› added 4 years ago

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TIL Mars Polar Lander(1999) failed because of a bug in the software caused by the fact that the program in question expected the programmer to use the International System of Units (meters, kilograms, ...) in the calculations. However, the programmer had used the American System for calculations.

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vPapR TIL that gas powered impact wrenches exist, used on the railroad for the assembly/disassembly of rail lines.
QJX4L TIL: Due to South Korea's low fertility rate its population is predicted to start declining next year.
9YLBG TIL the Virgin Mary is mentioned more times in the Quran than in the entirety of the Bible.
loyMa TIL many countries won't allow you to donate blood if you lived in the UK for more than six months between 1980-1996. This is because of concerns around blood-borne transmission of BSE/vCJD, colloquially referred to as Mad Cow Disease.
MeKj8 TIL Thailand used to have a prison called "Khuk Khi Kai," or "Chicken poop prison." The first floor of the prison contained prisoners, and the second floor was a large chicken coop. The grated floor ensured that prisoners were constantly subjected to chicken poop.