› added 5 years ago

79

TIL that Columbia is the name of the female personification of the United States and showed up on WW1 patriotic posters much like Uncle Sam posters

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JYva1 TIL in the past century, every year at least one Belgian has died from World War 1 or World War 2 ordinance being accidentally detonated
9YaMD TIL that the Sears catalog offered entire houses that were available for mail order beginning in 1908. Most of them are still standing today.
PP8n TIL some birds fly from Alaska to Northern mexico without sleeping when migrating. And the military is studying them to make sleepless soldiers.
l79La TIL about America's first Olympics in 1904 where, during the marathon athletes drank poison, dodged traffic, stole peaches and hitchiked!
e0vdk TIL that while Mexico only drinks 50% more soda per capital than the US(100L & 150L respectively), the Mexican state of Chiapas drinks 820L per capital every year(2.2L per day) due to the drink being introduced into the religious activities of the Mayan people of the region