One of the World’s Most Unique Oddities is in Illinois

I have lived in Illinois almost my entire life and this is the first I have heard of this thing.

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I grew up in Chicago and also lived in Glenview, Dixon, Rockford, and DeKalb and it blows my mind I'm finding out about it after all these years.

I've been on, around, and near the Chicago River too. I also could smell the river when it's going to rain in the city. It's one of those "if you know you know" type things, you know?

Anyway, about the Chicago River, it's a unique body of water and I'm not talking about the color either. I'll never be able to figure that out either.

I found this on the I Like Illinois website:  Did you know? Illinois is home to the only river in the world that flows backward.

To combat the pollution of the river caused by the growing industrial city, the Sanitary District of Chicago made efforts to reverse the flow of the river. The greatest of these efforts began in 1900.

Building a system of locks and canals, the District reversed the flow from Lake Michigan, diverting the water into the newly constructed Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

Mind blown. I had no idea that was even a thing but it's cool. This was such an amazing achievement, reversing the flow of the Chicago River was called the "Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium."

If those brains could figure out a way to reverse the current maybe someone can do something about the smell and the color of the Chicago River too. Just saying.