› added 10 years ago

106

TIL that Americans were so confident that crime was caused by alcohol that on the eve of prohibition, some towns in the U.S. sold their jails.

Read more www2.potsdam.edu

via reddit.com

WkeR8 TIL in 2013 'Scientific American' analyzed the characteristics of all emerging diseases, they found "all known diseases of the 20th century were linked to sudden human population growth, new human activity in the environment and high wildlife diversity in the area where the pathogen originated."
MMQA TIL during Liechtenstein’s last military engagement in 1886, none of the 80 soldiers sent were injured, and 81 returned, including a new Italian “friend”.
ne7yr TIL Eli Whitney did not make his fortune from the cotton gin, but a later invention, the milling machine. This machine allowed the North to automate many industries and stay adequately supplied during the American Civil War.
yOLa TIL most of the “facts” about Nostradamus are false, his astrologies were false with lots of errors, he did not predict his own death correctly as it was his secretary who edited it after his death, etc.
7ZE7 TIL Batman carries a chunk of kryptonite on his utility belt. Just in case.