldnews

[–]Ghostaire 12 points13 points  (0 children)

IIRC he abandoned the nation and converted to Sunni Islam

Redditors with "PM me your" names, what's the best you got? by SpookySkelly222 in AskReddit

[–]Ghostaire 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well, your username asks us to send you PMs while wearing lingerie, not pics of us wearing it.

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Why would she want to sell seashells at the seashore? Can't the people there just pick up their own seashells for free? (self.Showerthoughts)

submitted by Ghostaire to /r/Showerthoughts

What is something you had memorized a long time ago, and you still remember? by TheGuyWhoSaidWAT in AskReddit

[–]Ghostaire 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To sit on my throne, as the prince of Bel-Air.

What is something you had memorized a long time ago, and you still remember? by TheGuyWhoSaidWAT in AskReddit

[–]Ghostaire 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Looked at my kingdom, I was finally there

‘Legends of the Hidden Temple’ Host Kirk Fogg Returning for Nickelodeon Reboot by popdisaster00 in television

[–]Ghostaire 132 points133 points  (0 children)

In their defense they had to do it from behind, and didn't have the advantage of seeing it from the front on TV.

RIP /u/PlanktonSympathizer. We did see your message. by Ghostaire in DeadRedditors

[–]Ghostaire[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just noticed that too. The kicker is that now no one can be sure if they did it or not.

TIL The longest work of fiction ever written is three million words long and six times longer than War and Peace, as of July 2013. It is a Super Smash Bros. Brawl fanfic. by imfbhmzw813 in todayilearned

[–]Ghostaire 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Way to steal my post word for word.

What Pokémon is one move away from being decent? by Razputin7 in pokemon

[–]Ghostaire 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Nah, Competitive's the special form of Defiant.

Nancy Reagan dies at 94 by maestro89 in news

[–]Ghostaire 359 points360 points  (0 children)

David Bowie and Alan Rickman care to disagree.

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Jimmy Somerville, Bronski Beat frontman, surprises street musician performing his song. (youtube.com)

submitted by Ghostaire to /r/SurpriseAppearances

You really done it this time, Ash by dyoet in pokemon

[–]Ghostaire 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Rest in spaghetti, never forgetti.

So Machamp with fissure will now be available in gen 6(7?)... by Kupoo in pokemon

[–]Ghostaire 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In the original games before abilities existed, it could. Its ability literally guarantees KOs now.

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