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TIL a researcher in the 1970s blindfolded participants and told them they were going to play tug-of-war against another team. When they were told they had 3 others pulling with them, they pulled 18% less strenuously than when they were told they were alone. The effect is now known as social loafing.

N7daE TIL that before the coup d'état in 1953 Mohammad Mosaddegh was regarded as the leading champion of secular democracy and resistance to foreign domination in Iran’s modern history, and that the coup partly took place because Iran nationalized its oil industry.
7rp4b TIL on the set of The Princess Bride, André the Giant once "let out a 16 second fart and brought production to a standstill." Nobody said anything except director Rob Reiner, who said "Are you OK, André?" to which André replied, "I am now boss."
Pn1e TIL that when the Westboro Baptist Church is sued, it can be quite profitable for them as many members of the Phelps family are lawyers, and their legal fees are paid by the state when they represent the church in lawsuits.
l7QOA TIL that the thylacine or Tasmanian tiger, was hunted to extinction after being blamed for killing livestock - though its jaw was so weak it likely couldn’t kill more than a possum. It had tiger-like stripes and could open its jaws 80°. The last known thylacine died in Hobart Zoo in 1936.
Zp5Ea TIL The first defensive driving program started in 1964 for the US National Safety Council. It is a form of training for drivers that goes beyond road rules and the basic mechanics of driving techniques