› added 6 years ago

81

TIL of the Invention Secrecy Act. The government has a program in place which specifically deals with inventions that are deemed to be "threats to national security" (open thread for choice quotes). There are currently 6102 inventions under lock and key, some of which "pertain to energy generation".

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

ZpExa TIL Titanic passenger Edgar Samuel Andrew was so angry he had to board Titanic, he wrote in a letter on April 8, 1912: "... right now I wish the 'Titanic' were lying at the bottom of the ocean." Week later, his wish came true.
4ko4J TIL in 1858, a large brawl involving 50 US representatives erupted on the House floor, ending only when a missed punch from Rep. Washburn upended the hairpiece of Rep. Barksdale. The embarrassed Barksdale accidentally replaced the wig backwards, causing both sides to erupt in spontaneous laughter.
xvE5 TIL in WWII Japan used underwater manned suicide torpedos called Kaiten to destroy American ships. If they were successful, they blew up. If they missed, they sank to the bottom of the ocean.
8a5bb TIL Ikea's friendly "touch and try" showrooms have worked too well in China. Customers napped on sofas and beds and senior groups have taken over the food court without ordering anything. The Ikea stores in China tried a "no-napping policy" but people ignored it and still napped in the store.
d4BQ TIL that Medieval monks would often complain about their jobs by writing “bitchy comments” in the margins of the manuscripts they had to copy- for example, “I am very cold,” “Oh, my hand,” and “Now I’ve written the whole thing: for Christ’s sake give me a drink.”