› added 5 years ago

164

TIL in 1962 two US scientists discovered Peru's highest mountain was in danger of collapsing. When this was made public, the government threatened the scientists and banned civilians from speaking of it. In 1970, during a major earthquake, it collapsed on the town of Yangoy killing 20,000.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

EAjW TIL the bones of notorious Auschwitz doctor and SS officer Josef Mengele are used as a teaching aid in medical forensics classes at the University of São Paulo. They were originally exhumed in 1985 in order to confirm his death.
WjvA TIL student loans have passed credit cards and auto loans to become the second biggest source of personal debt in the U.S., trailing only mortgages.
9Zbp TIL Executive Outcomes, a South African mercenary company, successfully quelled civil war in Sierra Leone. The United Nations pressured Sierra Leone’s government to replace them with peacekeepers. Civil War quickly broke out again upon EO’s dismissal.
wL7Y7 TIL about CANZUK, a theoretical political and economic union of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. The international body would be similar in scope to the former European Economic Community and focus on trade, foreign policy co-operation, and military co-operation between the four nations.
X0GR TIL that nearly the entire student body and faculty of Ole Miss joined the Confederate Army during the Civil War, and suffered a 100% casualty rate.