› added 5 years ago

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TIL the ponds that are common in residential neighborhoods are not installed as water features, they’re actually retention basins used to offset the drainage capacity of the ground removed by paving roads and building houses

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k6jd TIL the word “sniper” is derived from the hunting of snipes. A snipe is a small bird said to be difficult to hit, even for experienced hunters, so anyone skilled enough to hit one was called a ‘sniper’
ANBmd TIL some Australian retailers (eg. Thirsty Camel, independents) still use real-time facial recognition for theft prevention despite privacy rulings against Kmart/Bunnings. Experts warn “anonymised” faces can be re-identified, and FRT may also be used to surveil and discipline staff.
e4AJ TIL that Carlos Vasquez, a dry cleaner in New York, has a sign outside his shop that reads: If you are unemployed and need an outfit clean for an interview, we will clean it for FREE".
XEYoP TIL after a secret program conducted by the US in the Marshal Islands in the 1950s, parts of the island complex still have radiation higher than Chernobyl or Fukushima even so many decades after the now declassified experiment
N7REM TIL the three basic types of tears – basal, emotional, and reflex – have measurably different chemical compositions.