› added 3 years ago

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TIL, during the opening of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, organisers made a random girl to mime a song because the original singer was not allowed to appear because, according to the organisers, she was not photogenic enough.

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ayeo TIL of Captain Mbaye Diagne, a Senegalese unarmed military observer with the UN during the Rwandan Genocide. Alone and against orders, he used his UN vehicle to ferry hundreds of Tutsis and moderate Hutus to safety, bluffing, bribing and begging his way through checkpoints manned by génocidaires.
OGk17 TIL of the "Mad Piper" Bill Millin, the only bagpiper to land on the beach in Normandy. While men fell around him, he played his pipes throughout the battle. A group of captured German snipers was asked why they hadn't shot him. They replied that they thought he'd gone insane and felt bad for him.
d8kPE TIL that Nichele Nichols recorded a disco version of the Star Trek original theme song. Oh my!
b67W7 TIL In Confucianism, there are five grades of mourning obligation, depending on one's relation to the person that died. The death of one's mother or father requires 27 months of mourning while second cousins or first cousins once removed only require 3 months of mourning.
mxMxE TIL there ARE bears in India. People always made jokes about Baloo in the Jungle book: "Why's there a random bear in the jungle?" B/c as is turns out, there are Sloth Bears native to about all of India.