› added 1 year ago

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TIL of the Old River Control Structure, meant to prevent the Mississippi River changing course. It if fails, it would cripple the US economy & lead to a global food crisis. Several experts have recommended letting the river shift course naturally to avoid this.

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MgA TIL Evelina Children’s Hospital in London contractually requires its window washers to dress up as super heroes (pics in comments)
DQnBg TIL that the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortes had lost much of his veteran forces (who knew how to fight the Aztecs) and was in a desperate situation, when smallpox began to turn the tide in his favour by killing many fit young Aztec soldiers and hitting the Aztec hierarchy hard.
d8GwZ TIL that during the Spanish Civil War the International Brigades took shelter in the University of Madrid, building barricades from library books. Nineteenth century German philosophy was supposedly the most effective at stopping bullets.
OGe96 TIL Getting Tattoos in South Korea is Considered a Medical Procedure Done Only by Doctors
6oBY TIL that the British Royal Navy (at substantial cost) established a fleet of ships known as the ‘West Africa Squadron’ which would patrol the west coast of Africa, capturing slave ships. This fleet is estimated to have captured 1,600 slave ships and freed 150,000 African slaves between 1808 & 1860.