› added 11 years ago

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TIL Chinese officials throw out enough grain to feed 15% of the country after their lavish dinner banquets

Read more beijingtoday.com.cn

via reddit.com

vgB4 TIL the location of the oldest trees in the world are intentionally kept secret; the oldest known tree, Old Hara, was only known to the two dendrochronologists that cored and dated it, both of whom are now dead
v1PmK TIL that after the 1946 Italian Republic referendum, all members of the House of Savoy (House of the king of Italy) were required to leave the country and neither they nor their descendants were to set foot in Italy ever again. The provision was repealed in 2002
R5NN7 TIL In 2010, the Colombian army created the pop song "Better Days" with a hidden message for Colombian soldiers held captive by FARC guerrillas. Hidden in the chorus is morse code reading "19 people rescued" "You're next" "Don't lose hope". The song was then played on over 130 radio stations.
yVLpp TIL about the Bannister Effect: When a barrier previously thought to be unachievable is broken, a mental shift happens enabling many others to break past it (named after the man who broke the 4 minute mile)
Bp6e TIL the direwolf actually existed, but went extinct 10,000 years ago.