› added 6 years ago

69

TIL James Bond was originally half Scottish half Swiss. Also Flemming named him after an ornithologist as it was the "simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name".

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x6m5g TIL that a minor political party in the People's Republic of China, Triads and Chinese Lion Dancing tropes are all tied to Tiandihui, a chinese secret society that often gets called 'Chinese Masons' in western countries even though they are unrelated.
yVdkl TIL that having a small amount of insulation on a cylinder (like a pipe or water heater) can actually make it lose heat faster than if it were entirely uninsulated. This is known as the critical thickness of insulation. Having more than the critical thickness makes the heat transfer rate go down.
ZpYZR TIL Star Citizen has raised 600 million dollars from its backers
0wlOv TIL Netherlands is so safe that jails are being closed due to the lack of criminals.
KOwG9 TIL that you are guaranteed a lawyer if you cannot afford one (in the U.S.) because a poor man was convicted unjustly, began reading law in prison, and wrote the Supreme Court, saying that he should have been given a lawyer despite his lack of money. He was retried and acquitted.