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TIL after David Letterman left NBC for CBS, his show was offered to both Dana Carvey and Garry Shandling, who both turned it down. Conan O'Brien eventually got the gig, while Shandling also turned down the same 12:30 slot at CBS in favor of his own HBO sitcom.

OGAj6 TIL After Nazi Germany's failure to take Moscow in 1942 some members of German leadership considered the war unwinnable and wanted a political end to the war. Albert Speer created propaganda about massive increases in military production that convinced people the war was still winnable.
4P7w TIL In 1978, a dangerous cult called Synanon tried to murder an opponent by placing an de-rattled rattlesnake in his mailbox. The snake did bite Attorney Paul Morantz, but he survived and went on to prosecute Synanon, as well as Church of Scientology, Hare Krishnas, and more.
8amXa TIL Actress Ruth Wilson’s grandfather, Alexander Wilson, was a serial bigamist, spy, and MI6 officer. She portrayed her own grandmother, Alison, in a three part drama series about the discovery of his parallel lives.
vPj4D TIL the Coffee Break was first utilized during WWII at a necktie factory in Colorado. Wigwam Weavers gave two coffee breaks a day to its workers so that the caffeine boost would increase productivity.
wowMP TIL that chocolate has 6 different solid phases (structural states), each with different melting points, and must be "tempered" to get it to solidify uniformly into phase V, which is considered the most pleasant form in terms of food qualities, although not the most stable at room temperature.