› added 1 week ago

5

TIL of Frances Perkins, first woman cabinet member, longest serving Secretary of Labor, and creator of Social Security

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aGdo TIL When the world’s largest diamond was transported from Africa to England, an elaborate & secure journey by sea was publicized - as a rouse. The real diamond was simply posted by mail.
0dPbA TIL: The Trojan Ballistics Suit of Armor was a planned exoskeleton suit inspired by the MJOLNIR armor from the Halo series for Canadian soldiers featured on the Discovery Channel. Features included wrist sheaths and in suit morphine injections. The inventor died in a car crash before he finished it.
WdgL TIL that every single spy that Hitler thought he had in Britain was a double agent under British control.
9wx4Q TIL the use of electricity for medical purposes dates back at least 1800 years: the Imperial Roman physician Scribonius Largus wrote a book of cures in the 2nd century; his treatments for gout and headaches were accomplished by applying the current from an electric eel (or two) to the affected area.
b9xn9 TIL that young girls in Cameroon would forcefully flatten their breasts, so they wouldn't be sexually harassed or sold off to marriage by their fathers, as men in Cameroon associate breast growth with sexual maturity and consent.