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TIL that Vladimir the Great chose to convert to Christianity instead of Islam, mainly because Islam doesn’t allow alcoholic consumption. He remarked “Drinking is the joy of all Rus’. We cannot exist without that pleasure.”

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M7Kpm TIL that Jonathan Yong Kim, aged 40, is an American U.S. Navy lieutenant commander, former SEAL, naval aviator, physician, and NASA astronaut.
Me5yA TIL the expression "avoid like the plague" originates from priest and theologian Saint Jerome (c. 347–420), who wrote, "Avoid, as you would the plague, a clergyman who is also a man of business.” Back then, clergymen were also politicians.
VM59Z TIL about Operation Hidden Mitten, a US law enforcement operation with the main purpose of keeping mitten crabs out of the country. This species of crab is extremely invasive, preys on local wildlife and carry parasites that affect human lungs.
78B8Z TIL that Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, one of the city’s most historic and prestigious cemeteries, maintained racially discriminatory burial policies for decades and only officially removed these restrictions in 1973.
awvLb TIL The three days without civilian aircraft above the US following 9/11 provided useful data to climatologists about how climate is altered by the high altitude exhaust of planes.