› added 4 years ago

215

TIL: In 2005, because of a programming error, a virtual plague spread through World of Warcraft. The servers had to be shut down because NPCs and players killed off entire in-game cities. Researchers of disease analyzed and studied the event as a model for the spread of plague IRL.

Read more seattletimes.com

via reddit.com

jYwn TIL The writers of ‘Friends’ didn’t originally intend for Joey to be dim, but when LeBlanc auditioned for the role, he put a “different spin” on the character, convincing the writers that his being dumb would be a great source of comedy.
0dP71 TIL The Olympics don't actually give any official ranking by country, merely a gold medal "ordering"
x6edB TIL on Valentine's Day in 1991 during the Gulf War, the RAF attempted to airstrike a bridge in Fallujah with laser guided missiles, but they malfunctioned and hit a local marketplace. The RAF apologized and subsequently attacked the bridge again, hitting a different marketplace.
yVdkl TIL that having a small amount of insulation on a cylinder (like a pipe or water heater) can actually make it lose heat faster than if it were entirely uninsulated. This is known as the critical thickness of insulation. Having more than the critical thickness makes the heat transfer rate go down.
ZGgR TIL: The phrase “kill them all, let God sort them out” comes from a Crusader in 1209 who wiped out a town of cathar ‘heretics’. Couldn’t tell them apart from Catholics, so killed em all