› added 8 years ago

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TIL The shrine buildings at Ise, Shinto’s holiest site, are torn down & rebuilt every 20yrs in line with the belief in the impermanence of all things & as a way to pass building techniques across generations. The buildings have existed for ~1300yrs; the 63rd rebuilding occurs in 2033.

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09LN TIL that in 2009, Chinese press agencies spoke about a Swedish town called “Chako Paul City”. Men were allegedly banned and all 25,000 residents were sex-craving females who often turned to lesbianism. Although the town didn’t exist, millions of Chinese men still flocked Swedish tourist-companies.
e0eME TIL The saw used to cut off a cast cannot cut human skin. The saw vibrates rather than rotating which can be absorbed by the skin but splits the cast.
L87r TIL of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker who, during the Civil War, stood on the Union front lines for nearly two years, including the wake of the bloody Battle of Chickamauga. She is the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor.
rNaDM TIL Orson Welles was just 25-yrs-old when he directed, co-wrote, starred in and produced his very first feature film, "Citizen Kane" in 1941. Today, "Citizen Kane" is frequently ranked as the greatest film ever made due to the innovative techniques used during its production.
vPQGR TIL that in 1715, Pope Clement XI expressed condemnation of Chinese rites and Confucian rituals after centuries of debate on how Catholicism would accommodate local folk beliefs in China when spreading the faith there. This period of debate was known as the Chinese rites controversy.