› added 1 year ago

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TIL in mid-1843, writer Charles Dickens began to suffer from financial problems, and matters worsened when his publishers threatened to reduce his monthly income. To prevent this, Dickens’ spent 6 weeks obsessively writing a novella. The result? “A Christmas Carol” - which sold out in 3 days.

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R5kgQ TIL: Paper Sons were the result of anti-immigration laws passed in the way 1900s to limit Chinese immigration into the US. Chinese people would fake birth certificates that showed they were children of people who had already immigrated (making them sons/daughters on paper).
VBJjG TIL about Kukur Tihar, a Nepali Hindu festival dedicated to celebrating and praising dogs. They are given treats and garlands and it considered sinful to be anything less than kind to them.
GYaJ5 TIL Air Conditioning was invented in 1881 in an effort to cool the mortally wounded U.S. President James A. Garfield
x6B87 TIL that seagulls can swallow a whole starfish
D1rjr TIL about The Tragically Hip, "the most Canadian band in the world". They have sold more albums in Canada than global bands like U2, and have had nine albums in the #1 spot on Canadian charts, but are virtually unknown outside of Canada.