› added 4 months ago

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TIL that at the end of the Cold War the ‘Last Supper’ was held at the Pentagon. Over dinner, the heads of major defence contractors were told of coming budget cuts and the need to consolidate. The number of prime defence contractors declined from 51 to 5 in the aftermath.

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via reddit.com

4XGd5 TIL that when Hurricane Ivan was in the Gulf of Mexico in 2004, pressure sensors on the ocean floor detected a freak wave 91 feet tall. Computer simulations suggested that at the storm's peak as a Category 5 it was producing waves over 130 feet high.
AWKa TIL due to name confusion, staff of the Slovak and Slovenian embassies meet once a month to exchange wrongly addressed mail
rKnw TIL that when the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act was passed, only the birdseed industry successfully lobbied against it by arguing that hemp seeds gave birds shinier feathers than other seeds. Because of this, birdseed producers are legally allowed to import hemp seeds into the US (deactivated) today.
5Yldk TIL the ancient city of Gobekli Tepe in Turkey was built ca. 10,000 BC, is twice as old as Stonehenge, and completely disrupts our ideas of human development and agriculture.
BlwK TIL that Robert Plant donated money to a radio station that promised to never play “Stairway to Heaven” again