› added 3 years ago

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TIL about the Carrington Event, the largest recorded solar storm to hit Earth. Auroras were seen as far south as Cuba, and telegraph equipment was destroyed across the US and Europe. A similar storm, which would destroy electronics and power grids, has a 12% chance of occurring in the next decade.

Read more space.com

via reddit.com

LkXOp TIL Verizon's "unlimited plan" throttles data speed and streaming quality unless you pay for "Premium LTE"
J1lmB TIL that to satisfy a record contract, goth rocker Andrew Eldritch recorded an album as the band SSV-NSMABAAOTWMODAACOTIATW, said to stand for "Screw Shareholder Value - Not So Much a Band as Another Opportunity to Waste Money on Drugs and Ammunition Courtesy of the Idiots at Time Warner.”
awVX9 TIL that amethyst was considered one of the five most precious gemstones, alongside diamond, ruby, sapphire, and emerald. When large deposits were found in Brazil, the value of amethyst plummeted, and today it is considered only semiprecious.
kwl7 TIL that two men claimed to have been abducted by aliens with carrot-like faces and lobster-claw hands. The local sheriff left them alone and secretly recorded them, expecting a hoax to be revealed, but they continued to discuss the events with each other as if they were terrified.
gwV9 TIL, In 2 AD, the Roman poet Ovid published a series of poems that taught men relationship advice such as “‘not forgetting her birthday” and “not asking about her age”.