› added 10 years ago

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TIL in 2010, the US Air Force built a supercomputer out of 1700 Playstation 3s.

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via reddit.com

vK9D TIL that Winston Churchill required a pressurized chamber known as the Life Pod to fly due to his health. It included a phone, an ashtray and an air circulation system so he could smoke.
J1Kn1 TIL about Old Tom, a killer whale who, along with his pod, cooperated with humans in hunting efforts from the mid 19th century to as late as 1930
Qoa TIL: Lobsters were once considered insects of the sea and couldn’t be fed to prisoners more than once a week because it was considered “cruel punishment”.
1lw8 TIL that some birds “whiffle”; by flying upside down they invert their aerodynamics, and quickly lose height. It helps them dodge predators.
mJko TIL: A POW during the Vietnam War named James Stockdale said to survive in such arduous conditions you must renounce optimism for stoicism. His optimistic fellow captives all died. Having a blindly optimistic view worsens your chances of survival. This is called ‘The Stockdale Paradox’.