› added 9 years ago

149

TIL there were more people in the Americas than in Europe at the time of first contact… 90% were then destroyed by plague

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1arEW TIL In 1947, Harry Truman became the first President to make an official visit to Mexico City. "I have never had such a welcome in my life," he told the Mexican legislature as hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets to see and cheer an American President for the first time
78O9r TIL of the Bonnacon, a legendary creature with the head and body of a bull, but with horns curled inwards, making them useless for fighting. As such, it would run away from hunters and predators, squirting caustic/fiery excrement up to 2000ft (600m) in it's wake
yVjmM TIL that women are 2x as likely as men to have insomnia
LQBL9 TIL suicides nationally climbed by 10% after Robin Williams' death; researchers established a clear parallel between the increase and sensationalized coverage/headlines about his death that breached CDC guidelines, focused on the way of death.
xVQ10 TIL In 1803, a group of Japanese fishermen encountered a strange boat containing a young woman described as beautiful and strange. She had red eyebrows, about 18 or 20 years old, at a height of 1.5 meters, with pale skin and red hair. The frightened fishermen returned her to the sea