› added 12 years ago

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TIL the creator of Samuel Adams founded an organization that helps entrepreneurs start businesses by offering coaching, problem-solving, and micro-loans.

Read more btad.samueladams.com

via reddit.com

4XXaa TIL that J.R.R Tolkien got the name for Samwise Gamgee from a doctor called Joseph Sampson Gamgee, the inventor of the 'Gamgee tissue', an absorbent gauze surgical dressing made from cotton wool. Hence, Tolkien named Samwise's wife in The Lord of the Rings books Rosie Cotton.
PY4Vn TIL California sea otters blow air into their fur to keep them afloat and insulated. This is possible because of their amazingly thick and intricate fur that traps the air bubbles as they blow onto it.
X06vD TIL the US Department of Justice sometimes hires "uncompensated" federal prosecutors. According to a WAPO article, to avoid a legal prohibition on providing "voluntary services" to the government, DOJ argues the services aren't voluntary, they're "gratuitous." Most of these unpaid AUSAs are women.
pYZj4 TIL that while shooting a TV series, 12-year-old Kurt Russell gave co-star Charles Bronson a birthday gift but the older actor walked away without responding. Bronson, who grew up very poor, later thanked Russell, explaining he had never been given a birthday gift before.
0dJkj TIL that Mickey Rooney condemned the slasher movie Silent Night, Deadly Night, calling its makers "scum" for coming up with a killer in a Santa Claus suit... then ironically ended up playing another killer in a Santa Claus suit years later in Silent Night, Deadly Night 5.