› added 9 years ago

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TIL Russia banned the sale of vodka during World War I. The government immediately lost a third of its income.

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EgmZw TIL of the Underground Great Wall of China, a 5,000 kilometre long system of tunnels and roads used by China to transport ICBM's to their individual silos. Chinese sources reference the facilities to be a kilometre deep and reinforced against potential attack.
XPg8 TIL China had the worst rocket disaster in history during a 1996 launch at Xichang and covered up an estimated 500 deaths.
9wrKD TIL nearly 24% of women living in England in the year 1800 were named Mary while nearly 22% of the men were named John. The popularity of the names declined over the years to nearly 4% and 5% respectively by 1994.
9Y6wX TIL Nathan Jones, the guy who played the giant Brad Pitt kills in the beginning of Troy, was once on Australia’s most wanted for a spate of 8 armed robberies committed between 1985 and 1987. He ended up serving 7 years in maximum security and was introduced to powerlifting while incarcerated.
wLXmY TIL Zoroastrianism (dating back to 2000 BC) is the only religion which has a creationism myth based on the contemporary Spherical Earth