› added 5 years ago

97

TIL that Mao Zedong ordered mass genocide of Sparrows which caused the ecological imbalance as pests and bugs increased rapidly which resulted in less produce which further caused Great Chinese Famine which killed 20-45 million people due to starvation.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

W7wxN TIL The sport of Water Polo was invented in Scotland and the first game took place in the River Dee.
A6vw TIL In 1942 Hitler met with Mannerheim in an attempt to get Finnish support against the Soviets. Mannerheim lit a cigar and when Hitler (who was known to hate smoking) did not complain, he interpreted it as a sign of weakness and did not agree to the request.
mjBy TIL that Air Force pilots break the first set of wings they get for good luck, and they aren’t allowed to be put back together until they die.
OoQEg TIL The Sims was actually meant as a satire of U.S. consumer culture and creator Will Wright was inspired to create a "virtual doll house" after losing his home during the Oakland firestorm of 1991.
VM0bG TIL in 1689, a philosopher asked: "If a man born blind can feel the differences between shapes such as spheres and cubes, could he, if given the ability to see, distinguish those objects by sight alone?" In 2003, 5 people who had their sight restored were asked that question. They all answered no.