› added 5 years ago

70

TIL of Quaker Guns, a deception tactic in warfare where logs, typically painted black, would be used as fake cannons to deceive enemy forces. In one instance in WWII, fake machine guns were created from a pair of broomsticks painted black mounted at the tail end of a fuselage to simulate tail guns.

QNgAd TIL the mafia ultimately has its roots in Ferdinand I's horrendous mismanagement of the economy of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and the Kingdom of Italy's subsequent failure to make anything better after its conquest of southern Italy
awmg9 TIL of Guðlaugur Friðþórsson, who was fishing off the coast of a remote Icelandic island inhabited by puffins when his ship capsized. He survived by swimming six hours in freezing water and walking several miles over volcanic rock. An average person survives in those conditions for about 75 minutes.
4Xg6R TIL About “Banned in Boston” where Bostonian Puritans would ban a movie/play/book/artwork and thus add immeasurably to it’s value everywhere else - as it was now officially salacious and forbidden
Lk8N9 TIL that Pangolins walk on two legs, and use their tail as a counterbalance to keep them upright. They’re also able to close their noses and ears to keep ants out when they’re eating.
Me0aB TIL that in 1964 Canada honored John F. Kennedy by naming the tallest unclimbed mountain in North America "Mt. Kennedy." In 1965 Robert F. Kennedy, as part of a National Geographic expedition, became the first person ever to reach the summit.