› added 12 years ago

704

TIL Jackie Chan’s mother was an opium smuggler and his father was a spy

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via reddit.com

RAmQ TIL that a woman’s professional and personal life were ruined with a single tweet that said: “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” The woman, Justine Sacco, turned out to be a P.R. Chief for a large internet company.
mr7x TIL that Topher Grace of ‘That 70’s Show’ edited all three 'Star Wars’ prequels into one condensed film that has been highly praised as a better version.
6ErV8 TIL that the Danish astronomer who demonstrated light has a speed, invented a precursor to the Fahrenheit scale, and invented the mercury thermometer... also ran the police force in Copenhagen and fired all the officers because morale was low.
164kP TIL that airport runways are numbered based on their compass direction. Runway 27 literally means 270 degrees (west).
yVKVw TIL 'The Land of Nod' is originally a biblical reference of a sort of purgatory where Cain was exiled after murdering Abel -- rather than a 'dreamland' sleepytime dealie as it is now colloquially known.