› added 5 months ago

20

TIL about Kwanzaa, an African American holiday created in 1966 as an alternative to Christmas.

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WkQa4 TIL that the Count in Sesame Street does not count all the time to teach children numbers! In folklore, vampires had arithmomania, or an obsession with numbers. This derives from the old superstition that throwing poppy seeds on the ground stopped vampires because they had to count them all first.
X09dQ TIL the name “Phoenix” for the capital of Arizona stems from the history of the city being built on previously constructed canals by the Hohokam, just as the Phoenix in mythology rises from the ashes of its former iteration
oRrQE TIL that Varina Davis, the First Lady of the Confederate States of America, was personally opposed to slavery and doubted the Confederacy could ever succeed. After her husband’s death, she moved to New York City and wrote that “the right side had won the Civil War.”
nW4pB TIL about the Council of Appointment, a government body of NY that existed from 1777-1822. It was made up of the Governor and 4 state senators, and could appoint officials which weren't provided a means of selection by the Constitution. This included cabinet members, judges, and mayors.
kOwem TIL that our strongest memories are usually widely inaccurate. It feels like memories of traumatic events “burn” themselves into our minds to remain there forever, but studies have shown that the stronger the emotional state you were in during that event, the more inaccurate the memory is.