› added 4 years ago

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TIL that instead of Santa, Catalonia has Tio de Nadal the shitting Christmas log. Traditionally, a family brings a log inside and the children “feed” it before Christmas. Then on Christmas Day they literally beat the shit out it, because if they fed it well enough it will shit out presents.

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5YPpn TIL that Spanish military outpost Penon de Velez de la Gomera on the Moroccan coastline forms the shortest international border in the entire world, spanning only 74 meters. It was also once an island until a 1934 storm left the sandy isthmus that serves as the border today.
p8l4A TIL Cowboys didn’t actually wear Cowboy hats, but rather wore derby or bowler hats. The iconic Stetson style was not popular until the end of the 19th century and by then the Cowboy era was ending.
P5xg TIL Santa’s reindeer, Donner and Blitzen (German for thunder and lightning) were originally Dunder and Blixem (Dutch for the same)
VMJWQ TIL bubble gum is traditionally pink because its inventor wanted to mask the gray color of the original formula with the dye he had on hand: red.
loQXV TIL that A flatworm parasite called Ribeiroia ondatrae infects several species of frogs just as they're developing their limbs