› added 6 months ago

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Today I learned that construction of the Washington Monument was delayed for 13 years because the pro-slavery states decided to go rogue. #slaveryremembered.

Read more nps.gov

via reddit.com

5YQnP TIL That the Allies secretly built two entire portable harbors in the UK and towed them across the English Channel right after D-Day to attach to the just-captured beachheads. One was damaged in a storm. The other landed over 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles, and 4 million tons of supplies.
4Qao TIL When Helium is cooled to almost absolute zero (-460°F or -273°C), the lowest temperature possible, it becomes a liquid with surprising properties: it flows against gravity and will start running up and over the lip of a glass container.
YpgQA TIL about Peter principle that states if a person is competent at their job, it will get promoted until the person is incompetent at his new role. Then they remain stuck at that final level for the rest of their career. Therefore, in time, every post tends to be occupied by an incompetent employee.
BPPK TIL that Ketchup, both the word and sauce, originate from China
D1Rep TIL about Anatahan, an island in the Pacific where where one woman reigned as a "Queen" over 30-odd Japanese soldiers who refused to believe that WWII had ended