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TIL the first paper gift card was created by an Oregon glove company in 1908 that advertised "gift givers need not worry about picking the right size or color glove"; department store Neiman Marcus created the first plastic card; and Blockbuster Video was a pioneer of displaying them to customers

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a9y9 TIL 50 years ago a young girl died in the canals surrounding an uninhabited island in Xochimilco, Mexico. Ever since, dolls have been washed ashore, and the few natives hang them in memory of the young girl. The island is known as “Island of the Dolls”
rR6e0 TIL Hollywood Actor James Garner was a decorated Military Veteran who served in WWII and Korea. He was awarded the purple heart twice in Korea, once from a friendly fire incident where he was shot in the buttocks by a U.S. Fighter as he dove into a foxhole. He was given his medal 32 years later.
Q8JL TIL that dogs years are not 7:1 to human years, as it is generally thought.
9YV8r TIL that Homework was extremely controversial in the 1800s and early 1900. In 1901 California even banned homework for everybody under the age of 15.
wL6gJ TIL that South America was once inhabited by giant sloths (Megatherium). It weighed up to 4 tonnes (similar to a present day elephant) and on its hind legs it would have stood 3.5m (12ft), which make it the largest bipedal mammal of all time. It lived from ca 400'000 ago until ca 8'000 ago.