/f/todayilearned
Submitted by kkoolook t3_101ej0g
TIL that DMVs in the US are allowed to sell some of your personal information and do. This practice is legal under federal law. For example, Floridaâs DMV made $77 million and Californiaâs DMV made $52 million in 2017 through this practice alone.
caranddriver.comSubmitted by TheKeyboardKid t3_zsu5se
TIL the Pacific island nation of Nauru has been so damaged by phosphate mining that in 1964 Australia offered to repopulate the entire nation to Curtis Island near the Australian Coast. Nauru refused the offer in order to maintain their sovereignty and not become part of Australia.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by triviafrenzy t3_10z80ds
TIL of the Battle of San Jacinto. Just six weeks after the Texans terrible loss at The Alamo in 1836. The Texans regrouped under Sam Houston, and surprised the Mexican forces and overwhelming defeated the Mexicans. The Texans had 11 soldiers killed and the Mexicans lost 650.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by triviafrenzy t3_11c65tb
TIL "to pull oneself up by one's bootstraps" is an example of an impossible task. The idiom dates at least to 1834, from the Workingman's Advocate: "It is conjectured that Mr. Murphee will now be enabled to hand himself over the Cumberland river or a barn yard fence by the straps of his boots.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by meat-juice t3_11gbneo
TIL that the narrative that Coca-Cola designed the modern Santa Claus as part of an advertising campaign is not true, because Coca-Cola did start using Santa in advertising in 1933. But Santa had been portrayed almost exclusively in red from the early 19th century
theguardian.comSubmitted by giuliomagnifico t3_zy5sef
TIL: Asthmador was an asthma treatment in the US in the 1950s. It was made up of 3 toxic/hallucinogenic compounds belladonna (atropine), stramonium (nightshade/jimson weed), and potassium perchlorate (oxidant commonly used in fireworks). One common delivery method for Asthmador - cigarettes!
catobear.comSubmitted by Geek_Nan t3_yhlfzz
TIL of Joseph Trombino, a security guard who survived the 1981 Brinkâs robbery in Nyack, NY. He continued working for the company for the next 20 years, was nearly killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and was ultimately killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by schmo_hawk t3_xydsph
TIL that Chinese Food was introduced into America during the California Gold Rush, starting in 1848. As 30,000 immigrants had arrived from the Canton region of China, the restaurants gave the predominantly male population a connection to home and provided gathering places for the Chinese community.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by jdward01 t3_120j0ln