GAEG5 TIL name of Qing dynasty of China, Da Qing / Daicing is a multilingual pun, meaning Warrior in Manchu and Pure/Clear (sky) in Classical Chinese. It's Chinese writing is thought to carry the Water Element which counters Ming's Fire Element in Chinese Astrology.
16LQD TIL the name “Scotland Yard” actually refers to a street in Westminster, London. During the 16th century, there were open courtyards in the Palace of Whitehall surrounded by buildings used by representatives of the Kingdom of Scotland.
oRayA TIL Abba is the name of a well known Swedish fish-canning company that formed in 1838. When the Swedish pop group ABBA negotiated with the canners for the rights to the name, the factory gave their permission, saying "O.K., as long as you don't make us feel ashamed for what you're doing".
dDPy7 TIL Elian Gonzalez is married and has a daughter. He earned an engineering degree and is a member of the National Assembly of People's Power representing the city of Cardenas.
KYaGJ TIL 300 million years ago, the Earth’s atmosphere contained 35% oxygen compared to 21% today. One result was giant insects with wingspans up to 71 cm (over 2.25 feet).
a8XEN TIL that Gerald Tommaso DeLouise, (aka Burt Young) most recognized by his appearance in the Rocky movies was a boxer in the military only losing 2 matches out of 34.
ZpnPv TIL insects such as water striders that walk on the surface of freshwater are uniquely susceptible to oil spill disasters because the oil disrupts the surface tension of the water, drowning them
7891M TIL Inglourious Basterds (2009) opening credits is a scanned copy of Tarantino's handwriting from the script.
kJE55 TIL in 2005, the Japanese horse race Kikuka-Sho had in one of its races a horse (Deep Impact) that was so favored to win that the betting odds on him were 1.0 (i.e. you earn nothing from betting on him)
EgBGo TIL in the 2000, David and Victoria Beckham tried to stop Andrew Morton's unauthorized biography, Posh and Becks, by taking legal action to ban parts of it, but they eventually settled, allowing most of the book to be published after agreeing to the removal of only 200 words from the manuscript.
Y74ex TIL the location where Stanford University is standing was a private country estate owned by Leland Stanford, a railroad magnate.
Bgl0y TIL that 258 commercial radio stations in the UK missed the announcement of the death of the Queen Mother, due to a technical glitch.