› added 12 years ago

112

TIL that living in too sterile of an environment can cause the development of allergies.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

KOy56 TIL after Warren Harding’s Teapot Dome scandal the House and Senate were given subpoena power for review of tax records of any US citizen without regard to elected or appointed position, nor subject to White House interference.
xA9k TIL In 1965, Andre the Giant received a draft notice for French’s peace time army, but was unable to join as there were no shoes big enough, bunks long enough, or trenches deep enough to accommodate him.
OoMAY TIL in 2004 Norwegian robbers stole 57.4 million kroner from a NOKAS cash depot. They were all found and jailed in the next 3 years, but the case had cost Norway about 160 million kroner to solve, and only about 6.4 million were recovered.
d8nXd TIL about Impatiens glandulifera or Himalayan Balsam. We have a plant that is very common near us and grows very quickly throughout our local area along rivers. I assumed it was Japanese Knotweed, however on closer investigation it is not, but is still an invasive species brought to the UK in 1839.
pov8 TIL that a clock at a university in New Zealand that runs on changes in air pressure and temperature has been running nearly continuously without being wound since its construction in 1864, stopping only when it needed to be cleaned or moved.