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TIL Helen Mirren pretended to be Queen Elizabeth to fulfill a 10 year old’s dying wish. They had tea, and he had no idea it wasn’t the real thing.

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JLNQ TIL In May 1997, Mattel introduced Share a Smile Becky, a doll in a pink wheelchair. A 17-year-old high school student with cerebral palsy pointed out the doll wouldn’t fit in the elevator of Barbie’s Dream House. Mattel announced it would redesign the house in the future to accommodate the doll.
6E6rX TIL the difference between stamina and endurance. Stamina is the amount of time one can perform an action at maximum capacity (ex: sprinting), endurance is the maximum amount of time one can perform an action (ex: a marathon)
X01wj TIL that American rockets are often equipped with a self-destruct system to protect people if the vehicle goes off course. Since 1958, 33 US orbital launch attempts have ended by self-destruction.
AD6mw TIL that many Chinese soldiers that came into contact with protestors at Tiananmen Square refused to open fire on civilians. One official even refused to obey orders by pretending he didn't receive any messages. There was even infighting between the various units over violence against civilians.
x0ob TIL Rip Torn lost his role in “Easy Rider” to Jack Nicholson after a confrontation at dinner. Dennis Hopper claimed he pulled a knife on him. Torn says Hopper pulled the knife. Hopper repeated the story on the Tonight Show, prompting Torn to sue for defamation, winning $1 million in damages