› added 8 months ago

33

TIL that Mexico sent nearly 200 members of the military on a 20-day mission to support the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

Read more historicalmx.org

via reddit.com

9wkOm TIL that Elephant Seals were thought to be extinct by 1884. In 1892 an expedition from the Smithsonian found what could have been the last 8 individuals on Guadalupe Island of which the expedition killed 7 for their collection.
mxpwo TIL even though newborn kittens are born blind, deaf, and helpless they still hiss at potential threats.
ayy0 TIL that in preparation for a state visit by Nicolae Ceausescu, Elizabeth II ordered the guest rooms of Buckingham Palace be stripped of valuables for fears that they’d be stolen. She later described the visit as the worst three days of her life
kJZjB TIL that in 1989, a group called "The Breeders" caused a medfly infestation in California to protest spraying of the insecticide Malathion, devastating crops and costing $60 million in eradication efforts. The state ceased this spraying in response.
9w8dm TIL that Dan Synder, owner of the Washington Commanders, illegally cleared old-growth national park forest from behind his home in 2004. The unobstructed view of the Potomac River is estimated to have raised the value of his own property $500,000 – $1,000,000. He was fined $1000.