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TIL there have been computers programmed in “ternary” instead of the conventional binary. One such computer, built by the Soviets in 1958, had distinct advantages over binary computers such as increased power efficiency, cheaper parts and easier implementation of certain operations.

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vP198 TIL about Daphne Oram, a medium-inspired musician who wrote the first ever real-time electronic composition at the age of 23 and later invented the Oramics Machine—an electronic instrument "played" by painting lines and marks on film.
woddo TIL that several counties in Michigan have nonsense names. 19th century geographer Henry Schoolcraft invented meaningless "Indian-sounding" place names by combining Latin, Arabic, and Ojibwe sounds.
epZlJ TIL that in 1958, the U.S. accidentally dropped a nuclear bomb on a South Carolina family's backyard. While it wasn’t armed with a nuclear warhead, the conventional explosives detonated, leaving a large crater and damaging the house. Amazingly, no one was killed in what became known as the Mars
VBkb4 TIL The Immaculate Conception is a separate concept from the Virgin Birth. It refers to the Catholic (and some others) belief that Mary was conceived without Original Sin and therefore was pure enough to receive the Son of God. The concept is often rejected by Protestants as non-scriptural.
x7oo TIL that Filmmaker Kevin Smith, of Jay & Silent Bob fame, did not smoke weed until he was 38 - following the box office failure of Zack & Miri