› added 12 years ago

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TIL Today is the 197th birthday of the author of the first computer algorithm, Ada Lovelace.

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via reddit.com

yQvOv TIL there is a 1420 book that was found to have cat piss on one of its pages. The author of the manuscript even wrote on the page "Cursed be the pesty cat that urinated over this book during the night in Deventer... and beware well not to leave open books at night where cats can come."
16oWd TIL that when Prince died "Within three weeks of his death, 700 people claimed to be half-siblings or descendants."
0gpy TIL Vice investigated how easy it is to acquire nuclear weapons on the black market, and got as far as an exchange for acquiring a nuclear “Dirty bomb”
ddO9 TIL that Freddie Mercury had a throat infection at the time of Live Aid and was advised by his doctors to not risk performing at the festival. He defied their orders, and Queen’s set went down in history as one of the best performances that day.
oXko TIL Hibakusha, survivors of the atomic bombs, faced considerable discrimination in Japan following the war. Families forbade theor children from marrying hibakusha, and they were often denied employment due to fears that the radiation they were exposed to was hereditary, or contagious.