› added 6 months ago

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TIL: That the US Airforce has looked into research on: "How to use social media to control people like drones"

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via reddit.com

APVB TIL Nike made a commercial depicting a Samburu tribesman saying “Just Do it” in his native language. An American anthropologist called them out. The spoken phrase actually meant, “I don’t want these, give me big shoes.” Nike’s response: “We thought nobody in America would know what he said.”
b6WE0 TIL the US Naval Academy has draft every year, where graduates choose a ship to 'sign' with. The first pick is made by a mascot wearing a goat suit and midshipman's uniform.
wW18 TIL in 2010 Paul the Octopus, from a German aquarium in Oberhausen, correctly predicted every single World Cup match outcome for the German National Team that year. He received death threats when he accurately foresaw their semi-final loss.
WkY4B TIL owls make almost no noise from flying, even when tested in a room with multiple microphones
yVoVv TIL about Mary Louvestre; an African-American Civil War spy who delivered details about the construction of the Confederacy's first ironclad into Union hands by tracing plans her employer had using her seamstress skills.