› added 12 years ago

110

TIL that ~47% of Italians are functionally illiterate

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Denr TIL The original script of Braveheart had the Irish fighting the Scottish, which was historically accurate. The script had to be changed because the Irish and Scottish extras refused to fight each other.
rRm94 TIL that there are no female leprechauns in Irish folklore.
Rd76 TIL that Army officer Hugh Thompson prevented the deaths of hundreds of Vietnamese civilians including women and children, by a group of American soldiers. Thompson, an Army helicopter pilot, landed between the soldiers and the villagers and threatened to open fire if they continued their attacks.
JpO8 TIL George Lucas owns the term “Droid” and Motorola must pay him for the rights to use the word “Droid” for their phones.
GYawj TIL the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility's mirror arrays focus light into beams so powerful that they kill thousands of birds a year, setting them on fire in flight