› added 4 years ago

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TIL about the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla, a motley collection of barges and gunboats assembled to defend Chesapeake Bay from the British Royal Navy. The ships were scuttled to prevent capture, and the sailors brought the cannons ashore to defend Washington D.C. in the Battle of Bladensburg.

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yVonv TIL that the world's longest carrot ever grown was over 20 ft long. (6.245 m)
78RyL TIL Belavezhskaya Pushcha National Park's 1300 sq km of primeval forest is the last remains of a canopy that eight centuries ago covered northern Europe. Its 300 or so European bison were driven to near extinction before being bred back from 12 animals
pYyAb TIL there's a estimated 70% chance a earthquake of about M7 will hit Tokyo in the next 30 years.
8kGG TIL at an Amazon.com warehouse in Pennsylvania, workers were required to work – in some cases walking 15 miles a day – in 100+ degree heat. When the news broke, Amazon’s initial response was to keep an ambulance outside the warehouse.
wLRDP TIL that California's Stanislaus county, river, & forest are named after Estanislao, a Yokut tribal leader who rebelled against colonial rule and fought the Spanish & later Mexican armies to a stalemate. He was also known to carve an S into buildings during his raids.