› added 11 years ago

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TIL 3 pacifists (all over age of 57) breached the defenses of a site that houses 100 tons of nuclear material, to paint antiwar slogans on buildings. The lapse in security at what is “supposed to be one of the world’s most secure facilities” was described by Steven Chu as “deeply troubling.”

VB1LZ TIL Voltaire became extremely rich by taking advantage of a weakness in the French lottery system. In 1729, he collaborated with mathematician Charles Marie de La Condamine and others to make use of a profitable opportunity in the French national lottery.
VMXYk TIL during the Great Famine, the Ottoman Sultan "Abdulmejid I" couldn't donate more than £1,000, in order not to embarrass Queen Victoria's £2,000 donation. Wanting to donate more, he sent up to 3 ships filled with wheat and Indian Corn as a "hushed-up" gesture, not wanting to upset the Queen.
nPY7 TIL of Betteridge’s law of headlines, which states that any headline that ends with a question mark can be answered with the word no.
xVbAb TIL There are hardly any publishing houses devoted to African languages while prizes given to promote African literature have the condition that the writers don’t write in African languages. South Africa is one of the few countries where publishers are committed to publishing African languages
j68XN TIL that 'Cognitive Dissonance' is the mental discomfort experienced when holding 2 conflicting beliefs or values simultaneously. People tend to change one of the conflicting beliefs or acquire new information to reduce the discomfort. Introduced by psychologist Leon Festinger in the 50s.