› added 6 years ago

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TIL: Killer Whale is a mistranslation of Whale-Killer - Orcas are part of the dolphin family and hunt whales

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oB9gR TIL that Russia was founded by a group of Scandinavian vikings and traders, called the Rus, who initially set up trading towns between their home and the Byzantine Empire.
69Wvm TIL Anne Rice author of Interview with the Vampire wanted English actor Julian Sands to play the role of Lestat and was disappointed with the studio's pick of a better known Tom Cruise. She unsucessfully proposed alternate picks. Despite this rice was subsequently pleased with Cruise's performance
ANwVd TIL that the trend of anime's signature large eyes started from mangaka Osamu Tezuka's works, who himself was influenced by Disney and Betty Boop cartoons, and fashion designer Jun'ichi Nakahara's works. Other factor such as a proverb involving eyes also played a part.
GYp15 TIL the word "mesmerize" comes from the name of Franz Anton Mesmer, an Austrian physician from the 1700s who is considered to be the father of modern hypnosis.
mxL0o TIL about Brandt Kuykendal, a man who created his own ISP after discovering that he could not get reliable and fast internet in his town. He mainly built the ISP because his daughter needed fast internet to excel in school.