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TIL a gladiator named Asteropaeus fought 107 times and survived to retire

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via reddit.com

PX1L TIL that there have been five attempts to ban coffee throughout history. The last attempt being in 1777 by Frederick the Great of Prussia who issued a manifesto declaring beer’s superiority over coffee. He believed that coffee interfered with the country’s beer consumption.
R7eR4 TIL that before women became the mainstay telephone operators were teenage boys. The change came about when the lads being pesky teenagers pulled too many pranks, got drunk on the job and swore down the phone
KOb4G TIL that voles comfort each other when mistreated. Also, the comforting voles have the same level of stress hormone of the mistreated one, suggesting that voles are capable of empathy
Py9e TIL Vikings used the bones of slain animals when smithing new weapons believing this would enchant the weapon with the animals spirit. This actually made the weapons stronger because the carbon in the bones coupled with the iron made a primitive version of steel.
Kg4Q TIL that a form of punishment towards homosexuality in Iraq involves using a strong glue to seal the anus, followed by the inducing of diarrhea, which results in torturous death.