› added 5 years ago

73

TIL the Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA was started in 1890 as a way to convince East Coast residents to move to California by "showcasing California's mild weather" by proving the "flowers are still blooming and oranges are about to bear."

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

QJlN6 TIL that, in 1964, a group of college students used garden spades to tunnel under the Berlin Wall into East Berlin, allowing 57 people to escape to the West. The students moved enough dirt to fill four eighteen-wheeler big rigs; one of them went on to design tunnels professionally.
1aeWD TIL of the Battle of Ramree Island in which the Allies launched an attack to retake Ramree and its neighbour Cheduba Island. There were reports of Japanese soldiers being eaten by saltwater crocodiles.
GAR5g TIL Crown shyness is a phenomenon in which the trees do not touch each other. The phenomenon is most prevalent among trees of the same species, but also occurs between trees of different species.
XEbxX TIL: From the 60s until program retirement in 1992, the US military kept ready some cannon-fired nuclear weapons which could fit in any standard 155mm Howitzer. Each M45 AFAP round cost at least $1.25 million. AFAP stood for Artillery Fired Atomic Projectile.
8aE8P TIL there are democratically-controlled companies where workers own capital and decide what to do…