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TIL in 1912, an Irish physicist invented the optophone which was a device that was intended to allow blind people to hear "light". It was adapted to translate written words to sounds.

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0MaR TIL Dr. Evil’s voice/mannerisms were Mike Myers’ impression of boss and SNL executive producer, Lorne Michaels.
xVWZg TIL a reason that jazz flute players wore "soul patches" (soul patches are a bit of facial hair left below the lower lip and popularized as a general style by jazz musicians) is because they disliked the feeling of the flute against clean-shaven skin below the lower lip
7rpZb TIL about "one of the biggest companies you've never heard of". Acxiom gathers information on some 700 m people, with up to 1,500 data points per person, for ultra targeted marketing. Down to the list of people who buy particular brands of cereal in your local supermarket.
dD0Z8 TIL In the 1500s, a priest named Diego de Landa asked a Maya scribe to produce an alphabet of his language and write a sentence. The sentence the scribe wrote was "Ma’ in k’áati’" (I don't want to). The sentence was deciphered in the late 1900s as Maya writing is syllabic, not alphabetic.
n107 TIL that amid widespread chocolate shortage during WW2, Pietro Ferrero sought to create a chocolate treat that would be affordable for struggling families. The result was “supercrema,” a spread made with just a little bit of chocolate and a lot of the hazelnuts. Now we call it Nutella.