› added 3 years ago

122

TIL Gandalfs stand at Minas Tirith in The Lord of The Rings books was based on a real bishop who mounted a hopeless defense against the Magyars until the emperor came to relieve him with an army of heavy knights.

Read more beatlyzer.com

via beatlyzer.com

8erAa TIL that Robin William’s final film role was a voice role as Dennis the Dog for Absolutely Anything directed by a pal of his Terry Jones of Monty Python fame.
kJWE4 TIL George Michael worked and re-worked his song "Careless Whisper" for 2 and half year's before finally releasing it. He went thru 8 saxophonists before finally settling on Steve Gregory who was able to play the riff exactly as Michael heard it in his head. The song topped charts in ten countries
xVdQb TIL of the ‘Window Tax’, where people were taxed based on the number of windows they had on their houses. This was used in the 18th century as a simple method to calculate tax obligations. However, many people bricked up their windows, leading to health problems.
wLgOP TIL A concerned person walked by a house and heard a man shouting "why won't you die?" with a child screaming inside. The police were called. This triggered a full police response. It turned out he was trying to kill a spider.
ZpvKG TIL that jesters were tasked with delivering unfavorable news to kings that others were reluctant to share. in 1340 following the destruction of the French fleet by the English the French King's jester informed him that the English sailors lacked the courage to jump into the water like the French.