"TIL tipping was abolished in Switzerland in 1974 after a dispute over taxes on tips. Service is now included in prices, with higher wages replacing tips."
"TIL When the Wii U failed miserably, the Nintendo CEO halved his own salary for half a year, instead of laying off his employees."
"TIL that during the filming of the 2014 film Muppets Most Wanted Danny Trejo's mom passed away. Danny managed to keep it all together when people on set gave him their condolences, until Kermit offered his own, which caused him to run to the bathroom to bawl his eyes out."
"TIL when a crow die, other crows gather to investigate about what has happened and why the crow died."
"TIL Quebec's ban on toy and fast food ads directed at children under 13 has contributed to a reduction in childhood obesity rates."
"TIL there is no official Calvin and Hobbes merchandise besides the compilation books. Bill Watterson was vehemently against merchandising his characters and even went as far as to say, "Only thieves and vandals have made money on Calvin and Hobbes merchandise.""
"TIL that the picture “The Scream” by Edvard Munch does not depict a person screaming, but rather someone reacting to hearing a scream."
"TIL an off-duty nurse saved a boy's life by giving him CPR when his heart stopped after he was hit in the chest with a baseball bat during a Little League game. Seven years later that same boy saved the nurse's life by giving her the Heimlich maneuver after she started choking in a restaurant."
"TIL Steven Spielberg beat James Cameron to the film rights of Jurassic Park by just a few hours. However after Cameron saw Spielberg's film, he realized that Spielberg was the right person for it because dinosaurs are for kids and he would've made "Aliens with dinosaurs.""
"TIL that in 2009, a campaign succeeded in making Rage Against the Machine's 'Killing in the Name' the Christmas number 1 best-selling single in the UK after the public grew tired of X Factor winners topping the chart every year."
"TIL that although the location of the former base of MI6 from 1964 to 1994 was meant to be classified, The Daily Telegraph called it "London's worst-kept secret, known only to every taxi driver, tourist guide and KGB agent"."
"TIL in 1914, 4-year-old Charlotte May Pierstorff was shipped via parcel post. At 32 cents, her parents found it cheaper than a train ticket. Just under the 50lb limit, May rode in the train's mail compartment with a stamp on her jacket and was delivered to her grandmother by the mail clerk on duty."
"TIL in Icelandic folklore there's a cat called Jólaköttur or Yule Cat. It lurks in the snowy countryside during the Christmas season and eats people who do not receive new clothing before Christmas Eve."
"TIL about the oldest barrel of drinkable wine, made in 1472. It’s only been tasted 3 times - in 1576 to celebrate an alliance; in 1716 after a fire; and finally in 1944 when Strasbourg was liberated during World War II."
"TIL in 1984, 13-year-old Andy Smith wrote to President Reagan asking for funds to clean his bedroom after his mom called it a “disaster area”. Raegan sent a tongue-in-cheek reply saying his funds were “dangerously low” and suggested he practice volunteerism instead to solve local problems."
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