› added 7 years ago

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TIL that in one survey, 56% of pilots have admitted to sleeping on the job, with 29% waking up to find the other pilot asleep as well.

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via reddit.com

nWGao TIL a group of engineering students from Purdue University built a licking machine to learn that it took 364 licks to get the the center of a tootsie pop. A conflicting mechanical licker built by a University of Michigan student took 411 licks. When licked manually, studies have taken 144-252 licks.
wRmY TIL The Milgram experiment showed ordinary people are likely to follow orders given by an authority figure, even to the extent of killing an innocent human being. Obedience to authority is ingrained in us all from the way we are brought up.
epmgE TIL of the Christmas Eve tradition of 'Burning the Ashen Faggot'. Probably pagan in origin, and held in Devon, UK and surrounding counties, the ceremony involves the assembly of a large bundle of ash sticks bound with bands. When each band burns through a drink of cider is taken.
6EbMY TIL a person who prioritizes calling "Shotgun" more than a normal person, to the degree that they'll compromise their own ethics to gain the front seat, is known pejoratively as a "Shotgun Gaper."
1alB8 TIL during the protests in Egypt in 2011, the government shut down four out of five ISPs to suppress protests, but then reversed its decision, because it turned out more people came onto the streets in the absence of internet access.