› added 6 years ago

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TIL that the Pythagorean theorem was discovered and proven by Babylonian mathematicians 1000 years before Pythagoras was born

Read more link.springer.com

via reddit.com

EgngW TIL in 1982 the submarine HMS Conqueror stole a passive sonar array being towed behind a Soviet ship, using mechanical pincers mounted on the sub's bow to cut the cable and make it look like it had gotten snagged on terrain. She wasn't detected, despite being just feet away from the ship.
oQ5W TIL a rogue North Atlantic wave broke 67m (220 ft) above sea level, shattering 23 windows and flooding the Eagle Island lighthouse in Ireland. Workers were unable to open the door due to water pressure, forcing them to drill it to drain the tower
Nnj8 TIL raw carrots may be as addictive as cigarettes.
jQ9v TIL A Spider exists in Madagascar whose Silk is over 10 times stronger than a similarly-sized piece of Kevlar.It is the toughest biological material ever studied. This spider was discovered in 2009.
yQ1bw TIL it costs $10,000 to send a pound (approx 454 grams) of payload to the International Space Station, but SpaceX was able to do it in $2,500