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TIL Xerxes the Great ordered the Hellespont strait be whipped 300 times after a bridge being constructed over the strait collapsed during a storm. The second attempt to build the bridge was successful.

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e07gn TIL that the "Thirty pieces of silver" paid to Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus Christ would be worth approximately $200 (USD) today.
OoPkY TIL Canada Post has an annual “Letters To Santa” program where children can mail a letter to Santa and receive a personalized response. The team is equipped with psychologists and social workers to deal with “special letters” and give appropriate responses if they feel the child is in danger.
jv6X TIL in 1943, a Mexican farmer named Dionisio Pulido had a volcano start to form in his corn field. By the early 50s it was over 400 meters tall. Before being evacuated and leaving his home for the last time, he left a sign that read “This volcano is owned and operated by Dionisio Pulido.”
DQokj TIL that Alaska congressman Mike Gravel spoke only French until the age of seven
QJ9ed TIL about Operation Flagship, where the U.S. Marshals sent letters to 5,000 fugitives telling them that they had won NFL tickets, and to come and collect their prize at a Convention Center. 100 people showed up and were arrested for their outstanding warrants.