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TIL 19th century England was swept by "Egyptomania", a renewed interest in Egypt's past. Rich Victorians would travel to Egypt and bring back ancient mummies with which they would hold "mummy unwrapping parties" for their friends.

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kOyX7 TIL that in South Korea, November 11th is known as "Pepero Day". It involves the gifting or exchange of Pepero snacks, a line of chocolate-dipped cookie sticks, with the intention of displaying affection for friends and loved ones.
5vD9 TIL of the Brabham BT46B. An F1 car that vacuum sucked itself to the track. It raced only a single time before getting banned, and won by over 30 seconds.
MWOm TIL the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” that swept the Internet in 2014 raised $115 million, of which 67% went to research, 20% to patient and community services, and 9% to public and professional education. In addition, the ALS Association has since tripled its annual budget for research.
ANRXx TIL that an English chemist named James Price claimed to be able to turn mercury into silver or gold. When asked by members of the Royal Society to perform the experiment in front of credible witnesses, he reluctantly agreed, only to drink poison in front of them instead.
p8pyQ TIL that the Boston Tea Party was caused by the British giving the East India Company tax breaks which allowed the company to undercut the price of smuggled tea in the colonies. This threatened the commercial interests of Boston’s wealthy smugglers, such as John Hancock, who fomented the revolt