› added 11 years ago

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TIL that Russian Jewish engineer Jakow Trachtenberg developed a system of rapid mental calculation (The Trachtenberg system) while being held in a Nazi concentration camp in order to keep his mind occupied.

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nxa9 TIL that a theoretical physicist is in between between “Monkey-Sex Observer” and “Vermin Handler” for the worst jobs in Science.
XE0ak TIL, in Danish mythology, there is a group of Ravens called the Valravn that ate a kings heart and gained human integrative and supernatural abilities, which they used to perform malicious acts
e0Wek TIL that in July 2018, Russian scientists collected and analysed 300 prehistoric worms from the permafrost and thawed them. 2 of the ancient worms revived and began to move and eat. One is dated at 32,000 years old, the other 41,700 years old.
yQbp TIL that NBA changed the rules so that players can only shoot from the free throw line because Wilt Chamberlain used to do a standing slam dunk from the free throw line.
jNMKM Most textbooks say that nothing can go faster than light, but that statement actually should be qualified: The answer is yes, you can break the light barrier, but not in the way we see in the movies. There are, in fact, several ways to travel faster than light...