› added 4 years ago

183

TIL that the popular cautionary narrative of the native people of Rapa Nui (aka Easter Island) causing the social and ecological collapse of their island is false, and that the collapse happened AFTER European contact through the spread of disease and the kidnapping of islanders for slavery.

Read more independent.co.uk

via reddit.com

Mg58 TIL that even though the Hindenburg was inflated with 7 million cubic feet of highly flammable hydrogen gas, it had a smoking room
KOdO9 TIL Joseph Stalin’s real name was Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili. He decided to change his name to Stalin in 1902, meaning “steel” in Russian, which he believed would make him appear tough.
mgxo TIL comedian Bill Burr decided to abandon his prepared comedy set in Philadelphia in order to heckle and berate the audience for his entire 12 minute set after they drunkenly booed several preceding comedians.
n5bo TIL that in the Spring of 1976, groundskeepers at Anaheim stadium discovered hundreds of marijuana plants growing in the outfield, apparently left by thousands of Who fans who had attended a concert there in the offseason and scattered the seeds everywhere. Angels in the outfield indeed…
4QMo TIL in 1957. in order for Sony to market its TR-63 transistor radio as “pocketable”, salesmen wore shirts with specialized, enlarged pockets in order to accommodate the large device.