› added 1 year ago

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TIL that humans produce 10^21 digital bits of information annually, and assuming an annual 20% growth rate, in 500 years, digital content will account for more than half Earth’s mass.

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NA8M TIL most modern handheld devices like iPhones contain a mineral called “coltan” that is being produced as a commodity by slaves exploited by rebel armies in the Congo.
yebv TIL That North Korea has a zoo which is home to over 5,000 animals, including dogs (which are not permitted as pets due to “health reasons”) and a trained parrot that squawks, in English, “"Long live the Great Leader, Comrade Kim Il-sung!”
b9pB4 TIL about Garrett Morgan who with only an elementary school education went on to patent several inventions, including an improved sewing machine and traffic signal, a hair-straightening product, and a respiratory device that would later provide the blueprint for WWI gas masks.
9YQdD The research argues that gravitational waves give off echoes which, if confirmed, would prove that black holes don't exist and are, in fact, wormholes.
a8kK0 TIL: Bamboo will flower and seed every 40-120 years then die off. Because huge areas of bamboo are the same plant, this causes widespread death of bamboo forests, followed by major rat infestations and then famine in parts of the world. It is not known why this happens.