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TIL that most of the characters in Half life 2 were modeled after real people.

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loNx1 TIL the first virus discovered is the Tobacco mosaic virus, over 100 years ago. It causes a mosaic looking disease in tobacco plants; it can survive for years in cigars and cigarettes made from infected leaves. Wendell Stanley won the Nobel Prize in 1946 for discovering that it's made from protein.
YpBDv TIL Humpty Dumpty wasn't an egg, but a large piece of artillery mounted on a castle wall, that got damaged in the English Civil War (allegedly).
EyPX TIL a British man was so fed up with cold-callers he set up his own premium rate number which he asked them to call instead, netting him around £7 a month.
mxlVR TIL In 2014 London Black Cabs protested against Uber by bringing gridlock across central London. Instead of damaging Uber, it brought a 850% increase in downloads of the app and hastened the black cabs decline.
XEKlj TIL: The term "yakuza" comes from the numbers 8, 9, and 3, which are the worst cards you can have in Oicho-Kabu, a Japanese card game similar to Baccarat.