› added 5 years ago

105

TIL Coca-Cola marketing is partly responsible for the modern depiction of Santa Claus. Illustrator Haddon Sundblom drew Santa for a 1931 Coke ad in The Saturday Evening Post. His drawing was inspired by the 1822 poem 'A Visit from St. Nicholas' (commonly called 'Twas the Night Before Christmas').

EgoXo TIL that Tommy Maddox left the NFL after five unsuccessful years as a QB, and became an insurance agent. Two years later, an arena football team asked him to play. Maddox sold his agency and accepted the offer. He eventually returned to the NFL and helped the Pittsburgh Steelers win Super Bowl XL.
jN54n TIL Joe Walsh's Maserati 5000 GT couldn't do 185 (closer to 170) mph, but the top speedometer marking is 300 kph (186 mph). It was impounded by Austrailian authorities after being inspected for the presence of asbestos. Also, each 5000 GT had a custom body so each one is unique. Links in comments.
kON6B TIL That the punk band NOFX received many offers to sign with major record labels, but the band declined the offers. Thay stated that they explicitly rejected the advances of major record labels and radio airplay, stating "We've been doing fine all these years without you so leave us alone!"
JYjMv TIL that rubber bullets were invented by the British Ministry of Defence for use against rioters in the Troubles in Northern Ireland, first used there in 1970
xZB7 TIL that in 2015 more people died trying to take selfies than from shark attacks