› added 11 years ago

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TIL that the word “quockerwodger” can mean either “a wooden toy figure which jerks its limbs about when pulled by a string”, or a politician whose strings are pulled by someone else.

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KYNeJ TIL of Yoshie Shiratori, a Japanese man who successfully broke out of 4 different Japanese prisons (once using miso soup to corrode and break his cuffs). After his 4th escape, he encountered a police officer who offered him a cigarette. Touched by this gesture, he willingly turned himself in again.
D1Zkv TIL Stan Lee created The X-men as 'mutants' because he didn't want to explain how they got their powers. They were BORN with their powers.
ANMGo TIL Michael Jackson wanted to play Jar Jar Binks using prosthetics.
JYvpQ TIL of Tek Sing often referred to as "Titanic of the East". Happening 90 years before the Titanic went down, the Tek Sing was overloaded with cargo and also carried 1,600 emigrants, akin to the Titanic they were low on lifeboats from the start. Less than 190 people were rescued.
YpDwx TIL that NFL stadiums pour fabric softener over all the turf on the field so static electricity doesn't make the turf stick to the jerseys, pants, cleats, etc.