› added 5 years ago

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TIL the founder of Hyundai was born to an impoverished family of peasants in what is now North Korea. In 1998, he sent 1001 cows to his hometown in North Korea as a repayment 1000 times over for a cow that he stole in the early 1930s to afford his train ticket to Seoul and escape from poverty.

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yVg5v TIL a human brain uses 12 watts to think while, if it could, an AI system doing the same processing could use 2.7 billion watts
4Zg6 TIL people’s teeth used to randomly explode in the 1800s due to bad fillings. Before the advent of mercury amalgam, a wide variety of metals were used to fill cavities. Using two different metals could create an electrochemical cell – effectively turning the whole mouth into a low-volt battery
N7PG8 TIL that Americanitis - a “condition” caused by too much stress, too little sleep, rushed meals and the fast paced advance of technology - was “cured” by the Great Depression.
awKDA TIL the main reason the Parthenon is in such disrepair is because it exploded. The monument had been in relatively good condition for millennia, however it was used as a gunpowder magazine during the 1687 siege of Athens and was destroyed after taking a direct hit from a Venetian shell
Lk4Vp TIL Justin Lin's film "Better Luck Tomorrow" was saved from being cancelled by MC Hammer, who donated $10,000 after Lin called him “out of desperation”. Lin had to fund the film by himself after his original investors wanted an all caucasian cast and he objected.