› added 12 years ago

277

TIL that one of Google’s data centers is completely cooled by sea water from the Gulf of Finland.

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via reddit.com

xDW1 TIL In the 1920’s Kingsford Charcoal was started by Henry Ford because he hated watching wood scraps from his assembly lines go to waste.
nWxAb TIL that although we use the terms "shock" and "electrocute" interchangeably, electrocution specifically refers to death due to electric shock.
7JP TIL in England, there is a ‘Chap Olympiad’ where contestants compete in events like Umbrella Joustin and Shouting at Foreigners
9dLB TIL during the Black Plague, it was thought that bad smells were the cause of the plague. “Plague Doctors” therefore wore masks with long beak-like noses stuffed with flowers or smoke to hide the smells.
6EQvW TIL that a rancher in Oregon named Bill Brown would often write checks on any paper available. This often included soup can labels and newspaper margins. As he was rich and known for this, the banks would cash the checks without question.