› added 7 months ago

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TIL that Washington Irving the American creator of Sleepy Hollow was integral to popularizing our current understanding of not only Halloween, but also Christmas. His stories of a British manor at Christmas time would go on to inspire Charles Dickens.

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rNm1o TIL Karey Mullis - the scientist who developed PCR (the technique used to detect viruses like HIV) did not believe HIV existed. He also came up with tbe idea of PCR - which garnered him the nobel prize - by conversing with a glowing alien racoon.
gQoD TIL there is a super rare blood type called RH Null that only around 10-40 people in the world have.
VBkKZ TIL American WW2 airplanes were sent to war unpainted starting in 1943. The polished surface made the planes faster and lighter, giving more range to all planes and more cargo hold for the bombers
V9rp TIL Spain has a land border with Morocco, as it stills has sovereignty over two small coastal cities in North Africa, Melilla and Ceuta.
D1ONv TIL that, despite being one of the oldest national teams (played first game in 1870), England national football team didn't have a manager until 1946, and until then the "Selection Committee" was in charge of player selection, tactics and substitutes