› added 1 year ago

68

TIL after that near-default in 2011, the plunging stock market vaporized $2.4 trillion in household wealth, which took time to rebuild, and cost taxpayers billions in higher interest payments

Read more home.treasury.gov

via reddit.com

W7dpY TIL that the once-ubiquitous "Mmm... Toasty!" Quiznos sandwich chain, which had 4700 locations in 2007, closed over 90% of their stores in the space of the following decade. It was the largest and fastest collapse in industry history.
8abQK TIL where seedless watermelons come from. Much like how a donkey and horse can make a mule but the mule will be sterile, seedless watermelons are the infertile offspring between diploid (22 chromosomes) and tetraploid (44 chromosomes) seeded watermelons.
D14PY TIL that Milton Hershey kept his employees working during the Great Depression by having them construct buildings in Hershey, PA including a school, arena and hotel. When a steam shovel was brought in for construction, Hershey told his foreman to get rid of the shovel and hire 40 men instead.
yVkGe TIL that Kentucky and West Virginia are tied for the most sleep-deprived U.S. states, both with 49% of adults reporting insufficient sleep (less than 7 hours nightly on average).
PYPRZ TIL the split gill mushroom has over 23,328 distinct sexes, but they can't all successfully mate with one another. Each sex can only be fertile with 22,960 other sexes.