› added 5 years ago

176

TIL that in the 1930s, dust storms were so severe that the static electricity generated would arc from your body to the nearest metal object and knock you head-over-heels. Two men shaking hands could literally knock each other out.

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kJvJm TIL about the Story of Stuff, a fascinating video that explains the system of how Americans consume products and produce waste.
kpo1 TIL the United States military is testing - a laser cannon that can be directed by an Xbox controller, an electromagnetic rail gun that can be placed on future tanks, and a ‘smart’ sniper rifle that can measure variables like wind conditions.
v1KXr TIL 1/3 of all internet traffic from the U.S. to Asia passes through a single skyscraper in Downtown Los Angeles, where 260 ISPs lease space for interconnected networks.
jNwVQ TIL Ninety-nine per cent of crocodile offspring are eaten in the first year after birth, by large fish, herons, monitor lizards and adult crocodiles.
nWEZY TIL how horses can sleep standing up