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TIL The first international sporting event of the modern era was a cricket match between the Dominion of Canada and the United States in 1844 (this pre-dated the modern Olympics by ~50 years)

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via reddit.com

yQMb8 TIL a license to sell Star Wars merchandise cost $750,000 dollars. Before the original film had even been released.
Z8MZD TIL AT&T only put the * and # buttons on the phone keypad because they had extra space, and they figured maybe someone someday will find some use for them.
69WO7 TIL That there is a school of Santas! It is in Midland where men are taught sign language and other skills, for playing their character!!
0L6p TIL that AT&T held an absolute monopoly on all telephone service in the United States for 100 years until it was broken up in 1984 due to anti-trust regulations. Most cell phone companies today are descendants of AT&T including Verizon and AT&T (formerly Southwestern Bell).
8Rxa TIL Chinese say “eggplant” instead of “cheese” when taking pictures.