› added 9 years ago

414

TIL that the reason today’s artificial banana flavoring for candy tastes so differently than an actual banana is because it is based on the Gros Michel Banana, which was nearly wiped out in the 50’s due to a fungus. The bananas we eat today are from the Cavendish family.

Read more businessinsider.com

via reddit.com

9w5G7 TIL A raunchy adult joke book was a bestseller during the 80s!
xVPa0 TIL a man in Oklahoma was sentenced to a life in prison for standing near less than a fifth of a gram of weed on the floor in his friends apartment.
d8nlj TIL the earliest known drinking straw dates back to 3000 BC to a Sumerian Tomb and was made out of gold. The Sumerians made straws to drink beer.
GAmwE TIL that Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, the respected commander of German forces in East Africa during WW1 was offered a job by Hitler in 1935. He told Hitler to "go fuck himself" though other reports say he didn't "put it that politely."
BgQnr TIL that Romanian communist-era dictator Ceaușescu planned to demolish up to half of Romanian villages to "systemize" and fully socialize rural life. However, he was executed shortly after the first phase started. Plan was then canceled.