› added 7 years ago

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TIL that when the Chinese stopped killing sharks for sharkfin soup at the behest of Yao Ming, that people instead shifted to killing Manta Rays

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NZXE TIL that trains have conical wheels because there is no differential; when the train turns one wheel will travel a greater distance than the other
Y7ped TIL about Mohed Altrad, a French-Syrian billionaire who doesn't know when he was born because his mother was assaulted by the tribal chief and died shortly after the birth. Being a Bedouin he had no access to school. He still obtained a doctorate in computer science in Paris thanks to a scholarship.
l7xm1 TIL Unconventional computing is computing by any of a wide range of new or unusual methods. It is also known as alternative computing.
VMaEZ TIL that before being retconned as an Italian like Mario, Wario was intended to be German: in his early voiced appearances, he says "So ein Mist!" (the German equivalent of "aw, crap!") when defeated.
nWVBG TIL Poland’s first PM was a concert pianist