› added 5 years ago

164

TIL the Leningrad siege in WW2 has been classified as an genocide by some historians. American estimates the death toll was higher than combined american and British losses in the war, "The Siege of Leningrad killed more civilians than bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined."

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

JYlN4 TIL that in spite of Henry Fords mandate in 1909 that, "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black.", this was not implemented until 1914. Until then, they were only available in grey, green, blue, and red.
p8ArG TIL based on a study done over a decade, Lifeboats have become the leading cause of death among modern seafarers
8aRML TIL of Nellie Bly, a 19th century female journalist who went around the world in 72 days, pretended to be insane in order to expose the deplorable conditions in mental asylums, patented two designs for steel cans and ran a million-dollar iron manufacturing business, all before the age of 40.
aZmN TIL That Tumbleweeds are actually living plants that pull their roots out of the ground when it gets too dry so the wind can blow them to a more favorable place, where they then re-plant themselves.
bwoN TIL that Canada still exports mass amounts of Asbestos to developing countries with no safety regulations, and prevents safety regulations being put into place