› added 9 years ago

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TIL that India has one of the world’s only No First Use (NFU) nuclear doctrines, which dictates that India will only deploy nuclear weapons in the event of a nuclear attack on India occurring first. Pakistan has an active first use nuclear policy.

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XEGYX TIL of a parasitic fungus called cordyceps that infects ants. Once a spore finds a host it grows a network of roots inside, delivering chemicals that will eventually give the fungus full control of the ant, using the body to reach a suitable place to grow. It anchors down with its jaws, permanently.
VB54p TIL about the Stelae of Nahr el-Kalb, a series of inscriptions from several conquerors from Egyptian times to Lebanese independence
lE9V TIL that the Chinese invented a 1-wheeled wheelbarrow in 200AD. One man could carry up to 6x the weight than if he were using a Western wheelbarrow. Some Chinese wheelbarrows were further improved by adding sails, turning them into 3rd-Century Wind-Powered Land-Ships
6ErWl TIL of Musopen, a non-profit org. that provides high-quality recordings of classical music in the public domain, so that anyone can use them. The project emerged as a response to the big corporations in the music industry that were burying old artists, like Beethoven and Chopin, behind copyright
x66Vb Today I learned that a man in Oregon was inspired by the Simpsons episode "E-I-E-I-D'oh", where Homer grows a tomato-tobacco hybrid called tomacco, to grow his own version of tomacco. He later gave some to the episode's writer, Ian Maxtone-Graham.