› added 6 years ago

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TIL of the Antikythera Mechanism, a 2000+ year old Ancient Greek ‘analogue computer’ that tracks/predicts astronomical positions, keeps dates for early Olympic Games and more! It used bronze, toothed gears and had multiple, individually purposed faces... similar tech wasn’t developed for 1400 years!

Read more vox.com

via reddit.com

6axW TIL the knobcone pine, (Pinus attenuata), requires fire to complete its reproduction cycle. Cones remain closed for many years until a fire opens them and allows reseeding. As a result, knobcone cones may even become embedded in the growing wood as the tree matures.
lon4r TIL Since 1948 there has been a group of ladies at Arlington National Cemetery that has attended every funeral to support and comfort families, or to be there only one that attends to ensure no one is ever buried alone
EgOx0 TIL that there is a device called the Nasal Ranger that allows for the quantification of how smelly an odor is.
KY0jG TIL that financial mathematicians have calculated how expensive a liability policy for a nuclear power plant would be: €72 billion a year
kJBg1 TIL McDonalds serves biscuits and gravy in select areas.