› added 3 years ago

87

TIL the small town of Rangely, Colorado is home to a disused water tank that was repurposed into a concert and recording venue due to its internal resonance of up to 40 seconds.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

MeBx7 TIL that in the 1940s and 50s, the Quebec government deliberately misdiagnosed 20,000 orphans with mental illnesses as they would get larger federal subsidies for psychiatric patients than for orphans. The orphans were confined to psychiatric institutions, many being abused and lobotomised.
R7Rw6 TIL that in 1799 Aaron Burr raised $2mil to provide drinking water to Manhattan. He used $1.9mil of that to found a bank instead, and the water he did provide was often contaminated. NYC did not have a clean water source until 1842. The bank he founded is now known as JPMorgan Chase
VB1w0 TIL - The first automotive recall was for the Ford Model T due to chigger bites. Ford either used Spanish Moss for seat padding or Spanish Moss as stuffing for Cypress wood crates, with the Cypress being used for the dashboard. Both items created a small ecosystem for the chiggers.
ADQYd TIL that red-haired people were considered poisonous in the middle ages. People planned to melt the fat from them and use it as poison.
R5kp1 TIL Under particular conditions, some volcanic vents can produce large visible smoke rings