› added 11 years ago

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TIL many phrases in English come from literal translations of Chinese phrases, such as “long time no see”, “no go”, “lose face” and “no can do”

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Me5Xm TIL that Burger King launched a $40 million ad campaign in November 1985 called "Where's Herb?" The idea was to find a character named Herb who'd never been to BK. Other chains pointed out that if Herb wasn't at BK, it meant he probably liked other chains' burgers more. BK profits fell 40% in 1986.
6NyJ TIL Freddie Mercury had a girlfriend, Mary Austin, for six years before he decided he preferred male partners. In his will he left her his mansion and the bulk of his multi-million pound fortune.
5XQP TIL that last year, Israel passes law banning use of underweight models…revolutionary for the fashion industry
QmAM TIL That the people who falsely claimed the copyright on “Happy Birthday to You” made $2m USD a year for decades until a court ruled the song to be public domain in 2016
wLmDP TIL on Nov. 26, 1977 a television station in southern England had their broadcast hijacked by an entity referring to itself as Vrillon of the Ashtar Galactic Command who disrupted regular programming to give a six-minute message about humanity's future. The mystery has never been solved.