› added 11 years ago

89

TIL that regardless of what service you get your weather information from, almost all of the data comes from the same place. NOAA has the only nationwide weather radar and operates the only weather satellites in the US. It freely distributes it’s information into the public domain.

Read more m.wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

vP6a7 TIL: Socrates was very worried that the increasing use of books in education would have the effect of ruining students' ability to memorise things. We only remember this now because Plato wrote it down.
mxknE TIL that since modern civilizations and languages likely won't exist 10,000 years from now, signs warning about nuclear waste (which will still be dangerous then) have to be designed to be understood by anyone, without the use of language. These tools include pictograms and hostile architecture.
epgBD TIL the oldest known human drawing is a 73,000-year-old cross-hatched pattern made with ochre on stone flake, found in South Africa. This discovery predates previously known drawings by at least 30,000 years, revealing early Homo sapiens' ability to create symbolic designs using various techniques.
R7n0j Humpback whales are far better known for their bellowing "songs" that can travel up to six miles, but the animals also have quiet voices. Biologists have observed humpback calves “whispering” to their mothers in tones that can be heard only within 330 feet—a strategy to prevent predators, such as orcas, from eavesdropping. Calves also want to avoid adult male humpbacks, which may try to separate the calf from its mother to mate. This shortened time with its mom could ultimately weaken the calf, which needs to drink 50 gallons of milk a day to fuel up for its long migration.
ALpa TIL In 2006, a Sudanese man was caught having sex with a goat, and as a punishment was forced to take the goat as his “wife” while paying a dowry of around $50 to its owner.