› added 1 year ago

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TIL that pendrives found on the street may not only have malwares (software threats) but could also be disguised USB killers (hardware threats).

VMmpQ TIL in an effort to keep birds of prey away from airports, French scientists discovered that raptors were repelled by an LED screen featuring a "googly eyes" image that appears to enlarge. Screens at an airport with over 8,000 bird sightings successfully reduced raptor visits during a 5 week trial.
mZxR TIL That a shipwreck salvage company called Odyssey found a wreck worth half a BILLION dollars in 2007 (17 tons of silver and gold). They got to keep none of it and had to return it to Spain in 2012 despite it being found in International waters.
RbK8 TIL Nazi censors wrote to J.R.R. Tolkien, inquiring whether he was of Jewish decent to see if they needed to ban his books in Germany. Tolkien wrote back saying he wished he could be so lucky.
9YgPQ TIL up until 1991 there was a dedicated position in the British Armed Forces called 'The Keeper of the Apes'. Their job was solely to care for the monkeys of Gibraltar. The military even had a budget for ape-related expenses. Any sick or injured monkey was cared for in British hospitals.
Z8x0v TIL of Peter O'Connor, an Irish Olympian forced to compete under Great Britain due to a rule change. Unhappy with this, he smuggled in a green Irish flag and proceeded to scale Britain's flag pole during the award ceremony. He waved his flag at the top while his teammate guarded the bottom.