› added 10 months ago

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TIL people have sustained severe injuries that are normally only seen in fighter pilots due to participating in the merry-go-round of death internet challenge because of the high g-forces created as people ride a playground merry-go-round that is spun by the rear wheel of a motorcycle or moped.

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Lka9Q TIL That the original dedicated indoors movie theatres were called nickelodeons, a portmanteau of nickel, and the Greek word odeion, meaning roofed theatre.
MeLam TIL that J.K. Rowling wrote a real person into The Goblet of Fire. The girl was named Natalie McDonald, a Harry Potter fan who was dying of leukaemia while Rowling was still writing the book. You see her character as a first-year who dons the sorting hat and is sorted into Gryffindor.
PYpPw TIL: Marion Tinsley, of Ironton, Ohio, is considered one of the greatest checkers players to ever live. He lost only 7 games in his 45-year career, 2 of them to a computer. During one game against the Chinook program, he saw a mistake the computer made and predicted a win 64 moves into the future.
Ry91 TIL of illegal “Gutter Oil” in China, where raw sewage and other waste is boiled down to make cooking oil, which is then used by street vendors and restaurants to cook with.
d8M69 TIL in WWII, a dog named Gander was a sergeant of the Canadian Royal Rifles. He fought on the frontlines against the Japanese on several occasions. Gander was posthumously decorated when he picked up a live Japanese grenade and charged enemy lines with it.