› added 12 years ago

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TIL that as a youth, George R.R Martin wrote stories about a mythical kingdom in which his pet turtles resided; he decided, since the turtles frequently died in their toy castle, that they were the victims of “sinister plots” designed by the others. Game of Turtles, indeed.

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OGJog TIL that Sir Patrick Stewart, of Star Trek fame, was accidentally cast in Dune (1984). Director David Lynch had wanted a different actor named Patrick Stewart, and had no idea who Sir Patrick was when he arrived on set to play Gurney Halleck.
M7JoK TIL - Despite soccer's relative lack of popularity in the USA, the 1994 FIFA World Cup was the most financially successful in World Cup history. It broke tournament records with overall attendance of 3,587,538 and an average of 68,991 per game, figures that stand unsurpassed as of 2022.
9EZ7 TIL A pair of twins were separated at birth, adopted and raised by separate families on 2 separate continents. They were reunited when one of them saw the other starring in the movie 21 & Over, saw the resemblance and contacted her via Facebook.
a8oM0 TIL that in 1997, an episode of the Pokémon anime caused seizures in hundreds of Japanese children due to a flashing red and blue strobe effect. The incident was so serious it led to the show being pulled from broadcast for four months and it being permanently banned.
MewWa TIL Erik Thorvaldsson (Erik the Red), discovered a frozen island 1,500 miles west of Iceland. He wished to settle there but was worried no one would want to because of the harsh conditions. In order to fool them into taking the dangerous voyage, he told them the name of the island was "Greenland"