› added 5 months ago

16

TIL that in 1947, a team of engineers working on the Harvard Mark II computer discovered that the system had crashed due to an actual moth stuck in a relay, and they taped the insect into their logbook, jokingly calling it the “first computer bug”—a term that has been used ever since.

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jNKAR [TIL] that the Muppets first big break was on The Jimmy Dean Show (the sausage guy) from 1963-66. Rowlf the dog had a 7-10 minute spot with Jimmy every episode. Jim Henson was so grateful he offered Dean 40% of the Muppets, but he turned it down saying he didn't earn it.
8aVVG TIL A Canadian police officer was busted smuggling in cheese from the US. Fixed pricing on dairy has created a cheese black market within the country.
mxwQo TIL The oldest surviving terrestrial globe is also one of the last to not include the Americas as it was completed in 1492, about a year before Columbus returned from his voyage to the Americas.
LQMLd TIL the Futurama theme song is considered a variation of a 1967 song called "Psyché Rock" by french composer Pierre Henry, which in turn is based on the well known 1966 song "Wild Things" by the Troggs.
6ZE7 TIL 41% of Americans will develop cancer over the course of their lifetime, and about half will die from it