› added 6 years ago

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TIL that 27-yr-old grad student, Alexandra Elbakyan, put 50 million stolen research articles online for free. Her reason?...Worldwide liberation of knowledge from the tyranny of for-profit publishers. Many academics and longtime advocates for open scholarly research seemed to support her ideology.

Read more independent.co.uk

via reddit.com

QJnNk TIL that after losing a bet in 2009, a man had his name legally changed to "Full Metal Havok More Sexy N Intelligent Than Spock And All The Superheroes Combined With Frostnova." It took five years, but the name was finally approved. All 99 characters of his new name are on his official documents.
m1vGy TIL the standard artwork on playing cards that I personally have known since childhood has remained relatively unchanged since 1862
ENYX TIL William Beckford, at age 10, inherited a fortune and spent it on sailing the world with a cook, two dogs, 24 musicians, and a Spanish Dwarf.
wLAmY TIL there are several philosophical razors--not just Occam's Razor (simpler explanations are likely correct). One is called Newton's Flaming Laser Sword because it is, "Much sharper and more dangerous than Occam's Razor." It states that what cannot be settled by experiment ought not be debated.
0KPM TIL Long Before Trees Overtook the Land, Earth Was Covered by Giant Mushrooms