› added 4 years ago

59

TIL Alaric I, King of the Vandals, died in 411 shortly after sacking Rome. The Busento river was diverted while Alaric and his treasure were buried in the riverbed. The river was returned to its normal course. The treasure might still be there today.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

M7Q88 TIL In 1920, the worlds largest lightbulb manufacturers (including GE) formed the "Phoebus Cartel". The cartel lowered operational costs and standardized the life span of incandescent light bulbs at 1,000 hrs (down from 2,500 hrs). These were the primary lightbulbs sold up until the 21st century.
rj5W TIL Paraguay is the only country in the Americas where more people speak a native language than a colonial one (90% Guarani vs 87% Spanish)
wnyM TIL the five worst cities in the US for air pollution are all in California
knP4 TIL that Joseph Medicine Crow became the last Plains Indian war chief ever after completing all four required tasks while fighting in Europe during World War II. These included touching an enemy soldier, stealing his weapon, leading a successful war party, and stealing an enemy’s horse.
GLjQ TIL that once officially labelled as retarded, Russian orphans are warehoused for life in psychoneurological institutions, receive little to no education, and are often physically restrained and neglected.