› added 9 months ago

36

TIL about "Grandpa Indian" (Vovô Índio), a Brazilian character created in the 1930s with the intention of providing a "patriotic" alternative to Santa Claus in Christmastide imagery. Promoted by the far-right Integralist movement, the attempt was widely mocked, and few trace of the character remain.

d8okZ TIL a Japanese company gives its workers up to 10 paid days of bereavement leave if their favourite "oshi" (idol singer) is retiring or getting married, and up to 3 days for secondary or lower-ranked "oshi". They also fast-track approvals for employees to leave work early for their oshi's concerts
ANOMn TIL that after leading a peasant revolt in Hungary in 1514, György Dósza was punished by being chained to a heated iron throne and had pieces of flesh torn off by hot pliers. His followers were then forced to eat him alive by biting the spots where the pliers were inserted and to swallow his flesh.
NwKP TIL that Stalin, sent an expedition to open Timur (Tamerlane) Kahn’s tomb, which had an inscription that read, ““Whoever disturbs my tomb will unleash an invader more terrible than I,” and two days later Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa, the largest and most brutal invasion of WWII.
0wOZ1 TIL In 1906 a tomb (KV50) containing a well preserved mummified dog was discovered in the Valley of the Kings. Also, they found some of the dog’s belongings. They were fragrance bottle, a food bowl and a water bowl that has some inscriptions and Nile fish drawings.
86g4 TIL in 1975, Leonard Nimoy published his autobiography I Am Not Spock. In 1995, he published a second volume: I AM Spock.