› added 1 year ago

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TIL that the Netherlands' first mobile phone network was super unsafe. Spies could listen in on phone calls. Hackers discovered that they could steal any phone number or get new phone numbers by modifying the phone itself, and there was a black market for stolen car phones.

Read more cryptomuseum.com

via reddit.com

PYDYJ TIL about the Pseudo-Geber corpus, a group of influential works on chemistry and alchemy from the 13th and 14th centuries, whose authors are unknown because they attributed them to the legendary alchemist Geber in an attempt to gain credibility.
pb1Q TIL in a playing of Cliffhangers on Price is Right, that day’s guest host called the climber Fritz, unaware that a prize model’s husband named Fritz had gone missing in a climbing accident. When the climber fell, he yelled “There goes Fritz!” The model fled backstage to cry for the rest of the show.
NX4LP TIL that Catalan families take care of a log named Tio de Nadal from Dec 8 until Christmas, when they hit it with wet sticks and sing songs until it shits presents.
RxY9 TIL that Fasting is beneficial to the immune system by triggering stem cell regeneration
M71GW TIL that the manta ray has the biggest brain and by far the biggest brain-to-mass ratio of any fish and is one of the few animals in the world that may pass the "mirror test" for self-recognition.