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TIL that during filming of the movie Gladiator, Oliver Reed who played Proximo died after getting into a drinking match with sailors in a bar in Malta where Reed is said to have downed 8 pints, 12 double rums, and ½ a bottle of whiskey. In his honor, the bar changed its name to “Ollie's Last Pub”.

Read more theguardian.com

via reddit.com

mxPWp TIL: there is a Harry Potter fanfic that is so popular among Russian geeks, they published it as a paper book and distributed it among libraries. In the fanfic, Harry applies the scientific method to improve the Wizarding World
vM9R TIL singer Akon launched a project aimed to provide solar powered electricity, jobs, and education about infrastructure to millions of people in Africa. The project now provides electricity in 14 African countries and employs over 5,000 mainly young people who install and maintain solar equipment.
DQJ1p TIL of the only person ever to return a Pulitzer Prize, journalist Janet Cooke, due to her fabricating a story of an 8-year-old heroin addict which triggered a city-wide search
e0LYL TIL that in 1949, Gallup polled Americans on what scientific advances they thought would happen by the year 1999. 88% believed cancer would be cured, and 63% believed planes would be nuclear powered. Only 15% thought a man would walk on the moon.
5l9r TIL Reddit’s ranking system. “The first 10 upvotes count as high as the next 100. E.g. a story that has 10 upvotes and a story that has 50 upvotes will have a similar ranking”