› added 4 years ago

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TIL in WW2 the U.S military initially recommended adding armor to areas of aircraft with the most bullet holes. However due to survivorship bias - where people or things that do not make it past a selection process are not factored into a decision - those were places that already had enough armor.

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oB567 today i learned that the blocks in tetris are called Tetrominos!
GYLbj TIL though it is common to sneeze during a cold or flu, very frequent sneezing is often due to allergies
EL4X TIL that a woman survived a 14,500 foot fall while skydiving. Her parachute failed to deploy, and she landed on a mound of fire ants. After being stung 100+ times, the adrenaline rush was enough to keep her heart beating.
GRPE TIL in 1961 a b-52 broke apart mid air over Goldsboro, North Carolina causing two nuclear bombs to fall. One parachute functioned properly, that bomb survived. When the other bomb hit the ground 5 out of 6 safety devices malfunctioned, a single switch prevented a nuclear explosion.
p80jQ TIL In 1999, people believed that Furbies contained computer chips so they could record words and repeat them. The U.S. satellite intelligence operation banned Furbies - in essence, accusing the toy of being a Chinese-manufactured spy, a secret-stealing bugging device capable of eavesdropping.