› added 9 years ago

50

TIL that a StingRay tracker mimics a wireless carrier cell tower in order to force nearby phones & cellular data devices to connect to it then it can extract & write to metadata on your device and an operator can conduct specific surveillance operations on just the target device; and it’s legal.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

lGa7 TIL in 1986, Silo ran an advertisement for a stereo system that cost “299 bananas”. Costumers took this literally, costing the store $10,465.
KOgmJ TIL that the largest single organism on the planet is not a blue whale - it is a "Humongous Fungus" called Armillaria ostoyae, located in Oregon, U.S. It is estimated it weighs 440 tons (the size of three blue whales) and is 2400 years old.
neZaY TIL of a US Navy pilot in 1998 who flew too low against regulations, cutting a gondola's cable and killing 20 people. He and his crew were put on trial and found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide
6JX7 TIL of the Horseshoe Theory. The idea is that the political spectrum isn’t a line, it’s more of a horseshoe shape. The extreme ends of the left and right are more similar to each other than moderate left and moderate right.
wn07 TIL that FIFA referees typically run 6 to 8 miles per game. All while scrutinizing plays and communicating with players and other officials.