Post * oBelY — Curious Curator

› added 6 years ago

88

TIL that in 17th century Russia, bearded man were required to pay a tax in order to be able to keep it. They also had to carry a token with the phrase "the beard is a superfluous burden"

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J1QOQ TIL about the Derg, a Communist revolutionary group in Ethiopia responsible for abolishing the monarchy. The Derg are also responsible for wide spread famine during the 80s that started Live Aid (which fell into controversy as some of the NGOs were funneling money to Derg programs)

GYAjQ TIL that the first Sherlock Holmes novel, "A Study In Scarlet" features an evil Mormon plot and Brigham Young in a villainous role.

W7O6L TIL Japanese government once banned imported skis because "The snow is different in Japan"

QNoxe TIL of the infamous candle caper of Halloween night, October 31, 1687, Hartford, Connecticut, in the upper room at Zachariah Sanford's tavern. Demand was made. The document was produced. Then, the candles went out.

X0avE TIL: The poem, Catullus 16, written by Gaius Valerius Catullus in Ancient Rome went unpublished for centuries as it was extremely vulgar. The very first line "Pēdīcābo ego vōs et irrumābō " translates to "I will sodomize and facefuck you"