› added 10 months ago

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TIL The first digital computer weighed 30 tons & was 30 m long. But when integrated circuits were invented, the same computer would weigh a few grams & measure 7.44 mm by 5.29 mm.

GYoxj TIL that in July 2012 an unusually large and strong release of magnetized plasma from the Sun missed the Earth by around nine days. The strength of the eruption was comparable to the 1859 Carrington event that caused damage to electric equipment (mostly telegraph stations) worldwide.
5WoD TIL an FBI informant investigating corruption in LA jail was transferred to different jails, kept in isolation, held under various aliases, and watched around the clock to prevent FBI handlers from finding him. The corruption included brutality and staging “gladiator style fights” between inmates.
e0VDk TIL In 1986 a trained analytic philosopher penned an essay on Bullshit. Bullshit attempts to manipulate listener and is indifferent to lies or facts. Bullshit is vague whereas lies are specific and uncoverable.
E1ax0 TIL when a young boy visiting the White House doubted that First Lady Pat Nixon lived there because he could not see her washing machine, Pat led him through the halls and up an elevator, into the family quarters and the laundry room to show him.
woKa1 TIL the British Royal Yacht carried a crew of 241 who were required to carry out their duties in silence known as “unobtrusive excellence,” meaning that most orders were given using sign language and crew members wore slippers to further minimize noise.