› added 12 years ago

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TIL that in 2006, 1/3 of all stocks traded in the USA and EU were traded electronically by specially designed algorithms without any human input. Today, it is estimated that around 70% of stocks traded in the US and EU markets are bought/sold by algorithmic programs, with some markets pushing 80%.

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via reddit.com

X8bR TIL The writing staff of Futurama held 3 Ph.D.s, seven master’s degrees, and cumulatively had more than 50 years at Harvard University. Series writer Patric M. Verrone stated, “we were easily the most overeducated cartoon writers in history”.
pJpZ TIL Actor Brendan Gleeson (Braveheart, Mad-Eye Moody from the Harry Potter films, In Bruges, 28 Days Later) didn’t start acting in movies until he was 34 years old.
oBQOr TIL in 2009 a drunk broker traded 7 million barrels of oil, representing 69% of the total market, in two and a half hours. This drove oil prices up by $1.50/barrel world wide and cost his firm $10 million.
4yGo TIL it’s been over 30 years since we had a cooler than average month
r6Qd TIL that “in just two years – 2011 and 2012 – China produced more cement than the US did in the entire 20th century.”