› added 1 year ago

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TIL about a man under the pseudonym "Kirk Allen" who became deluded that a sci-fi book series was actually the story of his life. He filled in the blanks with elaborate details and hallucinated himself in those settings. He was treated by Robert Lindner, who himself became obsessed with the books.

XEpAX TIL: First game of chess against a computer was played in 1952 by Alan Turing. Because there were no computers powerful enough to actually run the program Alan Turing "ran" the program manually on a piece of paper
P1LDO TIL that when on shore leave in Singapore, members of the Royal Australian Navy used to get atop a public toilet building in Bugis and perform “The Dance of the Flaming Arseholes”
4XeoN TIL that a sewer worker accidentally discovered a drain that would lead right to the bank of England's gold vault. He then requested to meet the directors at any time of their choosing inside the vault, and appeared out of the floorboards at the specified time.
W7LJX TIL, Jupiter's upper atmosphere is much hotter (~425°C/800°F) than originally predicted and much hotter at the poles than the equator. Jupiter's magnetic field creates enormous auroras at the poles that heat up the rest of the planet.
OEo6 TIL that China invented fireworks, but Italy gave them color. Colors are created using metallic powders. Calcium makes orange, sodium makes yellow, and barium makes green. Also, cylindrical tubes create whistling sounds, aluminum flakes make hissing noises, and flash powder makes the loud “booms.”