› added 11 months ago

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TIL: BBC interviewed a man who married a fictional girl. In 2019, 12% of people in Japan reported falling in love with anime/game characters. According to Sociologist Masahiro Yamada, the rise in pseudo relationships is due to hard work life and a dwindling pool of well paid men.

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via reddit.com

nW8V9 TIL that boxer Larry Holmes was one win away from matching Rocky Marciano’s perfect record of 49-0, when he was defeated by Michael Spinks.
vPa1R TIL of the Niland brothers, four brothers from New York who fought in World War II. Two died in combat, one survived, and one was believed to be dead but actually survived the war and was held in a Japanese POW Camp in Burma. Their story served as the inspiration for Saving Private Ryan.
la1r TIL about J.R.R. Tolkien’s service as a Lieutenant in World War I. He fought in The Battle of the Somme, and it has been suggested that the horrors of trench warfare shaped his later depictions of Mordor in The Lord of the Rings.
4XdWw TIL the US operates about 800 military bases and logistical facilities outside its sovereign territory -- more than any other nation. All the other foreign bases owned by countries together total about 30.
69NXm TIL the seemingly out of place lyric in Paul Simon's 'Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes' about 'she makes the sign of the teaspoon, he makes the sign of the wave' is actually a reference to South African taxi hand signals, indicating going to a rich district and a poor district, respectively.