› added 11 years ago

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TIL Luis von Ahn took CAPTCHA (the squiggly silly words you type when you sign up for something online) and turned it into a worldwide mass text deciphering tool, using people like you and I to digitize all the books that exist in the world, one word at a time.

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nevDd We’ve seen people on skateboards and motorcycles loop the loop many times. Damian Walter is the first human to do it on foot. To run it without falling, you need to reach the right speed; then, centrifugal forces will keep you locked on the track. Note how his shoulder line stays dead centre of the loop. For this particular one, Damian needed to accelerate up to 8.65 mph in the highest point to be able to gain enough inertia as to rotate his body and legs around his head fast enough, so when gravity finally wins, he’s already feet down on the track.
Oo0J6 TIL that many printers will print out a pattern of microscopic yellow dots on every page as fingerprints to allow authorities to trace back the precise origins of the printout.
PYlvg TIL that Game of Thrones actresses Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) and Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) would relax together after sets by sitting in bath tubs smoking weed and putting on makeup. They remain good friends off set
KYgpR TIL Only 1g of alcohol (including content in medications) is permitted to be used/released by astronauts per day on the International Space station due to Combustibility concerns (page 269)
4kelb TIL for 2 years the US had a 100 year old man as president of the senate; being 3rd in line for the presidency