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Today I Learned Saint Nicholas became associated with secret gift-giving to children because it's said he secretly gave a poor family money during the night. The father could not afford a dowry so his three daughters were destined to never marry and become sex workers without St. Nick's help.

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VMOb0 TIL A Navy study showed that washing hands 5 times daily reduced incidence of respiratory infections by 45% over a two year period.
R7AXl TIL of Queen Constance of Italy, who in 1194 gave birth to her heir (the future Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II) at the age of 40. She supposedly gave birth publicly to refute rumors about her maternity
R7DBQ TIL that Ireland is the only country in Europe to have a lower population now than 100 years ago. This can mostly be attributed to the Great Irish Famine which caused over 4 million to die or emigrate on coffin ships. The British sending food to Britain greatly contributed to mass starvation.
01aR TIL the creator of Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie, based the idea of a character that would never grow up on his older brother who died the day before his 14th birthday, thus remaining a boy forever in his mother’s mind.
DQvPj TIL that echidnas don't have teeth. They have ridges of small, spike-like protrusions made of keratin on their tongues and the roofs of their mouths that help grind down their food