› added 9 years ago

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TIL that Google maps won’t give driving directions in South Korea, due to a law that restricts the use of maps.

Read more nytimes.com

via reddit.com

gMg7b TIL scientists accidentally dumped sperm from a paddlefish on sturgeon eggs, creating a hybrid “sturddlefish”. Crossing of the two fish was considered impossible as their closest common ancestor dates back more than 180 million years and the two species have no chance of meeting in the wild.
oBVWA TIL the organizers of the 2012 Olympics asked The Who's manager about the possibility of drummer Keith Moon playing at the event. The manager replied that Moon was residing at the Golders Green crematorium, having lived up to the line "I hope I die before I get old". Keith Moon died in 1978.
N7Oge TIL in 2003, North Korea suggested several symbols which were included in international Unicode, later becoming emojis. They requested ☕ to mark tea houses on maps and ⚐ & ⚑ for military battles and victories. They also requested ⬆, ⬇, ⬅ (but no right arrow), ☔, ⚡, ⚠ and ⏏.
69E5l TIl that Burger King created a band named Coq Roq, recorded a 4 song LP, and planned a US tour that only fell apart because the Canadian singer had a criminal record
9YVDr TIL IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad started his journey to becoming the 8th richest man in the world at age 5, by selling matches to his neighbors. He bought matches in bulk, cheaply & re-sold them at a very low price while still making a good profit, the same basic model used later at IKEA.