› added 10 years ago

424

TIL In 2004, a hacker from Germany revealed Half Life 2’s source code andValve tried to arrest him by getting him to come to the states for a fake interview.

Read more wired.com

via reddit.com

noVY TIL that UC Davis researchers devised a test for bomb and drug-sniffing dogs. They put dogs through 144 runs of a clean room with no drugs or explosives. But the dogs indicated on 123 runs, indicating a failure rate of 85% according to the test’s criteria.
144D TIL Ernesto Miranda, well known for the Supreme Court case establishing “Miranda Rights”, was stabbed to death 10 years later by a man who exercised those rights and was never charged with the murder.
OkV6 TIL Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of the United States, was deeply opposed to the idea of a federal bank. He vetoed the “Second Bank” and was quoted saying “I will kill it”. Now his face is one of the most circulated denomination of the US currency printed by the Federal Bank; the $20 bill.
ANwvB TIL about the phrase "Sick as a Parrot" which unlike the one I know "Sick as a dog" is apparently reference to being disappointed or sad because you aren't "bright and beautiful" from a 1682 comedy. Apparently it used to be common in the UK - I'm so excited to learn it!
7r7Zx TIL: Microorganisms constitute more than 90% of the biomass in the sea. It is estimated that viruses kill approximately 20% of this biomass each day, and that there are 15 times as many viruses in the oceans as there are bacteria and archaea