› added 1 year ago

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TIL: The US Navy used Xbox 360 controllers to operate the periscopes on submarines based on feedback from junior officers and sailors; the previous controls for the periscope were clunky and real heavy and cost about $38,000 compared to the Xbox 360 controller’s cost of around $20.

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R551 TIL Goldfish can differentiate between different people and will “beg” for food from their owners
oBQxK TIL the Fibonacci Sequence was identified by ancient Indian author Pingala around 200 BC. Writing about meters in Sanskrit poetry, he also described binary numbers (in the form of short & long syllables, similar to Morse code), Pascal's Triangle, and the first known explicit reference to zero.
X06vD TIL the US Department of Justice sometimes hires "uncompensated" federal prosecutors. According to a WAPO article, to avoid a legal prohibition on providing "voluntary services" to the government, DOJ argues the services aren't voluntary, they're "gratuitous." Most of these unpaid AUSAs are women.
e05l6 TIL in 1980 the US Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that the Sioux Nation had been deprived of rights granted in Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. The Sioux rejected the decision⁠—monetary compensation was not enough
0wnxy TIL Eliot Ness, famous for taking down feared gangster and bootlegger Al Capone, died a penniless alcoholic that no one had heard of. His autobiography was published after his death and only then did he become famous with TV shows and movies being made of his exploits.