› added 10 years ago

115

TIL there is an electric bell in Oxford University that has been ringing almost continously for 175 years.

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VmE8 TIL Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, allows any company that can make functioning Star Trek technology to use the name free of charge.
9MrD TIL that the distorted words in CAPTCHAs (the anti-spam feature) are all taken from old books and newspapers. By identifying the words, users are actually helping to transcribe these printed sources to the internet. As a result, the entire New York Times archive is now searchable back to 1850.
AEa TIL that J.K. Rowling seriously considered killing Ron Weasley mid-series
MeXNW TIL scientists invented a genetically modified form of rice called "Golden Rice" to produce beta-carotene, to feed people in areas suffering from Vitamin-A deficiency
WkpkN TIL there's a grizzly bear nicknamed "The Boss" who's eaten two black bears, survived being hit by a train, weighs 300kg, but has never shown aggression towards humans despite spending a large amount of time near public places.