› added 11 years ago

76

TIL Dell was started by a college kid taking on HP and Compaq from his dorm room - and made $74M his first year.

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Y6QA TIL that Mongols were actually outnumbered in most of their victories in battles. But they still managed to deceive their enemies by elaborate ruses - like mounting dummies atop horses, and tying sticks to the horses’ tails to create dust storms.
woZ66 TIL chickens sing an "egg song" that can go on for several minutes after laying an egg, and we're not sure why.
woNJE TIL about Quantum Chess, where pieces exist in superposition, move unpredictably, and become entangled! It combines chess with quantum mechanics, making strategy more about probabilities. Even Paul Rudd played it vs. Stephen Hawking!
l7ZRG TIL a polar bear swam continuously for 687 kilometres (426 miles) in the Beaufort Sea. She swam for 232 hours or 9 days straight, in waters that were 2-6 degrees celsius, resulting in her cub dying and a drop in her body fat
R74Y7 TIL of the Ibrahim Prize. a $5 million payout plus $200,000 per year given to African leaders who were democratically elected and left office after their term was up as part of their criteria. For 7 of the 12 years it was offered, it was never awarded to anyone