› added 7 years ago

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TIL that Nikola Tesla predicted the modern cell phone in 1926: “We shall be able to communicate with one another instantly, irrespective of distance. Not only this, but...we shall see and hear one another as perfectly as though we were face to face... a man will be able to carry one in his pocket”

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e08jJ TIL the first baby stroller was made in 1733. The Duke of Devonshire asked architect William Kent to build a means of transport for his young children, and Kent constructed a shell shaped basket on wheels for children to sit in. It was richly decorated, and meant to be pulled by a goat or small pony
Yp7VB TIL "Javanese princess" and exotic dancer Mata Hari was a Dutch-born WW1 spy and double-agent, convicted of spying for Germany in France and executed by firing squad.
grxl9 TIL Taylor Swift hosted "Secret Sessions" where she invited fans to hang out at her home to hear new songs, enjoy her home-baked cookies, and dance together
loDlK TIL that the comedy "The Country Wife" written in 1675 was banned in Britain for 175 years for being too sexually vulgar. The main character, Harry Horner, claims to be impotent to sell "china" to the wives of upper-class Londoners. At the time, "china" was a popular euphemism for sperm.
LOMm TIL that one of America’s most well known British TV actors (John Hillerman, Higgins, of Magnum PI fame) isn’t British at all, but is a native Texan, who learned his accent from performances of Laurence Olivier.