› added 11 years ago

211

TIL that there is a hidden spy room at an AT&T building in downtown San Francisco that splits all incoming communications traffic, copying this information to the NSA. This room has been operational since at least 2003 and has been publicly known to exist since 2006.

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eQOJ TIL while it’s only impossible to go faster than the speed of light in a vacuum, it’s definitely possible for some things to go faster than light in air or water, and when they do, the air or water starts to glow blue
Wer4 TIL that part of the reason it is so hard to get Pandas to mate is that the female Panda is only “in the mood” for a short period in the spring; their sexual interest lasts just 24-72 hours per year.
rN9B4 TIL that river turtles are the champions of ‘BUTT BREATHING’
WkKXA TIL in the early 1890s one man released 100 European Starlings in New York City, which have grown to 200 million today as an invasive pest. The story goes he wished for all birds mentioned in Shakespeare's works to reside in America.
rRJV4 TIL Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) is often added to toothpaste to act as a foaming agent. A Norwegian study in 1994 revealed that this almost tripled the rates of mouth ulcers to those susceptible.