/f/todayilearned
TIL In 1930, to make way for a new building, the Indiana Bell Building, weighing 11,000 tons, was moved 16 meters and rotated 90°. The work took a month to finish and did not disrupt the building's essential services, nor its gas, water, and electricity supply. No one inside felt the building move.
archdaily.comSubmitted by LPercepts t3_z5fhvz
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 In 1983, Air Force One (with Reagan aboard) landed six minutes before a microburst slammed into the ground at Andrews Air Force Base, causing wind speeds to hit 149 mph. At the time, that was the fastest wind speed ever measured by an anemometer.
usatoday.comSubmitted by theotherbogart t3_yr2pva
TIL African elephants can exchange information by emitting low-frequency sounds that travel dozens of miles under the ground on the savanna. The sound waves come from the animals' huge vocal cords, and distant elephants “hear” the signals with their highly sensitive feet.
kqed.orgSubmitted by iboughtarock t3_yif71y
TIL of Macadam roads. These roads were convex, raised a few inches, and made of layered crushed rock; they were state-of-the-art for the 19th century. The rise of automobiles led to the dust issues that were solved by binding the roads with tar, leading to the invention of tarmac.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by jamescookenotthatone t3_1181yq6
TIL that George "Washington" Carver never formally used Washington as a middle name. He originally chose the middle initial W at random to ensure accurate mail delivery. Someone once asked if the "W" stood for Washington and Carver said "Why not?" He signed his name as George or George W. Carver.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by AspireAgain t3_10gaz13
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