› added 9 years ago

122

TIL in 2005, all 5 most senior positions of state in New Zealand were simultaneously held by women: the Queen, the Governor General, the Prime Minister, the Speaker of Parliamant, the Chief Justice.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

5VJlp TIL Potatoes were only introduced into Europe in the late 16th century, and are believed to have originated in the Andes region of South America, which includes parts of present-day Peru and Bolivia.
D1Y7g TIL of the most rural post office in the US; the Supai Post Office is at the bottom of the Grand Canyon and is serviced by a mule train that takes 2.5 hours to reach it. It services the Havasupai reservation and demonstrates the obligation of the US Postal System to service every community.
Z8KJQ TIL that in 1944, Lucien Carr, a member of the group that would become known as the Beat Poets, stabbed his former Boy Scout leader to death after being stalked by him for years. Several soon-to-be well-known writers helped Carr cover up the crime, including William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac.
pYrDp TIL a Czech brewery employs crayfish to monitor water quality. The crayfish are fitted with high-tech sensors that monitor their movement and vitals. Any changes in the crayfish's condition or behavior alert the brewers to possible water issues.
xVJy7 TIL The last two remnants of the virus known to cause smallpox, which are kept in tightly controlled government laboratories in the United States and Russia. In 2013, cloned variola major (smallpox) DNA fragments were found in a South African laboratory.