› added 2 years ago

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TIL that Julia Child, autor of The French Chef, helped the US military in WW2 to develop a shark repellant that is still used today.

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via reddit.com

5YNwn TIL during WW2 after the Nazis had taken over France, Churchill made the decision to attack the French naval fleet rather than let it fall into enemy hands. The bombardment killed nearly 2,000 men. France then severed all diplomatic relations with the UK and even mounted several retaliation attacks.
P1KAE TIL that the Pistol Shrimp, a small creature that can snap its claw so fast, it creates a bubble hot enough to produce light and temperatures similar to the sun's surface, stunning or killing its prey with the shockwave
4XEwR TIL John F. Kennedy's thick head of hair and perpetual tan weren't due to being fit and healthy. Just the opposite, they were side effects of one of the many drugs he took, and he was actually chronically ill.
LkANr TIL about survivorship bias and its application in the military. A statistician used the survivorship bias in his calculations when considering how to minimize bomber losses to enemy fire. The military wanted to reinforce the areas where the bomber was shot up instead of looking where it wasn't hit.
Yp45P TIL that McDonald's major revenue does not come from selling burgers but from their real estate. McDonald Corporation is a company with $40 billion dollars’ worth of real estate assets (before taking depreciation into account) and yearly revenues of $9 billion, of which nearly $4 billion in profit.