› added 7 months ago

27

TIL that during World War II, British intelligence spread a rumor that eating carrots improved night vision to cover up the fact that their pilots were using radar technology to target enemy planes in the dark.

Read more smithsonianmag.com

via reddit.com

drgE TIL dental cavities are a transmissible disease. They are caused primarily by one pathogen, Streptococcus mutans.
6Evy7 TIL a revised version of David Bowie's Space Oddity was recorded by Commander Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station. It is the first known music video recording done in space.
oeOo TIL Axl Rose’s original concept for the Sweet Child o’ Mine music video was to depict a drug trafficker carrying her child into a foreign country. It would then be revealed the child was dead and full of heroin.
JYylV TIL A Halligan bar is a forcible entry tool used by firefighters and law enforcement. The Halligan has become the most versatile hand tool to be used for a multitude of fireground tasks. Based on the earlier Kelly tool, the Halligan is a multipurpose tool for prying, twisting, punching, or striking.
b6JmE TIL that the first solo circumnavigation of the Earth wasn't completed until 1898, when Canadian-American sailor Joshua Slocum did it in a small sailboat he rebuilt by hand.