› added 4 years ago

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TIL that the seemingly altruistic “Keep America Beautiful” anti-littering campaign was actually started so companies like Coca Cola and Dixie could produce MORE waste, to prevent bans on single-use containers, and make Americans feel like trash was the burden of individuals, not corporations.

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via reddit.com

7rx5r TIL that the term "Stockholm Syndrome" was made up by a psychiatrist to hide how his gross mishandling of a hostage situation made the hostages trust the bank robbers more than him or the police he advised.
PJdw TIL the primitive immune system of a horseshoe crab makes them useful to humans. Every drug certified by the FDA must be tested using an extract from their blood cells. Their blood is worth ~$15,000 a quart. A horseshoe crab can be bled, returned to the ocean, and after time, can give blood again.
VjpD TIL A missing first amendment “one Representative for every fifty thousand persons”, got lost due to a clerical error. Today we have over 700k people per Rep.
N7EON TIL about Emilie du Châtelet, a scientist who in 1749 feared that bearing a child at 42 would be the last thing she did. She worked furiously on a magnum opus that would eventually change the world of physics. Within days of completing her work, she gave birth to a daughter and died soon after.
KOj86 TIL that George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, has his own fire department with one fire truck. He originally had two but donated one to the Muir Beach Fire Department. There are 12 firefighters in his department and they protect his land and surrounding areas from wild fires.