› added 5 years ago

82

TIL American Homer Lea was a close advisor to Dr. Sun Yat-sen during the 1911 Chinese Republican revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty. Lea was so influential that Sun Yat-sen considered making him the chief of staff of China's Republican army

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

KOyY4 TIL that Miss Piggy was based on the jazz singer Peggy Lee and was originally name Miss Piggy Lee. When Lee threatened to sue, Jim Henson changed the name to Miss Piggy.
b9bP7 TIL: Graca Machel, is the only woman in the world’s history to become the first lady of 2 different countries. She was married to the former president of Mozambique, Samora Machel, in 1975 who was killed in a plane crash in 1986. In 1998 she married Nelson Mandela former South African president.
RBal TIL when Paul Rudd was 10, he made a large LEGO model of Steelers punter Craig Colquitt. 30 years later, Craig’s son moved next door to Paul Rudd. Paul wanted to use this opportunity to give the LEGO model to Craig, but Paul’s mother broke it one day before Craig came into town to visit his son.
N7xjJ TIL that black walnut trees produce a toxin that is released from their roots, that can weaken or kill other plants near them.
womV8 TIL that there was a fish-eating dinosaur called "Irritator" that lived in Brazil. It got its name because paleontologists were confused and annoyed by how a complete skull of the dinosaur was artificially elongated by a fossil dealer using bone from other parts of the body and car body filler.