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TIL that fighting off bad spirits is serious business in Romania, and they do it in the coolest way possible—with a bear dance! You guys... every December, people in Comănești wear intricate bear costumes and perform traditional dances to banish evil spirits and welcome in the new year!

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4XLBR TIL: The vampire squid is not a squid or an octopus. It is the only living member of Vampyromorpha, an ancient cephalopod order which was a precursor to squids and octopuses
6k8J TIL in 1775, about 70 years after the last Dodo’s death, the director of Oxford’s Natural History museum decided the museum’s stuffed Dodo was becoming too tattered and ordered it burned. A passing employee noticed and rescued a head and a limb. This is the last remainder of an actual dodo we have.
PYoPn TIL In stocks, being "short" a stock means you have sold a borrowed share, in hopes that it gets cheaper. You owe a share back, but you are "short" it until you buy it back to return to the lender.
N5oM TIL on September 26th, 2011 Mikey Welsh posted on Twitter, “Dreamt I died in Chicago next weekend (heart attack in my sleep). Need to write my will today” followed by, “Correction - the weekend after next”. He died October 8th, 2011 from a heart attack in his sleep in a hotel room. In Chicago.
nZwd TIL, the Civil War prison camp Elmira had two observation towers constructed for onlookers. Citizens paid 15 cents to look at the inmates. Concession stands by the towers sold peanuts, cakes, and lemonade while the men inside starved