› added 4 years ago

347

TIL: The Great Cranberry Scare of 1959 occurred when scientists found traces of a carcinogen in a batch of cranberries just ahead of Thanksgiving. People panicked and the cranberry industry ground to a complete halt, but the cranberry business survived. In fact, it went on to thrive.

Read more npr.org

via reddit.com

E1P4o TIL Norwegians once spiked Nazi food rations with a highly effective laxative. The rations were unwittingly consumed by the Germans while on U-boats.
LQplZ TIL that fancy tea bags leak billions of microplastics into a cup of tea. The effects of microplastics on humans are largely unstudied, but water fleas weren't happy about it.
kk94 TIL a pizza delivery man had a bomb strapped round his neck and was forced to rob a bank. He was arrested by police, and was killed after the bomb detonated.
XEywQ TIL the 42-story Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh's campus is the tallest education building in the Western Hemisphere. It includes 31 "nationality rooms" that are designed to celebrate different cultures and nationalities.
W4nL TIL that Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Trivago, Travelocity, and Orbitz are all owned by the same company, Expedia Inc.