› added 13 years ago

145

TIL that though potatoes are native to the Americas, the majority of the world’s potatoes are grown in Asia, and that though soybeans are native to Asia, the majority of the world’s soybeans are grown in the Americas.

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6EJLQ TIL that Queen Victoria's coronation was beset with problems. The coronation ring was painfully forced on to the wrong finger, an elderly Lord fell down the stairs while paying homage to her, and a confused bishop wrongly told her that the ceremony was over.
wLBA1 TIL Humans are incredible long distance runners. There’s a Man vs Horse marathon held in Wales annually since 1980. It’s been won by a human multiple times after the first human winner in 2004.
b6MAQ TIL that the Luxor Sky Beam in Las Vegas is the most powerful manmade light in the world. It is visible from up to 275 miles away, and temperatures of 500 °F have been recorded just above the light's surface. Airline pilots often use it as a landmark for navigation when flying at night.
b97eQ TIL the famous headline "Foot Heads Arms Body" (published after Michael Foot was chosen to be the chair of a nuclear disarmament committee) was written by a sub editor as a joke and never intended to be published
MoZV TIL 10-18 million Africans were taken by Arab slavers. This is more than the 12 million Africans shipped in the Atlantic slave trade, and 16-30 times more than the 600,000 slaves imported to America since 1620, which is less than the more than 1 million whites enslaved by Ottoman vassals.