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TIL that the 13th amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery except as a punishment for a crime

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D1NAp TIL that in 2002 a UK man asked the court if he could settle his minor dirivng fine with a 'trial by combat', the court declined this request.
5Y95Q TIL that Pluto was discovered by a 23 year old farmboy with no degree in astronomy who spent a year comparing photographs of the night sky, searching for a "star" that changed positions. He would later earn his Masters degree and teach at New Mexico State
y9Rv TIL the original actor for Dumbledore, Richard Harris, intended to turn down the role due to his declining health, but later agreed to play the character after his 11-year-old granddaughter threatened to never speak to him if he refused the role.
78lep TIL 10 facts about Hadrian’s Wall, the Roman Empire’s northern frontier, which was built in the 2nd century CE as a defense against British tribes.
D1ykJ TIL of a 1698 beard tax in Russia, in which authorities were authorized by Emperor Peter I to publicly shave individuals who did not pay the tax on their beards. The tax was designed to make Russian men conform to Western European notions of grooming.