› added 11 years ago

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TIL there is an old, famous Chinese tale that details the life of the Monkey King, a very powerful boy that is half monkey, can transform to become stronger, and rides around on a cloud with his staff helping people. His name is Sun Wu-Kong or, when translated to Japanese, Son Goku.

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8eXQL TIL that when the first rail bridge over the Mississippi River was being planned, riverboat operators pushed for rigid standards in hopes of making the bridge impossible. Instead, the bridge pioneered multiple engineering techniques and still carries road and rail traffic 150 years later.
OG087 TIL of Nakahama Manjirō, a 14-year-old fisherman who was shipwrecked on an island with four friends. They were rescued by an American whaleship, who took them to Honolulu, where his friends stayed. Manjirō continued on to Massachusetts and become the first Japanese person to land on mainland USA.
RWK6 TIL an obsessed fan mailed Bjork a letter bomb containing sulfuric acid with the intention of being “The one person who changed her life the most”. He painted his body and committed suicide on camera, and his 18 hour video journal of this is available on YouTube.
v1Eyx TIL Tennessee bans "omnibus bills." The content of bills passed by the Tennessee General Assembly can be no broader than the title of the bill.
Y7yrA TIL that comedian and Daily Show correspondent Michael Kosta was a professional tennis player from 2002 to 2004 before pursuing stand-up.