› added 9 years ago

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TIL Jeremy Clarkson (Top Gear) published his bank and acct # in his newspaper column, claiming “worst-case scenario, someone would be able to pay money into my account.” Within a few days, someone set up a direct debit for £500 in favor of a charity, which didn’t require any identification.

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Xnpj TIL Mister Rogers defended public television to the US Senate; his testimony helped convince the Congress to increase funding to PBS, rather than cut it in half, as President Nixon wanted
LQ7br TIL that the world’s first traffic lights, installed outside London’s Houses of Parliament in 1868, were gas-lit. They used semaphore arms by day and lamps at night, operated by a policeman. Weeks later they exploded, injuring him. Traffic lights weren’t tried again in Britain for almost 60 years.
8eGZX TIL Sam Walton founder of Wal-mart was an avid pilot. He flew his small aluminum plane around to scout new store locations and keep tabs on his stores. One time he dropped in on a Wal-Mart because he noticed from the sky that its parking lot was empty.
x6O9o TIL The Isles of Scilly, located 45km off the coast of mainland UK, is home to the world's smallest football league. There are only two teams who play each other every Sunday. They also take part in the Lyonesse Cup, where the winner is awarded a 6mm tall cup named the "World's Smallest Cup".
Oow44 TIL Daniel Day Lewis is the only actor in history to win three Academy Awards for Best Actor. He was nominated for six, winning half. Also, he has won 139 acting awards in total, with 212 nominations. He won 43 awards for his performance in "There Will Be Blood" alone.