› added 11 years ago

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TIL Christmas was influenced by Saturnalia, a week long period of lawlessness that included human sacrifice, intoxication, going from house to house while singing naked, rape and other sexual license.

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v1LwD TIL that Paris only has one sister city, Rome, as it is seen as the only city worthy of being twinned
e0vM5 TIL that out of the top 30 100m sprint times, only 9 were run by athletes not associated with doping, all 9 are by Usain Bolt.
l7Kn1 TIL that the saliva of Komodo dragons often contains blood because their teeth are almost entirely covered by gum tissue, which frequently tears during feeding
4k8A6 TIL of The Golden Spruce, a 300 year old, 170ft tall, Sitka spruce with a rare genetic mutation that gave its needles a golden color. It was a sacred symbol of the Haida people of British Columbia. It was cut down by Grant Hadwin, a forest engineer, as an act of protest of the logging industry.
KYwe9 TIL that the fragrance/perfume given as a gift to the Marquis de Lafayette by George Washington, is still produced by the same manufacturer today. The fragrance has been worn by Washington, John Quincy Adams, JFK, George Gershwin, and countless others.