› added 10 years ago

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TIL 90% of college students from China in the US cheat to get admitted

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via reddit.com

pkd8 TIL that a 19th century governor of Greece introduced potatoes to the country. Initially, he tried giving seed potatoes to skeptical farmers. When this failed, he piled them in public under guard, convincing people of their value. They stole the potatoes and planted them.
16xkV TIL That Jack Kelly, father of Grace Kelly and self made millionaire was banned from the Henley Regatta under the pretext that he was not a gentleman. He went on to beat the Henley champion at the Olympics and sent the King of England a note saying simply "greetings from a bricklayer".
mxAbO TIL about a disabled British pensioner called Kempton Bunton who stole Goya's Portrait of The Duke of Wellington in 1961, who would return it on condition of a donation made to charity. His case went to trial where he was found not guilty of stealing the painting but guilty of stealing the frame.
pgNp TIL: A Swiss couple in the Maldives paid £820 to have their their wedding vows renewed in the native Dhivehi language. When the wedding video was posted to YouTube, the subtitles revealed that the minister had actually been insulting them, calling them “infidels” and their children “bastard swine”.
dglQ TIL: It was once socially acceptable to mail children… it was also remarkably affordable at about 13 cents (about $3.14 in 2016).