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TIL the X in Xmas literally means "Christ." In Greek, the word Christos (Christ) begins with the letter "X," or chi. Early in the early fourth century, Constantine the Great popularized the shorthand for Christ. Most scholars agree the first appearance of Xmas dates to an Anglo-Saxon scribe in 1021.

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yVAKa TIL a three-way civil war between Chinese Muslim rebels, a Tajik warlord, and Qing forces commanded by general Zuo Zongtang (also called General Tso) in western China between 1862 and 1877 resulted in over 20 million deaths. It was concurrent with the more famous Taiping rebellion.
Dx9V TIL illegal prime numbers exist. An illegal prime is a prime number that represents information which is forbidden to possess or distribute. For example: when interpreted in a particular way, a certain prime describes a computer program that bypasses the digital rights management scheme used on DVDs
xW15 TIL that Dan Akroyd wrote the character Dr. Peter Venkman (Ghostbusters) for John Belushi. After Belushi’s death, the part was rewritten for Bill Murray, and the character of Slimer became Belushi’s contribution to the film, since Akroyd based the character on Belushi’s wild personality.
Y5d TIL that acetaminophen (paracetamol) reduces the pain of social rejection
Dvmr TIL movies for Portal and Half Life have been announced