› added 4 years ago

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TIL a poor 19th century Chinese man failed the civil service exam, fell ill, reread a Christian pamphlet he had earlier ignored, & hallucinated that he was Jesus' brother. He led a cult/rebellion that conquered much of southern China, crowning himself as king. This civil war killed over 10 million.

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G6AN TIL of Dr. Liviu Librescu, Romanian-born Holocaust survivor and scientist. During the Virginia Tech massacre, he survived being shot through a door five times while aiding students in escaping the gunman. He later died of his injuries and was awarded Romania’s highest civilian honor.
epVrE TIL in 2009 Burger King ran the "Whopper sacrifice" campaign, which gave a free whopper to anyone who deleted 10 friends on Facebook. Facebook suspended the program because Burger King was alerting people letting them know they'd been dropped for a sandwich
x5Wk TIL there is a medical code for being struck by a turtle
W714Y TIL that the CEO of McLaren F1 racing, Zak Brown, appeared on wheel of fortune as a teenager, won $3,050 and spent the winnings to fund his racing career
Ypmv TIL that when Charles Whitman began his shooting rampage at U Texas in 1966, a lot of locals grabbed their rifles and started shooting back. They kept him pinned down until the police could sneak up the tower and kill him.