› added 12 years ago

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TIL that in 1875 a swarm of locusts 1800 miles long and 110 miles wide swarmed through the western U.S., causing $200M in crop damage. At 12.5 trillion insects, it was the largest concentration of animals ever seen. Less than 30 years later the species had vanished, and was declared extinct in 1902.

epBZ4 TIL, Croissants are an Austrian invention, created after their victory over the Ottoman empire (1683), the crescent shape representing the Turkish flag. It was the Austrian emperor’s daughter Marie-Antoinette who introduced it the France.
8aQEK TIL that the second officer of the Titanic stayed onboard till the end and was trapped underwater until a boiler explosion set him free. Later, he volunteered in WW2 and helped evacuate over 120 men from Dunkirk
Oo6WX TIL American founding father George Wythe was poisoned by his great-nephew, George Sweeney. Even though Wythes black housekeeper provided evidence against Sweeney, it was thrown out in court because a black person could not legally testify against a white person, and Sweeney went free.
M0g0 TIL it is thought that dogs enjoy sticking their heads out of windows because its like a “high-def scent buffet.”
QxgM TIL that in an alternate DC Universe, Superman’s rocket ship lands on a Ukrainian collective farm rather than in Kansas. He is “the Champion of the common worker who fights a never-ending battle for Stalin, socialism, and the international expansion of the Warsaw Pact.”