› added 11 years ago

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TIL a Chinese beggar whose hands were ruined in an explosion spent a decade designing a new type of two-handed calligraphy. The result was so impressive that China’s largest font maker gave him a design contract with 50 years of royalties and helped to get him off the streets.

Read more beijingtoday.com.cn

via reddit.com

P1Xwg TIL that the inventor of the Pringles can had a portion of his ashes placed in one
4WyN TIL DNA analysis of 48 samples of ground meats found that 20% were from a species other than the one listed on the label, with the actual meats including horse and beaver
o8RK TIL America has very likely already had a gay president. James Buchanan was unmarried, lived with a man he called his companion, and wrote in his diary about wooing other men.
WeWX TIL that there is only one cast member alive from the original Wizard of Oz movie, his name is Jerry Maren and he was one of the 3 lollipop guild munchkins
ZpGBY TIL toilet paper was invented in 1857. Before that early North American colonists used corn cobs. Sailors used ‘tow rag’, which was a long piece of frayed rope that dangled in the water.