› added 2 years ago

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TIL that India had to ban charas (cannabis concentrate) due to pressure from the US.

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oBx1K TIL that Blackbeard, despite being famous as a successful and bloodthirsty pirate, actually got far less money than other pirates of the time, and there is no evidence to suggest that he murdered or harmed his captives, or even forced them to stay with his crew.
v1y58 TIL that after being faced with budget problems during the filming of Titanic, James Cameron offered to give up his share of future profits but the studio didn't accept his offer as they believed it was an empty gesture because the film would have no profit
x65J7 TIL that Canada produced over 800,000 military trucks during WW2, more than Germany, Italy & Japan combined. In 1945 the Canadian Army had 1 vehicle for every 3 soldiers (the US Army had 1 for 7), making it the most mobile army on earth.
4jP5 TIL In the 1960s, the sugar industry paid three Harvard scientists $50,000 to say that heart disease was most likely caused by saturated fat. After their report was published in JAMA, diets concentrating on low fat gained the endorsement of many health authorities.
xV9l1 TIL the FBI supplied 48 police agencies with Stingray surveillance hardware that mimics cell phone towers, and had them sign non-disclosure agreements to stop them confirming their use of it or its capabilities to anyone, including courts of law. Cases would be dismissed rather than expose the tech.