› added 11 years ago

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TIL from a declassified US DOD document titled ‘Operation Northwoods’ that the DOD wanted to blow up a US Navy ship, down a civilian airliner, crash John Glenn’s spaceship, fake an attack on Guantanamo and stage communist terror campaigns to provide justification for a US military invasion of Cuba.

Read more gwu.edu

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ne447 TIL birds cannot detect capsaicin (the active ingredient in chilli that makes it spicy) so it is used as a squirrel deterrent for birdfeeders.
JYGrl TIL during the French Revolution , Robespierre law of 22 Prairial, year II (June 10, 1794), streamlined revolutionary justice, denying the accused any effective right to self-defense and eliminating all sentences other than acquittal or death. Leading to almost 800 execution/month
4kRlX TIL in 2002, Golan Cipel was appointed as counselor to the Governor of New Jersey, a $110,000-a-year job. NJ officials were baffled how he got the job with virtually no qualifications. It was later uncovered that Cipel was the Governor's secret male lover.
rRZGo TIL after losing the 1996 US presidential election, Bob Dole was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in January 1997. He began his acceptance speech with "I, Robert J. Dole, do solemnly swear... Sorry, wrong speech"
BnRK TIL Anemones conduct war, with armies divided into ranks such as scouts, warriors, etc. Scouts look for space, while warriors slap enemies in rows of up to 4. Weak ones focus on reproduction to create troops. Each army organizes ranks differently. Front lines are formed, and wars can last for years.