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TIL it is believed that one of the reasons for the paranoia and bizarre behavior that led to the Salem Witch Trials was caused because of a fungus, Ergot, which grows on rye plants and is a close cousin of LSD. Mistaking it for large rye grain, Salem villagers ground it into their bread and ate it.

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G5YG TIL that Superman actor Christopher Reeve was interested in Scientology until he was auditing and told them about a “past life” that was really a story from Greek mythology; he was disillusioned that they believed his lie and stopped pursuing Scientology
xVJj0 TIL in China the Yuan is the physical medium of exchange, but the official currency of China is called the Renminbi.
nWvXG TIL that Charles V, at the height of his reign, controlled Spain, southern Italy, the Holy Roman Empire, Burgundy, and Spanish America. This was the first empire to called "the empire on which the sun never sets".
R718Q TIL A wood peckers tongue wraps all the way around its skull
XEadX TIL about Olm a rare salamander one of whom lives in an underwater cave in Bosnia and Herzegovina that has not moved for 2,569 days (~7 years). The amphibian salamanders, known as olms, are blind and can live up to 100 years. Olms are only motivated to move when they mate, usually every 12.5 years.