› added 1 year ago

62

TIL: You can determine the voltage in power lines overhead by counting the insulator discs below the line. High voltage power lines typically use disc insulators to prevent current entering the metal pylon. Counting the number of discs can give an indication of the line voltage:

Read more spark.iop.org

via reddit.com

6E5YZ TIL about Juan Pujol Garcia, a spy who single handedly saved thousands of lives during D-Day by using his made-up network of spies to convince the Germans that another attack was going to happen in Calais instead of Normandy. He was also the only person to be decorated by both the Axis and Allies.
lYZ7 TIL that the DeLorean Motor Company, under new management, plans to release a new, electric DMC.
m1kWO TIL about Plastivores. Bacteria, Fungi and even some insects that can break down and de-polymerize all kinds of plastics. Once thought to be rare in nature, Plastivorous activity is being increasingly found in a wide variety of places including sea-water and the Amazon.
VAy4 TIL In 1906 a German shoemaker, Wilhelm Voigt, impersonated a military officer and tricked a group of soldiers into helping him rob a small town. Kaiser Willhelm II thought it was so funny that he personally pardoned Voigt.
7rEdZ TIL that Einstein described quantum entanglement as "spuckhafte ferwirklung" or "spooky action at a distance" because it contradicted his Theory of Relativity