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TIL that Benjamin Franklin used chess as a means of learning Italian. He would play games with a friend who was also studying the language. The winner of their match assigned a task to the loser; such as making them learn some Italian grammar, which had to be performed before their next match.

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R7Xv6 TIL about John Atanasoff, who built the first digital computer, but got very little credit because his employer, Iowa State College, never filed the patent application
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