› added 10 years ago

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TIL there are tribes called ‘Cargo Cults’, who worshipped planes during WW2, believing they were gifts from the gods, and they built their own small airstrips and phoney planes to attract them. Some tribes still exist today.

699yw TIL that American nuclear physicist Edward Condon was targeted by the House Un-American Activities Committee for being at the forefront of the "revolutionary movement" of quantum mechanics. Condon responded that he believed in scientific advancements and didn't ask if they were made by Communists.
rNVXo TIL of the 2002 Tampa Cessna 172 crash, where a 15 year old boy crashed a light aircraft into the Bank of America building. Notes left behind by Charles J Bishop praised Osama bin laden and the 9/11 attacks, also voicing support for Al Qaeda. His mother later blamed his medication for the attacks.
kJvME TIL there is a maid café in Japan where maids pretend to be your wives. Inside, a delicious home-cooked meal is ready on the table…oh, and she’s wearing a bikini. Also, the cafe in question is obviously still in operation today, after 7 years.
ne907 TIL Egyptians and Sumerians invented straws 7,000 years ago to use for sipping beer. Created from natural products, the straws were used to separate sediment from beer as the beer-making process used to leave unwanted elements in the drink
aZvb TIL that by international agreement, topographic features on the planet Venus are named after goddesses and notable women