› added 1 year ago

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TIL the reason phones have letters over the numbers is because the pre-1968 hubs that calls were routed through could only handle 10,000 subscribers with unique, 5-digit numbers. Cities often needed multiple hubs that were assigned letters to serve as the first 2 digits of the phone number.

Y7DEx TIL that the WR for deepest scuba dive (332.35 m set by Ahmed Gabr in 2014) is highly controversial and likely faked, as there are far too many discrepancies in the provided proof for the dive, some of which could easily have killed him had he actually dived to that depth
b985p Today I learned that the Oneida silverware company was founded by a free-love community in upstate New York, led by a Protestant preacher from the 1840's, who believed there was a connection between sex and spirituality. He experimented with perineum pressure during intercourse to block ejaculation.
YpPjr TIL that cities such as Seattle and LA have a "mutual combat law", which occurs when two individuals intentionally and consensually engage in a fair fight, while not hurting bystanders or damaging property, and police do not intervene
vPGNr TIL one big obstacle standing in the way of clean energy in California is the lack of high tension power lines that can move the electricity. Developing the new grid to accommodate solar farms may take a decade.
QNKXd TIL that in Japan there is a group of prominent female housewife stock traders known as Mrs. Watanabe who are so proficient at what they do that many traders look to them for reference on which stocks are doing well.