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TIL Christmas is thought to fall on Dec 25 because it symbolizes the sun’s return after the winter solstice

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1aNX7 TIL after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the American Red Cross raised almost half a billion dollars “to help Haitians rebuild” but they can't say where the money went
4XNN5 TIL that a veterinarian is often the first to see signs of domestic and child abuse
6ewJ TIL the pitch drop experiment is the world’s longest continuously running laboratory experiment. It measures the flow of a piece of pitch by counting the drops that fall from a funnel. Since 1927 8 drops have fallen. The ninth drop is expected to fall in 2013.
Bg7de TIL that British members of parliament are not allowed to resign their seats. To get around this, they're appointed to one of two "office[s] of profit under the Crown". Since MPs aren't allowed to hold those positions, this automatically disqualifies them from sitting in parliament.
woENo TIL: According to the ICRC, taking and killing hostages is a war crime.