› added 1 year ago

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TIL that, after his dog Jacksie was killed by a car, four-year-old C. S. Lewis adopted the same name as a tribute and wouldn't answer to any other. He later accepted Jack, which became the name by which he was known to friends and family for the rest of his life.

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WkyVL TIL technology already exists that lets one eavesdrop on a conversation across soundproof glass, without even seeing the speakers' mouths. Tiny vibrations caused by the sound on nearby objects like a houseplant or bag of chips can be used to derive the original sound/conversation.
kpG5 TIL when the Swedish secret police tried to quietly pressure an ISP to install its spying apparatus, the ISP secretly recorded the conversation and released it to the media instead of complying.
grx67 TIL during the siege of Leningrad, scientists working at the world’s largest collection of seeds protected the seeds from the threats of the cold, the hungry residents of the besieged city, rats, and their own hunger. Twenty-eight of the botanists died during the siege, protecting their collection.
wj11 TIL that until 1953, NYC had a pneumatic tube mail network that spanned 27 miles and connected 23 post offices. At its peak, the system moved 95,000 letters a day.
7rrBX TIL that the original author of Thomas the Tank Engine (The Railway Series) has created an extensive Island of Sodor book with the complete lore of Sodor, from the history of the railway to the island itself. The book is rare, and goes for $500 or more.