› added 12 years ago

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TIL that R2-D2 was named when George Lucas was dozing off while working on the Star Wars script. The sound editor asked for “Reel 2, Dialog Track 2,” and Lucas awoke momentarily and stated that it was a “great name.”

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W7VBL TIL that using 'Vale' instead of 'RIP' for obituaries is unique to Australia. This is quite common in Australia, and is frequently seen in the media. Vale is Latin for farewell and is considered a non-religious version of RIP.
5YD8B TIL viruses aren't living beings like bacteria, but rather they behave more like androids that hijack living cells and then replicate. This is why antibiotics don't work with viruses as they do with bacteria; with viruses it’s hard to kill something that isn’t quite alive to begin with
wLL6M TIL that Nelsan Ellis, who played Martin Luther King Jr. in Lee Daniels' The Butler, died in 2017 at 39, the same age as Martin Luther King Jr.
Q1dL TIL Algeria’s national anthem was first written in blood inside a prison cell wall by an Algerian revolutionary while imprisoned by the French colonial regime.
xonb TIL Nero (Emperor of Rome) liked, castrated and married a young boy that resembled his deceased second wife (which he may have murdered)