› added 1 year ago

68

TIL that after defeating the Manchu Qing army at the Battle of Ngọc Hồi-Đống Đa, the Vietnamese King Quang Trung ordered the bodies of the enemies to be collected and put into 12 massive burial mounds. These would later be named Đống Đa Mound, and still exists today as a historic landmark in Vietnam

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

pYoRG TIL the Mississippi River was once five miles wide and whales swam up it from the Gulf of America. The remains of these whales have been found in Michigan.
kJvQ5 TIL that Bill Mitchell, GM design head, wanted the Mako Shark concept car painted the same color as an actual mako shark mounted in his office. After the design team failed to match the color, they stole the shark and painted it to match the car's paint. Mitchell never realized the difference.
X04gQ TIL Hawaii is the best place on earth to see rainbows. There are words for Earth-clinging rainbows (uakoko), standing rainbow shafts (kāhili), barely visible rainbows (punakea), and moonbows (ānuenue kau pō). The rainbow is seen as a symbol of transformation and a pathway between Earth and Heaven.
v1lML TIL of Takayama Ukon, a 1500s Japanese Daimyo who converted to Catholicism and is a candidate for Sainthood in the Vatican. If canonized, Takayama will be the first Samurai saint, the only Daimyo saint, and since he was exiled to the Philippines for being a Christian, the third Filipino saint.
gMg18 TIL Italy built an entire courthouse to prosecute the Mafia. They charged 475 members in a trial that lasted from 1986-1992. To date, it is one of the biggest trials in history.