› added 5 years ago

69

TIL: Burst fire firearms were introduced to the US Army as a means to conserve ammo. During the Vietnam War (less well trained) soldiers would commonly hold down the trigger until they ran out of ammo.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

m14oY TIL that Jean-Bedel Bokassa (self-proclaimed emperor of the Central African Empire) had 100 students executed for protesting their school uniforms. Later, he was not tried for cannibalism despite the testimony of his chef since amnesty was declared for this and other misdemeanors.
JY9yl TIL John Lennon hated his own voice and loved to double-track his records. He would often ask the producer, George Martin: "Can't you smother it with tomato ketchup or something?"
eZKn TIL that peacocks’ extravagant tailfeathers are an evolutionary disadvantage, because they invite predators. Peahens are attracted to them because any animal with such a clear ‘design flaw’ must have other strong genetic qualities to compensate for it.
PYMVe TIL the only way Louis Pasteur was able to study rabies was to keep a supply of infected animals in the laboratory. His assistants routinely pinned down rabid dogs and collected vials of their foamy saliva and were under orders to shoot anyone that was bitten by the animals in the head
77jb TIL that Agatha Christie, G. K. Chesterton, and other British mystery writers formed the Detection Club. Members swore an oath to not use “Divine Revelation, Feminine Intuition, Mumbo Jumbo, Jiggery-Pokery, Coincidence, or Act of God” in stories. Founded in 1930, the club still exists.