› added 6 years ago

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TIL of Joe Maggard. He lied for years through the media that he portrayed Ronald McDonald in the 90's (he was actually only a lighting stand-in for 2 commercials). He was convicted in 1999 of making harassing phone calls - he would always pose as Ronald and call people, scaring and threatening them.

e0paD TIL Mice injected full of Tylenol are dropped by parachute onto tree tops on the island of Guam, to kill off an invasive species of snakes that lives there.
epnLD TIL about windcatchers - towers to catch winds for natural ventilation of buildings without electricity. Windcatchers were an important architectural element in Persia and a solution for cooling. The warm air was cooled by the soil and water in the channel and released into the interior.
Mey4b TIL that celebrities have to pay $30k for their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They must sign a form stating that they want a star and that they will attend the unveiling of it. Celebrities Julia Roberts, Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, and Al Pacino still don't have a star.
Br1Ry TIL that Twitter holds the patent on “dragging down from the top of your screen to refresh the current page,” but agreed when they acquired the patent to only use it on anyone who sued them first.
l9VV TIL Kelly Thomas, a homeless man with schizophrenia, was beaten to the point of comatose by Police followed by death as a result, all while Thomas was found not guilty of his charges, and two police officers were found not guilty of manslaughter, the other was not put to trial.