› added 7 years ago

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TIL in 1978, Roman Polanski, charged with sexual abuse of a 13-year-old, agreed with prosecutors to a plea bargain under which he would serve no more than 90 days. When the judge did not accept the plea bargain, Polanski fled the country. The victim has said she does not want Polanski prosecuted.

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pYR1p TIL that Maya cities had high levels of mercury, which may have led to their abandonment.
JYbR8 TIL about the saying "Cup of Joe". The meaning of the saying is a little unclear but it was narrowed down to 2 ideas. The term was either derived from "Cup of Jamoke", which is from Java and Mocha and then was shortened to Joe or it is using Joe as a fellow guy to signify the drink of a common man.
neGab TIL that actress Tilda Swinton comes from an ancient Anglo-Scots family that can trace its lineage to the Middle Ages, & is one of only three British families that can trace their unbroken land ownership and lineage to before the Norman Conquest
ne1xB TIL In 1863, scientists started to doubt that the Sun is actually burning coal and proposed that the heat of the Sun has been kept up by meteoric bodies falling into it. "If the sun were composed of coal, it would last at the present rate only 5,000 years"
rNkae TIL that in medieval Europe, there existed a sport known as "rat-baiting." Spectators would gather in public squares to watch as trained dogs competed to catch and kill rats released into the arena. Betting on the outcome of these gruesome contests was commonplace.