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jerryscience : Sometime between the XVI and XVIII centuries, Venezuelan clergymen wrote to the Vatican with a special request. They had discovered an animal that lived in water, had webbed feet, and tasted like fish. With Lent approaching, they asked the Vatican to grant the animal the status of fish, so they might eat it during the upcoming days of meat-free fasting. By letter, the Catholic Church agreed, and the capybara-the largest living rodent in the world-became a coveted addition to many Lenten dinner tables.