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TIL of Chinese folklore's "Pixiu", a creature that was banished from the heavens for being unruly--; It was spanked by the Jade Emperor so hard that its butthole was sealed, leaving it cursed to a diet of gold, silver, and jewels but unable to expel any of it.

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b5rj TIL. Russia implemented prohibition for 11 years, from 1914 to 1925. The ban was enacted even though roughly 1/3 of the government’s entire revenue came through the sale of vodka. It was called “…the single greatest act of national heroism. ”
XE0BQ TIL Christopher Columbus was stuck in Jamaica with angry natives refusing to give him food. Knowing that a lunar eclipse was going to happen, Columbus told the natives that his gods were angry for refusing him food. After the eclipse, the scared natives gave him lots of food and begged for mercy.
x61b0 TIL of the “Christ of Europe”, a Polish concept that sees Poland as a Christ-like martyr for the sins of Europe owing to the historical oppression suffered by the Polish people
lorYA TIL NASA officially banned consuming Alcohol in space in 1972 after sherry was proposed for Skylab meals, but it never really went away. “NASA will tell you there is no alcohol aboard the ISS” says astronaut Clayton Anderson. “As a person who lived there for five months, I’ll tell you that’s bogus."
4Xoma TIL of the Xylospongium, also known as sponge on a stick, was a hygienic utensil used by ancient Romans to wipe their anus after defecating, consisting of a wooden stick with a sea sponge fixed at one end.