› added 11 years ago

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TIL Christopher Lee received Tolkien’s blessing to play the role of Gandalf, if a movie was ever released, but he played Saruman instead. He was also the only person involved with the Lord of the Rings films to have actually met Tolkien himself.

J15k1 TIL about "Poles of Inaccessibility", points on earth deemed inaccessible because of varying criteria (water, ice, mountains, distance, etc.) Point Nemo in the southern Pacific Ocean, is the point furthest from any land mass on planet Earth.
R4ja TIL In 1972 Lyle Snider, a Quaker who didn’t want his tax dollars going to fund war, was arrested for claiming 3 billion dependents, the population of the Earth, on his W-4 form. Snider was charged with filing a false and fraudulent withholding form, and sentenced to 9 months in prison.
awgwM TIL 50% of the calories Americans consume come from nutrient-depleted, ultra-processed foods, including refined flours and industrial seed oils. A recent study indicates that US children and adults have high rates of deficiency of vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D, E, and folate, as well as the mineral iron
BYNL TIL As Many Americans Have Criminal Records As College Diplomas
0dQdA TIL about the Empire of Atlantium—a micronation founded in 1981 when teenager George Cruickshank and friends painted a 10 sq-meter patch in his Sydney backyard, declaring independence. Now it has a 0.75 sq-km territory, 3,000 "citizens" from 100 countries, and you can stay at its capital via Airbnb.