› added 9 years ago

219

TIL Alnwick Garden, in Northern England, is considered the most deadly garden on earth and is a tourist attraction. Over 100 toxic plants are on walk through display, including species that can cause guests to fall unconsciousness from toxic fumes.

Y7Vnr TIL that US military pilots, after being certified to carry nuclear bombs, were issued an eye patch so that, in the event of a full-scale nuclear war, if they were blinded by a nuclear detonation they would be able to remove the eye patch and still see.
oPRo TIL After WWI, the German government deliberately made the value of their currency nearly worthless in order to pay back the Allies.
VMG88 TIL Bob Seger's famous hit song "Against the Wind" was inspired by Bob's days as a high school cross country runner. He described it as "about trying to move ahead, keeping your sanity and integrity at the same time." It later appeared in Forrest Gump when Forrest was running across the country.
KO606 TIL during WW2, there was an Australian dog whose hearing was so acute that it could warn air force personnel of incoming Japanese planes 20 minutes before they came and before they showed up on radar. He could also differentiate the sounds between allied and enemy planes
pYBje TIL baseball's Texas Rangers would not swap an August game series at the Houston Astros for a September series at the Rangers. Most of Houston was flooded at the time. Instead, the series was played in Tampa, Florida. The Rangers' explanation was that swapping would inconvenience ticketholders.