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TIL that in 1933, U.S. President Roosevelt unilaterally ordered most gold in Americans' private hands to be transferred or sold to the government. Possessing more than 4 oz of gold was penalized by steep fines or up to 10 years imprisonment. Owning gold remained illegal in the U.S. until 1974.

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JY9vB TIL the Queen of England is not the Queen of Canada or any other independent commonwealth nation. Although the position is held by the same person (Queen Elizabeth II), each country's monarchy is separate and legally distinct.
wLa1o TIL until the 1952 Olympics, cavalry soldiers were not allowed to compete in the modern pentathlon in the Olympics, due to being considered professional athletes, because they rode and trained horses for a living. Cavalry officers were however considered amateurs and allowed to compete before 1952.
b9NMZ TIL G.H Hardy came up with a scale of mathematical ability that went from 0 to 100. He put himself at 25. David Hilbert, the great German mathematician, was at 80. Ramanujan was 100. When he died in 1920 at the age of 32, he left behind three notebooks that still inspire mathematical work today
LQbJv TIL Nazi Germany, Francoist Spain, and the Soviet Union repressed Esperanto usage. The Nazis banned it because its creator was a Jew. Spain repressed it because Catalan nationalists used it heavily. Stalin banned it because the Association of Soviet Esperantists was thought to be a spy organization.
D4OY TIL that some cultures believed Vampires were arithmomaniacs and if you were being chased you could throw a handful of rice at them to forced the Vampire to stop and count each grain. This could also be the origin of “The Count” from Sesame Street.