title: Why does Python print unicode characters when the default encoding is ASCII?
body: <p>From the Python 2.6 shell:</p>
  
  <pre><code>&gt;&gt;&gt; import sys
  &gt;&gt;&gt; print sys.getdefaultencoding()
  ascii
  &gt;&gt;&gt; print u'\xe9'
  é
  &gt;&gt;&gt; 
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I expected to have either some gibberish or an Error after the print statement, since the "é" character isn't part of ASCII and I haven't specified an encoding. I guess I don't understand what ASCII being the default encoding means.</p>
  
  <p><strong>EDIT</strong></p>
  
  <p><a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2596714/why-does-python-print-unicode-characters-when-the-default-encoding-is-ascii/21968640#21968640">I moved the edit to the <strong>Answers</strong> section and accepted it as suggested.</a></p>