› added 12 years ago

99

TIL Alan Turing, the father of computer science and artificial intelligence, committed suicide after being chemically castrated for being a homosexual.

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Zp9JB TIL when David Gilmour was having trouble helping an equally frustrated Syd Barrett learn a guitar solo, Gilmour recorded the solo himself and then played it back to Barrett in reverse. Upon hearing the reversed playback Barret was instantly able to play the solo forwards
L5yZ TIL that Eratosthenes, along with countless other achievements, calculated the size of the earth in 240 BC using a stick, the shadow of the sun, and the known distance between Alexandria and Syene. He was off… by only 66 km.
wLL6W TIL Fergie dated and admits to “making out” with Justin Timberlake when she was 23 and he was 16. She jokes about it and referred to him as Mr. Right Now
6EVLw TIL Turks and Caicos, a Caribbean island country, has openly flirted with the idea of joining Canada as a province, with 90% support of the island's population at one point. Canada has shied away from accepting the offer due to socio-economic reasons, but has never said no.
woLXE TIL that Bowerbirds have been observed creating optical illusions in their bowers to appeal to mates. They arrange objects in the bower's court area from smallest to largest, creating a forced perspective which holds the attention of the female for longer.