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TIL of Harald Hadrada, a Viking who fled from his native Norway to Russia, then went on to become an elite guardsman in Eastern Roman Empire and fought in Iraq. He then went back to Russia to marry a princess, and arrived back in Norway as a king, and finally invaded England with his army.

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XEk1r TIL Mars (the owner of M&M’s) rejected a product placement deal in a film (E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial) about a boy who befriends an alien by luring him with candy, but Reese’s Pieces ( owned by Hershey’s) took a shot and and sales shot up 65% in the first two weeks after the movie hit the theaters.
v1Qbx TIL the history of country dail code dates back to 1960 published as the Red Book. In 1964 Red became Blue, and the world was divided into zones. World Zone 1 was NA, Zone 2 was Africa, Europe 3 and 4.
YpA4G TIL that preschool shows where characters ask the viewers directly to participate rarely have conflict. An early episode of Dora The Explorer that retold the three little pigs traumatised preschoolers because the viewers felt morally responsible for saving the pigs' lives.
1rvD TIL NASCAR Legend Dale Earnhardt, along with many other NASCAR drivers, resisted use of the HANS device when it was introduced. The HANS was developed specifically to help prevent Basilar skull fractures common to car racing. Earnhardt later died after suffering this exact injury.
nGNP TIL: Europe was much bigger, with a massive area of land connecting England, France, Denmark and Germany as recently as 8,000 BC. The landmass was washed away by one of the largest landslides and tsunamis known.