› added 10 years ago

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TIL the first webcam was created to help people avoid pointless trips to the coffee room at the University of Cambridge. The camera provided a live 128×128 greyscale picture of the state of the coffee pot, which was located in the corridor just outside the so-called Trojan Room.

Yp6GB TIL about Chronic Wasting Disease, a contagious disease that infects the brains of deer, elk, and other ruminants. It causes weight loss, confusion, tremors, and is always fatal. Found in at least 24 states, scientists are unsure whether it can transfer to humans via contact or meat consumption.
xVvYw TIL That Neil Armstrong's NASA application was a week late and if it weren't for his friend, Dick Day, secretly slipping it into the pile of on-time applications, he would have been rejected.
Oo09R TIL Most of the 30 killed in the sinking of the Britannic were dismembered when their lifeboats were pulled into the propellers when the captain attempted to beach the ship. One person survived the propellers- Violet Jessop, who had also survived the sinking of Britannic's sister ship, Titanic.
epgNg TIL Some cities are using blue light bulbs in public restroom, park lighting because the glow supposedly masks the blue-tinted lines of veins — making it harder for intravenous drug users to find a vein.
D1yRg TIL that Mountain Lions, Cougars, and Pumas are nearly the exact same animal. The differences between them are similar to the differences between house cats rather than type of cat.