› added 11 years ago

93

TIL that no one knows who invented the fire hydrant, because its patent was burned in a fire.

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Z8G9Q TIL In 1958 Mao Zedong ordered all the sparrows to be killed because they ate too much grain. This caused one of the worst environmental disasters in human history. Locust populations ballooned, swarming the country and causing famine.
woKGo TIL: France still doesn't recognise North Korea, along with Japan and South Korea.
rRBZ1 TIL that John Cougar (before he reclaimed his real name) and his band were not allowed to play live on American Bandstand, lip-synch only. So Cougar and band showed up and "played" with instruments that obviously aren't anywhere on the record.
d8ed TIL the largest desert in the world is Antarctica, as a desert doesn’t need to be hot but only lose moisture more than it gains
LkPJQ TIL that 20th Century Fox sued Universal Studios in 1978, claiming that Battlestar Galactica used 34 distinct ideas stolen from Star Wars. Universal sued Fox, claiming that Star Wars took ideas from Buck Rogers and Silent Running. The case lasted 5 years before the studios settled out of court.