› added 9 years ago

120

TIL of the “American Hippo Bill,” a 1910 plan to introduce hippos to the bayous of Louisiana in order to control populations of water hyacinth (an invasive plant species) and provide a source of meat. The bill fell just short of being passed.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

ADYrn TIL of Julie d'Aubigny, a 17th century French swordswoman and opera singer who was challenged to duels by three different noblemen after kissing a young woman at a society ball. She beat all 3 of them. She was later sentenced to death by fire for kidnapping and arson. She survived that too!
MePYK TIL that the common cultivated strawberry does not occur in nature. It is a hybrid of the Virginia wild strawberry and the Chilean beach strawberry, invented in France in the 18th century.
BZmk TIL by weight fat is 15 times more energy dense than TNT.
kOOw7 A windowless skyscraper in the heart of New York City may be the secret Manhattan surveillance hub of the US National Security Agency (NSA), The Intercept has reported. The brutalist, 29-storey AT&T Long Lines Building at 33 Thomas Street has sheer concrete walls that could reportedly survive an atomic explosion; inside, documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden suggest is one of the agency’s most important spying centres.
woYYo TIL that in 1947, U.S. House Minority Leader Sam Rayburn was gifted a 1947 Cadillac Fleetwood Series 62 from 142 Democratic congressmembers and 50 Republican congressmembers. Each congressmen donated $25 to circumvent Rayburns personal rule of not accepting gifts more than $25.