› added 1 year ago

74

TIL 40% of Americans trace their ancestry through Ellis Island.

Read more nps.gov

via reddit.com

Y7PB TIL that the annual cost of religious tax exemptions is 71 billion, nearly 4 times greater than the budget for NASA
Z8E4R TIL British General Charles O'Hara had the unfortunate "distinction" of surrendering not only to George Washington at Yorktown, but Napoleon Bonaparte at Toulon as well.
WkAW8 TIL that there is a shanytown on the edge of Seoul's affluent Gangnam District, created by people evicted from houses in low-income areas demolished prior to the 1988 Olympics, who came there as their last refuge. It has 2500-4000 residents, mostly impoverished elderly, living in shacks and trailers
x6jW7 TIL in the 1893 case of Nix v. Hedden, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, for purposes of the Tariff Act of March 3, 1883, tomatoes are vegetables. The Supreme Court relied on the fact that tomatoes are usually used as vegetables since they're normally served with dinner and not dessert.
bdm4 TIL Kevin Spacey once directed and starred in a biopic - Beyond the Sea. Not only did he play crooner Bobby Darin, he chose to perform all of Darin’s songs himself.