› added 5 years ago

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TIL of Forward Compatibility, the ability of a system to accept input intended for a later version of itself.

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J1mLl TIL about ERNIE, a device introduced by the UK government in 1957 to draw premium bond prizes. The original ERNIE used neon tubes and electrons to generate true random numbers and filled up an entire room.
dDXdZ TIL American fried rice is a dish consisting of rice, tomato ketchup, meat, and raisins in Thailand. May include other ingredients, such as pineapple and croutons.
RaMa TIL in India, in order to promote lower birth rates, authorities have created a sterilization lottery. Individuals that volunteer to be sterilized are given 600 rupees and their names are put into a lottery to win televisions, motorcycles, food processors, and the grand prize, a Tata Nano.
QxL6 TIL the Alien in “Alien” was inspired by a transparent deep sea parasite that eats other creatures from the inside out and then takes over their bodies to ride the seas in
8aZAL TIL that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were just 2 of dozens of Japanese cities subjected to massive incendiary attacks. Firestorms leveled almost 100 square miles in Japan's three largest cities (Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya) alone. Hundreds of thousands were killed and millions forced to evacuate.