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TIL that Edgar Degas’ statue Little Dancer Aged Fourteen, depicting a Paris “opera rat,” was reviled by critics in 1881 as “repulsive” and “vicious.” Today, the original sculpture is at the National Gallery of Art in D.C., and bronze casts made after his death can be found in many other museums.

a45o TIL there is a legend that flexible glass was invented around 20AD, when a craftsman presented Tiberius Caesar a bowl of this glass, whereupon he threw it to the ground and it did not shatter. Fearing the implications of such a material, the Caesar had the man beheaded, the formula now lost forever.
dDJgZ TIL that when a formerly Christian person converts to some varieties of Slavic neopaganism, they undergo a formal ceremony called raskrestitsia (de-Christianization) which involves kneeling on twigs, as priests carrying fire walk around them in a circle. At the end, they receive a scoopful of mead.
lvXr TIL The first Memorial Day was a funeral held by freed slaves for Union soldiers who liberated them after the American Civil War in 1865
1aEMW TIL that nurses have a rate of depression double that of the general public. They often might choose not to get treated since they believe it can affect their job and because of the stigma they might face.
PYwvw TIL The famously large President Taft followed a weight loss program. Taft was in contact with Dr. Yorke-Davies for over twenty years and kept a daily record of his weight, food intake, and physical activity. Taft managed to go from 340 to 244 pounds and walked 3 miles to the Capitol every day.