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TIL H. L. Mencken when writing about the US Presidency predicted that “On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”

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P1raV TIL the Marshallese used map charts made of sticks to navigate the Marshall Islands by canoe. They displayed the major ocean swell patterns and how the islands disrupted them. The charts are only interpretable by their makers who would memorize them before their voyages. They were used up until WW2.
kZ7B TIL that during the 70s-80s the crime was so high in New York City that they had volunteer crime-prevention patrollers like Guardian Angels
WkwR8 TIL "Anamnesis" is the idea that humans possess innate knowledge and that learning consists of rediscovering that knowledge within us. The process of incarnation is described in Neoplatonism as a trauma that causes the soul to forget its experiences (and often its divine origins as well).
ep0r5 TIL about the Shepard Tone. An audio illusion that creates the feeling of consistent, never-ending rising/falling. The illusion is achieved by playing overlapping notes that are one octave apart. In this way, the sensation of rising or descending notes never ends.
GYDp7 TIL that US sailors captured by North Korea, were flipping the middle finger in photos to protest the propaganda on their treatment. The North Koreans for months photographed them without knowing the real meaning of the finger, while the sailors explained that the sign meant good luck in Hawaii.