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TIL “It’s a Wonderful Life” only became popular because tv stations could play it for free during Christmas season.

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v1Z47 TIL that Mozart had an extreme dislike for the soprano Adriana Ferrarese del Bene. She had a strange tendency to bob her head to low and high notes, and knowing this, Mozart chose to fill her showpiece with constant harmonic leaps. He took great pleasure watching her bob her head "like a chicken".
kRpd TIL - Since 2008, more than 44 BILLION dollars has been spent on gift cards that were then never used.
8ePkP TIL That Alexander Keith Jr, the nephew of the famed Canadian brewer, was a US confederate spy, blew up a freighter with dynamite for insurance fraud, was blamed for missing ocean liners, and had his severed head on display until it was destroyed by German bombing
woRP TIL when Sequoyah invented the Cherokee syllabary (making reading and writing in Cherokee possible) it became the only time in recorded history that a member of a non-literate people independently created an effective writing system.
b6ejQ TIL that Super Bowl halftime shows were typically boring until the sketch comedy show 'In Living Color' aired a live special opposite of the Super Bowl XXVI halftime show in 1992. The special drew over 20 million views. The next year the NFL booked Michael Jackson for the halftime show.