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Harrods department store in London installed England's first moving staircase in 1898, designed by Jesse W.
Harrods department store in London installed England's first moving staircase in 1898, designed by Jesse W. Reno as an inclined conveyor belt made of woven…
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An airline's first female cabin crew were all nurses.
An airline's first female cabin crew were all nurses. Ellen Church helped persuade Boeing Air Transport to hire eight nurses in 1930. Their training was…
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High-speed trading makes physical distance a financial cost.
High-speed trading makes physical distance a financial cost. Firms place servers near exchanges and invest in fast connections because even a tiny delay can…
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An airport became Mehran Karimi Nasseri's home for 18 years.
An airport became Mehran Karimi Nasseri's home for 18 years. He lived at Paris Charles de Gaulle from 1988 to 2006 after problems with his identity papers…
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Electric cars were a serious contender around 1900.
Electric cars were a serious contender around 1900. They were quiet, produced no exhaust at the vehicle, and avoided the hand crank needed to start many…
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Genetic testing conducted on the New York City subway system revealed that nearly half of the DNA found on the handrails and seats matched absolutely no known organism in any scientific database.
Genetic testing conducted on the New York City subway system revealed that nearly half of the DNA found on the handrails and seats matched absolutely no known…
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Titanic's studios split the financial risk before audiences made it a hit.
Titanic's studios split the financial risk before audiences made it a hit. Paramount capped its production investment at $65 million, while Fox covered the…
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Queen Elizabeth II traveled to over 100 countries during her reign without ever holding a passport, simply because all British passports were officially issued in her name so she…
Queen Elizabeth II traveled to over 100 countries during her reign without ever holding a passport, simply because all British passports were officially…
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Psycho's famous shower blood was chocolate syrup.
Psycho's famous shower blood was chocolate syrup. Black-and-white photography cared about how a liquid looked on film, not whether it was red on set.…
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A doctor described Tarrare as a man whose hunger never stopped.
A doctor described Tarrare as a man whose hunger never stopped. Surgeon Pierre-François Percy recorded the extraordinary case of an eighteenth-century…
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Arnold Schwarzenegger was paid fifteen million dollars for his role in Terminator 2, and since he only spoke exactly seven hundred words, he earned over twenty-one thousand dollars per word.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was paid fifteen million dollars for his role in Terminator 2, and since he only spoke exactly seven hundred words, he earned over…
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Pepsi's Soviet business involved vodka as well as soda.
Pepsi's Soviet business involved vodka as well as soda. Because the ruble was not freely convertible, Pepsi's 1972 agreement exchanged access to its…
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Some visitors secretly scatter relatives’ ashes on Disney rides.
Some visitors secretly scatter relatives’ ashes on Disney rides. Reports from employees describe attractions being paused so the remains can be cleaned up,…
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Willy Wonka's inviting chocolate river was much less inviting on set.
Willy Wonka's inviting chocolate river was much less inviting on set. Michael Böllner had to perform Augustus Gloop's fall into the production's liquid river,…
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Scavengers violently extracted tens of thousands of teeth from dead soldiers on the battlefield of Waterloo in 1815 to supply the booming British market for high-end luxury dentures.
Scavengers violently extracted tens of thousands of teeth from dead soldiers on the battlefield of Waterloo in 1815 to supply the booming British market for…
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The United States banned onion futures after traders manipulated the market in the 1950s.
The United States banned onion futures after traders manipulated the market in the 1950s. Vincent Kosuga and Sam Seigel accumulated onions and then profited…
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British warships tried wearing pink to disappear at twilight.
British warships tried wearing pink to disappear at twilight. Mountbatten Pink was a grayish-mauve camouflage intended to reduce a ship's visibility in…
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A fight over chicken put a tax on imported trucks.
A fight over chicken put a tax on imported trucks. When Europe restricted American poultry, the United States retaliated in 1964 with higher tariffs on…
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The London Necropolis Railway carried coffins and mourners to Brookwood Cemetery from 1854.
The London Necropolis Railway carried coffins and mourners to Brookwood Cemetery from 1854. London needed burial space, and the large cemetery lay well…
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The Simpsons' yellow skin was meant to stop channel surfers.
The Simpsons' yellow skin was meant to stop channel surfers. Matt Groening said the unusual color would catch viewers flipping through TV channels. A flash of…
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Tarzan’s yell became a trademark of its own.
Tarzan’s yell became a trademark of its own. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. registered the distinctive Tarzan yell as a sound trademark in Canada. A trademark can…
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A corned-beef sandwich got a NASA mission in trouble.
A corned-beef sandwich got a NASA mission in trouble. John Young carried the unauthorized snack aboard Gemini III in 1965. When Gus Grissom tried it, crumbs…
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A direct flight can still land before reaching your destination.
A direct flight can still land before reaching your destination. Nonstop means no intermediate landing, while direct generally means continuing under the same…
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Empty leg flights are heavily discounted private jet trips that happen when a plane needs to reposition to pick up a wealthy client, allowing regular people to fly like billionaires for a fraction of the cost.
Empty leg flights are heavily discounted private jet trips that happen when a plane needs to reposition to pick up a wealthy client, allowing regular people…
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