› added 1 year ago

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TIL that Robin Williams was turned down to play Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies (and so was Rosie O’Donnell for Molly Weasley).

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l70Va TIL the diabetes drug exenatide was isolated from the venom of the only venomous lizard native to the US, the Gila monster
xQG0 TIL that Star Wars is mostly unknown in China. Few saw Episodes 4-6 in theaters; Episodes 1-3 are better known. Disney had to educate fans about the franchise when promoting The Force Awakens. “Marvel characters are the American action heroes to a whole generation of millions of Chinese”, instead.
BrWbe TIL Principal Akbar Cook installed a free fully-stocked laundry room at school because students with dirty clothes were bullied and missing 3-5 days of school per month. Attendance rose 10%.
eXog TIL the last scene in the episode of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, “Papa Got a Brand New Excuse” was completely unscripted. The character was meant to shrug off his dad leaving, but Will got emotional thinking about his friends who grew up without a father and broke down in tears.
mxEPO TIL the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard which is roughly the size of Ireland is an entirely visa-free zone, meaning anyone may live and work on Svalbard indefinitely regardless of country of citizenship