TIL Ecco the Dolphin developer Ed Annunziata was "paranoid" that kids would beat the game in a single weekend so be made certain levels "way over the top challenging." He said, "So... I... uh... made it hard".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecco_the_Dolphin_%28video_game%29?wprov=sfla1

https://redd.it/1rajzwi
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TIL there was a transgender Colonel named Amelio Robles Ávila who fought in the Mexican Revolution
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Revolution

https://redd.it/1rb2a40
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TIL that NBA player Jalen Rose helped make the name “Jalen” significantly popular amongst African American boys in the 1990s and 2000s. Jalen was created by combining his father’s name “James” and uncle’s name“Leonard” together.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jalen_Rose

https://redd.it/1rat0x3
@r_til

TIL Exxon is a re-brand of Esso, which, in turn, was a phonetic initialism re-naming of Standard Oil of New Jersey (“S.O.”)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esso

https://redd.it/1ravtfs
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TIL the Chicxulub crater got its name "to give the academics and NASA naysayers a challenging time pronouncing it" after its existence had been dismissed for years
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicxulub_crater

https://redd.it/1rb2hnv
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TIL Christopher Nolan did not write the line "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain" said by Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight, his brother Jonathan did. Nolan didn't understand it initially & revealed "It kills me because it's the line that most resonates."
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/dark-knight-either-die-a-hero-line-origin-1235862759/

https://redd.it/1rh83cp
@r_til

TIL Christopher Nolan did not write the line "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain" said by Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight, his brother Jonathan did. Nolan didn't understand it initially & revealed "It kills me because it's the line that most resonates."
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/dark-knight-either-die-a-hero-line-origin-1235862759/

https://redd.it/1rh83cp
@r_til

TIL Facebook deliberately manipulated the news feeds of nearly 700,000 users in 2012 to study emotional contagion without informing them at the time effectively treating their users as guinea pigs.
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28051930

https://redd.it/1rh7zu7
@r_til

TIL the James Webb Space Telescope has found over 300 "Little Red Dots", objects that existed between 13.2 an 12.2 billion years ago, and whose nature is currently uncertain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_red_dot_(astronomical_object)

https://redd.it/1rh4u8o
@r_til

TIL that during WW2 military brothel were set up by Nazi Germany throughout much of occupied Europe for the use of Wehrmacht and SS soldiers. Until 1942, there were around 500 military brothels of this kind in German-occupied Europe minimum of 34,140 European women were forced to serve as prostitute
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_military_brothels_in_World_War_II

https://redd.it/1rhdzne
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TIL Roman Emperor Diocletian tried to limit social mobility of farmers and soldiers in order to protect the Roman State functions and economy. Despite himself being a son of a liberated slave and were a soldier.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocletian

https://redd.it/1rh858h
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TIL that “DOOM” (1993) was so influential that companies used it to test whether a computer was powerful enough to run modern software leading to the phrase “Can it run DOOM?” which is still used today, and the game has since been ported to calculators, ATMs, pregnancy tests, and even a smart fridge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_(1993_video_game)

https://redd.it/1rhh5xr
@r_til

TIL the Rolls-Royce Phantom's 4-wheel steering turns the rear wheels counter to the front wheels at speeds lower than 60kmh to improve maneuverability. Between 60-80kmh the rear wheels don't steer at all. Over 80kmh the rear wheels turn in the same direction as the front wheels for better stability
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_Phantom_VIII

https://redd.it/1rhfcru
@r_til

TIL Early Hominins (~3–4 million years ago) showed high levels of sexual dimorphism, with males significantly larger than females, like modern gorillas. Over time, with the emergence of genus Homo, size dimorphism decreased, approaching the more moderate levels seen in modern humans.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118924396.wbiea2195

https://redd.it/1rh5956
@r_til

TIL the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has 241 million people living in 94,000 sq miles/243,000 sq km. This is the equivalent to 70% of the US population living in an area the size of Oregon. Three quarters of the state's population is rural.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uttar_Pradesh

https://redd.it/1rgx4my
@r_til

TIL in 2023 Disney made more profit from churros sales at its theme parks than it did for Disney+ streaming.
https://crossscreen.media/state-of-the-screens/is-selling-churros-a-better-business-for-disney-than-streaming/

https://redd.it/1ro9txn
@r_til

TIL the Central African Republic requires you to live there for 35 years, own land, and be awarded a national honour to become eligible for citizenship
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_African_nationality_law

https://redd.it/1rob2w0
@r_til

TIL Only one person has died so far in the Catacombs of Paris, In 1793, a man died in the catacombs. It is thought that he lost his light source and was left to die in the darkness. In 1804, 11 years later, his body was found, a few meters from a staircase that led to an exit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs_of_Paris

https://redd.it/1ro9kgj
@r_til

TIL The Italian-American Civil Rights League campaigned to have the word "Mafia" considered a racial epithet. They were a Mafia front.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian-American_Civil_Rights_League

https://redd.it/1robaq1
@r_til

TIL Drew Barrymore financed production for the 2001 cult favorite film Donnie Darko.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donnie_Darko

https://redd.it/1rnx9r8
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TIL while all puppies from the same litter are fraternal twins, identical twins are extremely rare with only one verified case occurring in a pair of Irish wolfhounds in South Africa.
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/ask-a-vet-can-dogs-have-identical-twins/

https://redd.it/1rnyxqh
@r_til