Lesson for President Obama: Beware of hysteria. In the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, a fit of paranoia overtook the United

A reference guide to hoaxes, pranks, practical jokes, frauds, tricks, and other forms of deception.

Posted in r/todayilearned by u/Redrum777 • 2,140 points and 191 comments

What made them turn in their licence to kill?

Original Producers Say They Didn't Get Their Cut Of The Profits

Is it love or is it Stockholm syndrome? Or is her love for the Beast a symptom of Stockholm syndrome, the phrase put into use by psychiatrist Frank Ochberg to describe the phenomenon of hostages developing feelings of love for their captors? In promoting…

At Canada’s western edge, beachcombing wolves swim between islands, eating whatever the sea serves up.

Abdou Diouf (/ˈɑːbduː diˈuːf/ (listen) AHB-doo dee-OOF; Serer: Abdu Juuf; born September 7, 1935) is a Senegalese politician who was the second President of Senegal from 1981 to 2000. Diouf is notable both for coming to power by peaceful succession, and…

Lyman Ward (born June 21, 1941) is a Canadian actor.

The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedy actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respectively, as lead vocalist…

Local lore: Local residents were stunned to learn, after his death, that he was in fact a woman. She lived as a man for many years, registered to vote, and was the first woman to vote in Florida. She suffered a misstep early in life, having a child out…

Aldi is a grocery store unlike any other. If you're not familiar with them, you may be soon because they're in the middle of an aggressive U.S. expansion plan. This video explains why they're successful by highlighting 11 unique cost saving methods they implement.…

A three-year-old girl has been plucked to safety after surviving for a remarkable 11 days and nights lost in a Siberian forest infested with bears and wolves. Rescuers say Karina Chikitova was saved b...

Contact is a 1985 science fiction novel by American scientist Carl Sagan. It deals with the theme of contact between humanity and a more technologically advanced, extraterrestrial life form. It ranked No. 7 on the 1985 U.S. bestseller list. The novel originated…

Posted in r/todayilearned by u/Tokyono • 3,322 points and 134 comments

People l Observations l Curiosities

“For a consumer to somehow glean that this tip is in fact just subsidizing what the company would have paid on the back end is a completely deceptive practice,” said one consumer advocate.

Robert Laurel Crippen (born September 11, 1937) is an American retired naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aerospace engineer, and retired astronaut. He traveled into space four times: as Pilot of STS-1 in April 1981, the first Space Shuttle mission; and…

An English translation of 'De tranquillitate animi' (Greek text linked). Part of a very large site on classical Antiquity.

Jar Jar Binks is a fictional character from the Star Wars saga created by George Lucas. A major character in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, he also has a smaller role in Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and a one-line cameo in Episode III: Revenge…