› added 11 years ago

1090

TIL that the distorted words in CAPTCHAs (the anti-spam feature) are all taken from old books and newspapers. By identifying the words, users are actually helping to transcribe these printed sources to the internet. As a result, the entire New York Times archive is now searchable back to 1850.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

9Z77 TIL that a mild electric shock to a persons brain can improve their maths skills for up to six months. This could help treat the nearly 20 percent of the population with moderate to severe dyscalculia (math disability).
xDmw TIL that the green iguana has a ‘third-eye’ called a parietial eye, in the middle of its forehead. This does not function in the same way as its two side eyes, but enables it to detect movement, especially from above, to help it avoid predators.
Gx5J TIL At the end of the South Park episode “Trapped in the Closet” All the names on the credits read either “John Smith” or “Jane Smith” due to Tom Cruise’s and Scientologists’ reputation of suing people.
8alBG TIL That while Pattie Boyd was married to George Harrison and sleeping with Eric Clapton, the two musicians fought for her love with a formal guitar duel that lasted over 2 hours. Clapton won.
awYJN TIL while Michael Collins was orbiting the moon, mission control warned of a problem with the shuttle's coolant system. Instead of fixing the problem manually as advised, he flicked the system's switch from auto to manual, then back to auto, and carried on with other chores. The issue self resolved.