› added 10 years ago

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TIL that Reporters without Borders considers the UK an “enemy of the internet”

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WkVgL TIL: Helen Keller was a radical socialist who ended up being investigated by the FBI most of her adult life.
neQ4B TIL that Will Sampson had never acted before playing Chief in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the producers were just looking for a tall Native American and chose the 6'7" (2.01 m) Sampson after a car dealer called them and said "the biggest sonofabitch Indian came in the other day!".
Jbwj TIL that the white guy (Peter Norman) on the podium during the Black Power salute (by John Carlos and Tommie Smith) in ‘1968 was basically banned for life for defending them.
rR7AM TIL Dutch authorities created over 300 little "parks" for bees on top of bus stop shelters in Utrecht; roofs are planted with low-maintenance sedum providing a safe habitat for bees. Over 50% of Netherlands' 358 bee species are endangered. Human commuters get with bamboo benches and LED lighting.
l7pbB TIL Monasteries used to distill a compound called "uisge beatha" (pronounced uska beg) which means "water of life" in Gaelic. After it got popularized, people started calling it solely "uska", which led to its final form in present, whiskey.