› added 12 years ago

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TIL A South African IT company preferred to use a pigeon to transport a 4GB flash drive over 80 km (50 mi) instead of using the country’s biggest ISP’s ADSL. Including downloading, it took two hours for the data to arrive, the same amount of time it took to tranfer 4% of the data over the ADSL.

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loNr1 TIL The stereotype of the “dense US southerner” comes from Hookworm, a parasite that causes developmental delays in children. Absorbed through feet and common when around raw sewage, it’s common in impoverished areas. It was rampant in the early 20th century, and it’s back.
J1Xr1 TIL about the Wärtsilä RT-flex96C, the largest reciprocating engine in the world. It is a diesel engine for container ships, up to 14 cylinders, 107,390 HP, 5.6M lb-ft of torque, uses up to 250 tons of fuel per day.
AZ7g TIL Charlie Chaplin would audition actresses using a “casting couch” like method, where he would prompt them to undress using caption cards and mime. He would then fondle their breasts, and once they were completely naked, he would throw pies at them.
l7KaN TIL Vikings Used Urine-Boiled Fungus, known as touchwood, to Create a Smoldering Material That Allowed Them to Carry Fire with Them
VMLYB TIL in the 1920's newly hired engineers at General Electric would be told, as a joke, to develop a frosted lightbulb. The experienced engineers believed this to be impossible. In 1925, newly hired Marvin Pipkin got the assignment not realizing it was a joke and succeeded.