› added 9 years ago

54

TIL that in the early days of the Post Office, people would continue writing text on the same page at 90 degrees to the original text to reduce expensive postage costs.

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rRWDe TIL in 1983, LA Dodgers pitcher Bob Welch pitched 9 shutout innings and hit a solo home run in a 1-0 win. This is the only time in baseball history this has happened
9wbjr TIL that Joseph Kennedy Jr. (JFK's older brother) was killed in WWII during Operation Anvil, an early attempt to bomb occupied France using a bomber converted into a remote control drone. The drone aircraft prematurely detonated after arming the explosives, killing Kennedy and his copilot.
j6rAn TIL that methamphetamine improves snails’ long-term memories and also prevents them from forgetting already learned ones.
5YbAQ TIL that there is an Australian pine growing out of an old railroad bridge in the Florida Keys named Fred the Tree. Fred survives with salt spray, lots of sunshine, and no apparent soil. Fred even withstood Hurricane Irma!
JryQ TIL China had the equivalent of a Hurricane Katrina every month for 100 years. This totally destabilized the country, and helps explain how one of the largest most sophisticated states in the world collapsed so quickly. They are still recovering from these ecological disasters today.