› added 10 years ago

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TIL that close to 1800 studies have been conducted over the last 20 years to see the effects of public opinion on policies. The study showed that American public opinion has 0 to negligible effect on policies. But corporate donor effect had a direct correlation to policies.

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via reddit.com

69o6w TIL that in 1934 former North Dakota governor William Langer declared independence, declared martial law, and barricaded himself in the governor's mansion following his conviction for defrauding the government. He was elected to the Senate 4 years later.
BEee TIL that a 65-acre “Jungle” is the largest of many Silicon Valley homeless encampments, home for up to 175 people at any one time. Periodically cleared by authorities, it is painstakingly rebuilt by residents.
KJ96 TIL the Netherlands celebrate Comic Sans day every first Friday of July. Some Dutch companies even change their website font to Comic Sans for the day.
x6vpb TIL that Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind had a different English dub back in the 80s called "Warriors of the Wind" and it was incredibly shortened. It was apparently so bad that Hayao Miyazaki adopted a "no cuts" clause for future English releases of Studio Ghibli films.
4kaZa TIL that under the Invention Secrecy Act, the U.S. government can prevent certain patent applications from being disclosed if they deem the invention a threat to national security. Inventors can be prohibited from sharing or profiting from their own creations without even knowing why.