› added 9 months ago

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TIL that Xerox and Canon developed a digital watermark which color laser printers produce on every page that identifies the specific printer that was used to print the document in case it is used in a crime.

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wme6 Today I learned that there is a movement to reclaim the Swastika for it’s ancient roots (use before it was adopted by the Nazi party)
kJak5 TIL about the Massacre of the Latins, which occurred in Constantinople in 1182. The massacre was a result of the presence of Western merchants, particularly Italians, and various other factors. The Orthodox population killed tens of thousands of Catholics, with 4,000 survivors being sold as slaves.
0vAL TIL Finnur Magnusson identified cracks in a rock as Runes and stated that they made up an epic poem about Harald Wartooth, for victory against the Swedish king Sigurd Ring at the Battle of Brávellir. Turns out he was 100% wrong, they were just naturally formed cracks and he looked quite the fool.
NXaB6 TIL that during WWII, Volkswagen produced wood-burning cars called "Holzbrenner" due to fuel shortages. They ran on flammable gas produced by heating wood, not by burning it directly.
1a6RX TIL in 1946, the British government attempted to plant 150,000 acres of peanuts in an African colony. After 5 years and nearly £50 million, not only had the project failed, but the land was ruined in the process, leaving it an unusable dust bowl.