› added 10 years ago

199

TIL: Zyklon B is still sold to this day as a pesticide, though under a different trade name.

Read more translate.google.com

via reddit.com

O0oY TIL Pope Francis is a big fan of J.R.R. Tolkien, and in a 2008 sermon used the stories of Bilbo and Frodo to describe “journeys of hope” and the battle between good and evil.
Bg4LK TIL: The first computer virus, "Creeper," was created in 1971 as an experiment. It displayed the message, "I'M THE CREEPER: CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!" on infected systems. It was followed by the first antivirus, "Reaper," specifically designed to remove Creeper.
8DaP TIL in 1958, Mao Zedong ordered the Chinese people to kill all the sparrows in the country to protect the rice crops. The effort backfired as, without the sparrows to eat insects, the locust population exploded and wiped out food crops, contributing to the starvation of tens of millions of people.
Bv5y TIL that during the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest, the audience had to remain seated while applauding otherwise they risked being shot by security forces
d8xbj TIL that on the sign to Aushiwitz "Arbeit macht frei" (work sets you free) the B is upside down, this was done by the Jewish prsioners there as an act of defiance.