› added 3 years ago

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TIL about the "Dorset Biological Warfare Experiments" which involved spraying South Dorset (UK) with various chemicals and bacteria, without the knowledge or consent of the inhabitants. The experiments took place in the 60's and 70's to see how much spread could occur from one aircraft. Answer: lots

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AO9n TIL The German city of Konstanz was not bombed by the Allied Forces during World War II, because the city left all its lights on at night, and thus fooled the bombers into thinking it was actually part of Switzerland.
Mejn0 TIL 3 months after Pearl Harbor, a lone Japanese submarine shelled coastal California. In response, the US fired over 1400 anti-aircraft shells into the air and sent 500 troops to defend and secure Walt Disney Studios.
KYDQR TIL astronaut John Young risked the U.S space mission Gemini 3 by smuggling a beef sandwich into space which was breaking up and creating crumbs and that could have caused damage to the spacecraft or the equipment.
arlL TIL that five days before the bombing of Hiroshima, the U.S. Army Air Force dropped one million leaflets over the city and 33 other Japanese cities warning that those cities were going to be destroyed
7r0XO TIL a man was elected to be the first and only mayor of the English town Hartlepool under the guise of thier football mascot, H'angus the monkey. He barely campaigned and his only promise was to provide free bananas for school children. He became the first elected mayor in Britain to win a third ter