Post * ne169 — Curious Curator

› added 4 years ago

88

TIL that from 1985-1987, the most powerful computing device Apple sold was the LaserWriter, one of the first generally-available laser printers. It had its own built-in CPU which was 50% faster than the Macs available at the time, which was needed to drive the printing engine

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vPERL TIL that the U.S. Federal law enacted in July, 1984–which established the national minimum drinking age as 21 years old— allowed the government to withhold Federal aid to highways from States that did not quickly adapt.

GlDN TIL that there is a card game in which asking about or explaining the rules is against the rules: “New players are expected to join a game and deduce the rules of play by observation, trial and error.”

yV8Ga TIL Hildegard of Bingen wrote one of the earliest known constructed languages in the 12th century

Me9Ga TIL about the Mafia hypothesis which suggests that certain brood parasites such as the great spotted cuckoo will destroy other species' nests if they do not care for the parasites' eggs

PYMbL TIL one of the last types of steam locomotive was maintained while the boiler was still in steam, by men in asbestos clothes entering the 220°F firebox and repairing the engine, while it was still under pressure. This was done to reduce downtime and allow a 6-day-a-week schedule.