› added 6 months ago

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TIL: John Draper, an old school hacker known as Captain Crunch or the Crunchman for hacking AT&T phone lines using a Captain Crunch cereal whistle. He is banned from multiple hacking conventions due to harassment, making weird noises of relief, and asking for piggyback rides.

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wR4E TIL: J.R.R. Tolkien began writing a sequel to “The Lord of the Rings” called “The New Shadow”, however he abandoned the new book as it was too sinister and depressing being set during the age of men.
E1NgV TIL that modern examination of classic Damascus steel revealed the presence of carbon nanotubes, the likely source of the material’s mythical reputation for strength.
6EN8Q TIL that the 20th President of the US, James A. Garfield, contributed an original proof of the Pythagorean Theorem before he became president. He came up with it during a discussion with other members of Congress, and it was published in the New England Journal of Education.
G4G TIL the U.S. government has specifications for its pens used by personnel: The pen consists of seven different parts and meets 16 pages of military specs, including that it be able to write for a mile with no fading and withstand temperatures up to 160 degrees and down to 40 degrees below zero.
5VrAQ TIL that Rhode Island only ratified the Constitution after the newly-formed U.S. Senate passed a bill that would have placed a trade embargo on it.