› added 9 years ago

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TIL the French flag has uneven proportions in naval use. The blue, white, and red sections are 30%, 33%, and 37%, respectively, to counteract the illusion of size mismatch created when the flag is flapping (flapping makes the section opposite the halyard, the red section in this case, seem smaller)

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KOmGJ TIL the period 1955-1972, the development of nuclear rocket engines in the USA began with the "Rover" project. The first experimental nuclear engine was named "KIWI" and experiments were performed on it until 1964. They constructed a compact nuclear reactor with U235 carbide in a graphite housing.
6EdwW TIL Facebook created two AI chatbots to converse with one other, only to shut them down when they began speaking in a language they had created for themselves.
eVXL TIL a Congressional investigation into the NSA conducted nearly 40 years ago revealed that the NSA has been routinely monitoring telephone conversations of American citizens since the early 1950’s.
W7wlX TIL after losing her husband at the hands of an elusive local crime lord, a Colombian woman was able to infiltrate the gang and seduce the man long enough for her to gain his trust, gathering enough information that led to his arrest.
5V1V9 TIL that the majority of ancient Brits came from a 6,000-year-old Spanish tribe