› added 12 years ago

88

TIL just 2 days after Nikola Tesla’s death, the FBI ordered the Office of Alien Property (OAP) to seize all of his belongings, even though Tesla was an American citizen. The “Alien Property Custodian” was an office of the US Government that was in charge of the property that belonged to US enemies.

Read more teslauniverse.com

via reddit.com

E1oyx TIL Two Senior White House officials testified that they were involved in a plan to murder American Journalist Jack Anderson. They were either going to stage a fake mugging or poison him and the plan was only cancelled because the CIA agents ordered to carry it out were arrested in Watergate.
6yMl TIL that Pornhub, Brazzers, YouPorn, Mofos, Digital Playground, Redtube, Reality Kings and many many other porn sites, production studios and cam sites are all owned by a company called MindGeek, giving it a near-absolute monopoly on the way mainstream pornography is manufactured and distributed
8aZX TIL Dead ants give off a scent to signal other ants that they need to be carried away. The dead are brought to a designated graveyard in order to avoid bacteria spreading.
lo8GN TIL that "&" is called "ampersand" because of a mistake. "&" was in the alphabet after Z and the entire alphabet was recited as "X, Y, Z and per se &". Because people said it quickly, "ampersand" was born.
nWwxG TIL that traditional Japanese sword forging techniques produced a uniquely layered steel microstructure that was key to the legendary balance of sharpness and resilience in samurai swords