› added 6 years ago

131

TIL that there are stones called tsunami stones that dot the coastline of Japan. They read, “Remember the calamity of the great tsunamis. Do not build any homes below this point.“

Read more nytimes.com

via reddit.com

VMQbG TIL that Houston Street in New York is pronounced "HOW-stən" because it was named after William Houstoun (Statesman from Georgia). The City of Houston, Texas (pronounced "HYOO-stən") was named for Sam Houston - the only person to be elected governor of two different states (Texas and Tennessee).
YYkG TIL Mexico built a big fence on their Southern border with Guatamala to keep smugglers and contraband out
XEmbk TIL that studies have shown that organic food is worse for the environment than non-organic, and is unsustainable due to its higher land use requirements
4Xv8b TIL Both Handel and Bach were blinded by a quack oculist named John Taylor, who travelled around Europe in a coach decorated with eyes and later died blind himself.
KNvG TIL that 1 in 10,000 people (0.01%) have their internal organs reversed!