› added 3 years ago

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TIL The German army employed large numbers of captured soviet T-34s tanks. they were designated by the Germans as Panzerkampfwagen T-34 747(r). In order to prevent recognition mistakes, large swastikas were painted on the tanks, in order to prevent attack by Axis aircraft.

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yQ5Bl TIL: During the Russian famine of the 1920s, Government officials advised starving residents to dig up the dried bones of animals, grind them into flour and bake a “bread substitute [that has] a nutritive value of 25 percent more than rye bread, in spite of its unpleasant smell and taste”.
npdG TIL that “Third World” countries are not defined by their economy or development. Instead they are all the countries that were neither aligned with the US and its allies (first world) nor the USSR and its allies (second world) during the Cold War.
PY71g TIL that in 1990 there was only 1 full-time exorcist in the catholic church. Today there are several hundreds.
wdwM TIL skeptic James Randi has annual Pigasus Awards that seek to expose parapsychological, paranormal or psychic frauds. Noted recipients include Scientology, Jenny McCarthy, Dr. Oz, The Learning Channel and John Edward.
Ml6m TIL the Economist derives most of its revenue from subscriptions because they anticipate advertising will “pretty much go away.” “[The Guardian employs] 964 people. That’s a very, very, very large newsroom. If they think they’re going to fund that with online advertising, I think they’re wrong.”