› added 4 years ago

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TIL that in China, Harry Potter fan fiction is used as a cultural and educational tool between Western and Chinese cultures. There are a number of "fake" Harry Potter books in China, which address concepts and issues found in Chinese culture.

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xVD70 TIL the band Devo used to perform as their own opening act: a Christian rock band called Dove, which is an anagram of Devo.
x0J5 TIL China is the birthplace of the seismograph. Built in 132 AD, it consisted of 8 metal dragons holding 8 carved balls over 8 frogs. If an earthquake made the ground vibrate, the dragon facing the quake’s source would drop a ball into the mouth of its corresponding frog.
gMW7b TIL On Christmas 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev officially resigned as the last head of state for the Soviet Union.
1akjD TIL Astronaut Micheal Collins thought the eagle on the Apollo 11 mission patch looked uncomfortable stating that he, “hoped he dropped the olive branch before landing.”
loXmr TIL amazing footage of a patient undergoing open heart surgery with acupuncture as pain relief, fails to show that the patient also had 3 very powerful sedatives (midazolam, droperidol, fentanyl) and lots of local anaesthetic injected into the chest.