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TIL that knocking on wood for good luck comes from ancient beliefs in tree spirits. It evolved into a gesture for luck or averting misfortune.

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N7xGe TIL about "New Sincerity" a term referring to the general shift away from cynicism and irony in popular culture.
5VVKn TIL the color orange was named after the fruit orange, and not vice versa. Prior to its naming, it was referred to as yellow-red (ġeolurēad).
NXgJM TIL that ethologist John B. Calhoun created "rat utopias" in order to conduct over-population experiments between 1958 and 1962. Ultimately, the experiments ended in societal collapse.
J1KkV TIL that after attending a Queen concert in LA, Michael Jackson suggested to Freddie Mercury that the band should release "Another One Bites The Dust" as a single. After doing so, the song became a worldwide hit, spending 15 weeks in the Billboard Top 10, and is Queen’s bestselling single to date.
Z8m7a TIL a California Congressman once shot and killed a waiter, for being refused breakfast because it was too late in the morning. He was acquitted of manslaughter by a sympathetic jury.