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TIL as late as the 1850s, Santa Claus was said to deliver gifts on New Year’s Eve instead of Christmas Eve in many parts of America & Europe — ultimately, the widespread popularity of “Twas the Night Before Christmas” helped solidify Christmas Eve as the date

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89x8 TIL When Adolf Hitler offered German WWI military hero General von Lettow-Vorbeck an ambassadorship, Vorbeck hold hitler to “go fuck himself.” Although repeatedly harassed by the Nazis, he survived their regime due to his popularity.
xV9aB TIL that to disguise their pre-production cars, automakers specially design patterned vinyl wraps that "flatten" character lines of the vehicle, hiding its shape and design features from both eyes and cameras.
9KyM TIL Thomas Jefferson wrote his State of the Union messages, instead of delivering them in a speech like George Washington. All presidents followed Jefferson’s lead until Woodrow Wilson resurrected Washington’s precedent in 1913.
KYRpG TIL that a family of ducks came into the lane of rower Bobby Pearce in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, and he let them pass and stopped rowing, but still won by nearly 30 seconds. He was undefeated in single sculls for the next 20 years.
JYj0l TIL that Christmas used to be illegal in Massachusetts. After 1681, Christmas was no longer a crime, but was completely taboo. Anyone caught making merry or singing carols was prosecuted for disturbing the peace. It remained taboo until 1870, when the federal government made it a national holiday.