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TIL In December 1944, US soldier Richard Brookins dressed up as St. Nicolas to hand out gifts to the children of Wiltz, Luxembourg. Though 80% of Wiltz was destroyed soon after, the event is celebrated each year with a 40s "GI" dressed as St. Nick. Brookins passed in 2018, having visited many times.

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5YmOQ TIL gastrolith is a term for when animals store small rocks in their gastrointestinal tract and use them to grind food when they lack the suitable teeth.
OoZdY TIL about the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special - which only aired once - included a singing debut from Princess Leia, Chewie's wife Malla and family, Bea Arthur as a singing cantina bartender, and a loose plot with the crew trying to get home for Life Day
epB95 TIL of the Salerno Mutiny, in which 191 British soldiers refused to participate in the invasion of Italy at Salerno after believing they were returning to the U.K. Three men were initially sentenced to death while the rest were sentenced to prison. These sentences were eventually suspended.
E1OvV TIL Genetic variations may make some people's brain more open to thoughts, sensations and behaviors that don't make it past the average person's mental filters. These same variations may also explain why many highly creative people seem eccentric at times—or even suffer from mental illness
7rQLb TIL anteaters are incapable of producing their own digestive acids. They instead use formic acid found in the stinging venom of the ants they eat, which essentially means the ants are dissolved in their own acid.