› added 10 years ago

111

TIL in 1999 Google brought in 16 students to test out their search engine. Upon reaching the site, they sat still for 45 seconds…just staring. Worried, Google finally asked what was wrong. All 16 responded the same: they were waiting for the rest of the page to load.

Read more youtube.com

via reddit.com

AD78x TIL the people of St. Pauli, Hamburg, were sick of their district smelling like urine because of nightclub patrons relieving themselves on the street. So they painted the buildings with special paint that repels water so forcefully public urinators end up peeing on themselves.
RD09 TIL Welfare currently pays more than a minimum-wage job in 35 states, even after accounting for the Earned Income Tax Credit, and in 13 states it pays more than $15 per hour.
8ajW8 TIL that GED Was Initially Only For Vets Who Were Drafted Into War Before They Finished High School. Civilians Weren't Eligible for GEDs Until Decades Later
Km59 TIL that the Diplodocus could whip its tail so fast it would break the sound barrier, producing a canon-like boom.
QJEVe TIL there is a mini “desert”, called the Athabasca Sand Dunes, near the northern border of Saskatchewan. It is the most northerly active sand dunes on the Earth.