› added 6 years ago

89

TIL that the word oxymoron, is actually an oxymoron. Oxy is sharp, moron is dull.

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neoyB TIL that French prisoners in the 1700s were granted freedom if they agreed to marry a prostitute and move to Louisiana
x6vVb TIL about a rock conglomerate called Puddingstone, which consists of colorful rounded pebbles in a cemented matrix. It's said to be named after Christmas pudding, aka "Figgy Pudding," due to its occasional resemblance to the dried fruit dish, especially when polished.
oNQY TIL the idiom “Turning a blind eye” is attributed to Admiral Horatio Nelson who, in the midst of battle and given the permission to retreat by his superior, lifted the telescope to his eye (blinded from an earlier injury) and said “I really do not see the signal” and pressed on with the attack.
0w6BM TIL that Christopher Plummer hated The Sound of Music. He called it The Sound of Mucus or S&M. During filming, he would get drunk in taverns and ate so much schnapps and pastries, that he got very fat. His costumes had to be let out. He was also “dead drunk” during the music festival scene.
jr7M TIL that, due to the gender imbalance, by the year 2020, 24 million Chinese men will be unable to find a spouse.