› added 6 years ago

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TIL that the name Vanessa was invented by Jonathan Swift for Esther Vanhomrigh who was a longtime lover of his. The name was created by taking "Van" from Vanhomrigh and adding "Essa", a pet form of Esther.

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xV80B TIL of Bobby Driscoll, famous Disney child actor in the 1940s and 50s (including the voice of Peter Pan), who died penniless and alone at age 31 in an abandoned NYC building. When his body went unclaimed, he was buried in an unmarked grave.
YpQrr TIL that if you whisper to Alexa she whispers back. I was not specifically sober per se, it was pretty late at night, and it was both creepy and seductive. Fun feature though!
lJo5 TIL Legendary daredevil Evel Knievel got his stagename from a prison guard. The man in the next cell was named “Knofel” and the guard started calling them “Awful Knofel” and “Evil Knievel”.
KOpaJ TIL a Cure for Malaria was found by Nobel Prize winner Tu Youyou amongst 1600 year old Taoist manuscripts titled "The emergency perscriptions kept up ones sleave"
EbX TIL there is enough gold on Earth for every person to own about five gold rings.