› added 8 months ago

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TIL about Norman Kwong, the first Chinese-Canadian to play in the CFL. During his career he won 4 Grey Cups and set a record for single-season rushing yards by a Canadian player; after he retired he co-owned the Calgary Flames in the NHL and later was appointed lieutenant governor of Alberta.

Bg7kL TIL that the lightning we see is caused by the electricity heating the air to 30,000°C (54,000°F) and turning it into plasma briefly. The sound of thunder is also caused by the transformation of air to plasma, which makes the air expand incredibly quickly.
EAdx TIL Minecraft’s creator, Markus Persson, had severe OCD and needed everything to be placed in its own square on a grid in his mind, leading to the cubic design of the game we know today.
WkyNo TIL: John Spinello, the inventor of the game 'Operation' sold it for $500 USD in 1964 to a toy inventor. It has since made more than $40 million in sales for the Milton Bradley Company. In 2014, he had to crowdfund to afford a $25,000 operation to fix his teeth.
Ml6m TIL the Economist derives most of its revenue from subscriptions because they anticipate advertising will “pretty much go away.” “[The Guardian employs] 964 people. That’s a very, very, very large newsroom. If they think they’re going to fund that with online advertising, I think they’re wrong.”
oBnJE TIL that musician and peace advocate John Lennon often beat his girlfriends and wives, almost killed a man for calling him gay, was emotionally abusive towards his son, and mocked disabled people