/f/todayilearned
TIL of Unjust Demands Made by France on Haiti After Winning Independence: Forced to pay 150 million francs, the "Independence Debt" hindered Haiti's economy & development, stifling growth and contributing to ongoing challenges the nation faces today.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by Kooky-Home9823 t3_11fn5st
Submitted by brainseverywhere t3_11cg9v2
TIL that a depressed teen convinced his friend, using six made-up online characters, to kill him. Totaling over 56,000 lines of text, he told his him that his reward would be money, a job as a British secret service agent and sex with a middle-aged spy.
theguardian.comSubmitted by pentacontagon t3_1178tqk
TIL Lacrosse descends from a version played by Native Americans in the 17th century. Games could last several days with as many as 1,000 players per team, on a field with goals up to 6 miles apart. Sticks were so treasured, players were often buried with them upon death.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by austinthedeveloper t3_115v5ko
TIL : The most powerful commercial radio station ever was WLW (700KHz AM), which during certain times in the 1930s broadcasted 500kW radiated power. At night, it covered half the globe. Neighbors within the vicinity of the transmitter heard the audio in their pots, pans, and mattresses.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by PyrowithJared t3_114b1j7
TIL about the thymus, a small (1 oz.) organ behind the sternum that trains new white blood cells to NOT attack the body's own cells. Only 2% survive this rigorous training program; the rest commit suicide to prevent themselves from attacking friendly cells.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by Iestwyn t3_113e6x8
TIL Uwe Hohn is the only person in history to throw a javelin 100m. His world record of 104.8m was declared an "Eternal World Record" as it will likely never be broken due to the IAAF redesigning the javelin in 1986 and resetting the WR to coincide with the change.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by HucklecatDontCare t3_11020ms
Submitted by Atlantan2020 t3_10yvz1a
TIL Mount Everest is named after Sir George Everest despite him having zero connection to the mountain (he never even saw it) and against his own wishes. He objected to the naming on the grounds that "Everest" could not be easily written in Hindi nor pronounced by the local people.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by HucklecatDontCare t3_10t3d2m
TIL a Looney Tunes director and animator, Robert McKimson, bragged to colleagues for getting a good bill of health at 67. His family history of living past their 90s caused him to tell his colleagues: "I'm going to be around after you guys are gone!" He died two days later of a heart attack.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by electricmaster23 t3_10rbcem