› added 10 years ago

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TIL In 2009 Jim Barksdale completed a nearly straight 300 million dollar fiber-optic link between Chicago and NYC. By shaving 3ms off the previously fastest connection, Barksdale can charge 8 to 10 times the going rate because any trading algorithm not operating on his network is at a disadvantage.

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OG4Ng TIL Paul Thomas Anderson contacted Warren Beatty about playing Jack Horner, a veteran adult film director, in his movie Boogie Nights. After 2 weeks of discussion, Anderson realized the 60-yr-old wanted to play 18-yr-old adult film star Dirk Diggler. When asked if he'd play Horner, Beatty declined.
VDyB TIL that the Italian government constructed a dam in 1959 despite multiple warnings of the instability of the region. In 1963, a landslide into the reservoir behind the dam triggered a tsunami over 800 ft high that breached the dam and killed nearly 2000 people, leaving a 200 ft deep impact crater.
8aBeV There are a handful of people who are born into this world without fingerprints. The technical term for the condition is adermatoglyphia, dubbed 'immigration delay disease,' and for years, it wasn't known what caused the phenomenon. A couple of years ago, dermatologists found that the disease was related to a genetic mutation.
kJBNE TIL that tongues can gain and lose weight, and losing tongue weight can help with sleep apnea.
KOggw TIL that the heart of the Buddhist monk who famously set himself ablaze in 1963 to protest of the Vietnamese government remained intact during both his self-immolation as well as his re-cremation.