› added 2 months ago

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TIL of Operation Coldfeet where two CIA operatives parachuted onto abandoned Soviet drift stations in the arctic to gather intelligence. Because they were out of reach of helicopters and ships, they were extracted using the Fulton Skyhook system—snatched off the ice by a plane without it landing.

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eDR5 TIL that after WWII the CIA recruited Nazi war criminals, who had worked on mind control/brainwashing techniques in Germany, to assist them with their own mind control experiments on unwitting US citizens.
M7Y5V TIL there was a guy called ‘Brushy’ Bill Roberts who claimed that he was Billy the Kid in 1950 just before he passed away. Brushy even had the same scars as Billy. Also, a photograph of Brushy Bill at age 71 was a 93% match to Billy the Kid in the latter’s famous tintype.
kOpvm TIL Mr Potato Head was originally just the accessories. You provided your own potatoes.
woMkY TIL insects' ability to hear using tympanal ears has independently evolved at least in seven different orders (Orthoptera, Mantodea, Hemiptera, Neuroptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera and Diptera), involving at least 15 body locations
rxDw TIL that in 1964 civil rights activists spent the summer in Mississippi registering black voters. The resulting terror campaign against the activists included 35 shootings, 80 beatings, 30 bombings, and 35 church burnings. Several died. Over 1000 people were arrested.