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TIL that on December 25th, the ancient Romans would celebrate Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, the birthday of their sun god. The holiday eventually morphed into Christmas.

Read more ancienthistory.about.com

via reddit.com

XdwR TIL that Frank Sinatra always carried 10 dimes after once fearing he would run out of change while talking on a payphone with his son’s kidnappers. He was even buried with them in his pocket.
kdm7 TIL that in 1995 an Australian doctor created the ‘Deliverance Machine’: a euthanasia device which utilised a software called 'Deliverance’ - patients were posed three questions via a notebook computer, if they answered yes to all three, the machine administered a lethal dose of barbiturates.
nejor TIL the land the department store chain Macy's owns is worth more ($16 billion) than the company itself ($6.4 billion)
kOG11 TIL that in the city of Yiwu in eastern China, people were confused how a Chinese couple managed to run a busy restaurant 21 hours a day without getting tired. Locals named them "robot couple restaurant". Turns out the restaurant is run by two couples, both the men and women are identical twins.
nEWW TIL at the height of the Cold War the titanium used in building the legendary SR-71 Blackbird was sourced by the CIA (via dummy companies) from the completely oblivious Soviet Union.