› added 9 years ago

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TIL an Ebola outbreak in Atlanta, a toxic explosion in Louisiana and a police shooting were all faked by armies of Russian social media accounts and knockoffs of US news sites posting fake eyewitness stories, screenshots, photos and videos of fake American crises.

Read more nytimes.com

via reddit.com

nGxo TIL Weathermen generally over-predict chances of rain, maximizing viewer happiness by increasing their precautions to not get wet. This is called “The Wet Bias”.
9Ym0M TIL that they don't actually make round steel tanks they make rough octagon tanks then explode them into round ones
bjNZ TIL Certain Psychopaths (“short of full blown”) Can Make Effective CEOs Due To Traits Such as “superficial charm,” ability to manipulate, “coolness under pressure,” “lack of empathy. ”
kOrQW TIL about Gregor MacGregor, a Scottish adventurer who convinced hundreds to invest their life savings in "Poyais", a fictional Central America territory that he claimed to rule as "Cazique". About 250 emigrated to the supposed country to find only untouched jungle. More than half of them died.
kOZEd TIL fines were introduced to decrease the number of parents late to pickup their child from school. This actually doubled them, because people felt their tardiness was okay because they paid the fine for it.