› added 11 years ago

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TIL inclusion of the term “oral sex” caused California schools to ban the dictionary.

Read more theguardian.com

via reddit.com

M7XZA TIL that the roar from the MGM lion is actually that of a tiger
xLp7 TIL during 1946 nuclear weapon tests in the Pacific, animals were put on ships in the blast area. Goat #119, behind plate armour inside a gun turret, died from the radiation in 4 days. Goat #53, out on deck, died in 2. Pig #311 was found swimming around and was brought back to the zoo in Washington.
8axJZ TIL W. E. B. Du Bois envisioned "an Encyclopedia Africana," named like the Encyclopædia Britannica. Du Bois envisioned a scientific and comprehensive work on Africa and Africans that would refute the Enlightenment notion of blacks as devoid of civilization. Due to lack of support, the project died
rRV1 TIL David Bowie refused the honor of being knighted, saying “I would never have any intention of accepting anything like that. I seriously don’t know what it’s for. It’s not what I spent my life working for.”
v1x9r TIL When Time magazine named China's Deng Xiaoping as 1985 Man of the Year, it prompted Taiwanese leader Chiang Ching-Kuo to quicken the pace of Taiwan's democratization. Deng invited Chiang to meet with him but he declined, on the grounds that he did not believe in the Communist Party of China