› added 23 minutes ago

TIL that according to the four color theorem, only four colors are needed to make any map where no adjacent regions have the same color. It was the first major theorem to be proved using a computer, which attracted some initial skepticism.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

a8JGJ TIL That the name of the first dog in space (Laika) literally translates to "Barker", a name which the technicians gave to her due to her loud barking during training
9w04m TIL tater tots were invented in 1953 by Nephi and Golden Grigg, as a way to utilize leftover potato scraps. Initially, consumers viewed them as too cheap and low-quality. After the Griggs simply raised the price, tater tots gained in popularity and became a sought after snack across America.
J1vL8 TIL about Ancient Gene Flow in Eastern Europe. The genetic studies show long-standing contact and gradual admixture between Steppe individuals and Cucuteni-Trypillia populations in Eastern Europe as early as 3500 BCE.
m1L5E TIL in the 1906 book 'John Dough and the Cherub' the titular Cherub was a child of indeterminate gender; the editors created a contest to guess the gender and second place argued girl as "if it had been a boy he would have eaten the ginger-bread man at once whether it agreed with him or not"
Y7vXG TIL Stephen King wrote The Running Man in a single week. This is in contrast to his normal 2,000-word or 10-page daily output, so that writing a novel normally takes him approximately 3 months.