› added 9 years ago

109

TIL - Childhood lead poisoning was linked to lead-based paints in 1904. Several EU countries banned it in 1909, League of Nations banned it in 1922. The US did not start phasing it out until 1971 & houses built before 1978 may contain lead paint

Read more toxipedia.org

via reddit.com

LP40 TIL, the earliest reference to “cooties” was a nickname for lice in the trenches of WWI where they were also known as “arithmetic bugs” because “they added to our troubles, subtracted from our pleasures, divided our attention, and multiplied like hell.”
nWNwo TIL The Fairey Swordfish biplane was considered out of date by 1939 but was effective throughout WW2. Swordfish sunk more enemy tonnage than any other plane, sunk numerous U-boats, disabled the Bismarck, and remained in use into 1945.
GYno1 TIL that 2,000-year-old seeds were discovered in 1963 inside an ancient jar in Israel. They were planted in 2005 and a tree that had been extinct for over 1800 years sprouted.
79rL TIL that the 2015 price of gasoline in Venezuela was 1/5th of $.01, or 482 gallons with just one dollar.
BVQr TIL Agatha Christie’s books have sold 4 billion copies, making her the best selling novelist of all time, and her work ranks only behind Shakespeare’s and the Bible as the most widely published books in history