› added 10 years ago

264

TIL chili peppers evolved their spiciness to ward off harmful fungi and microbes. Their antimicrobial properties meant chilies were among the first crops to be domesticated in the New World.

Read more livescience.com

via reddit.com

Brvlx TIL the land in Manhattan Beach, CA was formerly sand dunes. During the 1920s and 1930s, some excess sand was sold & shipped to Waikiki, Hawaii, to convert their reef and rock beach into a sandy beach. The sand was also used to build the Los Angeles Coliseum and portions of the Pacific Coast Highway
KOYaB TIL there is a stigma against hiring unemployed people even if they are actively looking for work
x6j5k TIL Neil Armstrong became a professor after he walked on the moon, teaching aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati.
9wwrD TIL that The Maze, Utah ranks as the one of riskiest hike in the world. It is the least accessible district of Canyonlands. It's a difficult place to navigate, with lots of side canyons and dead ends from the main trail. Food and water are scarce, and could take rescuers three days to reach.
814Z TIL The record for the most passengers on an airplane was set in 1991 when 1086 Ethiopian jews were evacuated on a Boeing 747 to Jerusalem. The plane landed with 1088 passengers as two babies were born during the flight.