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TIL that in 1968 the United Kingdom evicted more than 1,000 natives from their home island at the request of the US so that they could build an army base

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R5xyl TIL that during the Cold War, the CIA experimented with using pigeons equipped with tiny cameras to conduct aerial surveillance. While it sounds like a joke, pigeons were genuinely deployed for spy missions!
kOYp1 TIL: that the phrase ‘devil’s advocate’ comes from a medieval job title. The ‘advocatus diaboli’ was the guy tasked with coming up with counter arguments when a priest was nominated to be blessed or canonized.
BrRkr TIL: The notion of a “tongue map” for different tastes is a myth. Scientists have found that specialist brain cells handle different tastes.
kOQO4 TIL the iconic 11-pointed maple leaf on the Canadian Flag has no historical significance. It was selected because it performed best in high-speed wind tunnel testing.
GAZN7 TIL: You can be elected to be a UK MP even if you do not hold British citizenship.