Today I Learned (TIL)

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You learn something new every day; what did you learn today? Submit interesting and specific facts about something that you just found out here.

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26
2
TIL that Seth Rogen's first ever movie role was in Donnie Darko. (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/saintpetejackboy on 2024-01-24 00:40:43+00:00.

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TIL William Wrigley initially offered free baking powder as a gift for his soap but the powder turned out to be more popular. He switched to selling the powder and added sticks of gum as a gift. T... (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/EqualPenalty5969 on 2024-01-24 00:32:17+00:00.

Original Title: TIL William Wrigley initially offered free baking powder as a gift for his soap but the powder turned out to be more popular. He switched to selling the powder and added sticks of gum as a gift. The gum became incredibly popular thus forcing him to switch and became the world's leading gum company.

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TIL Henry Ford had two automobile companies fail to nothing before founding the Ford Motor Company which delivered the Model A in 1904 (www.intellectualventures.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Olshansk on 2024-01-23 23:56:16+00:00.

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TIL Peter Dinklage once fronted a 90s “Punk-Funk-Rap” band called Whizzy. And recorded a 1995 demo tape titled “Dear Lynette” with the band. (youtu.be)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Exciting_Boat_3907 on 2024-01-23 22:31:19+00:00.

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TIL that in the 1950s and 60s, people could buy plastic screens to colorize their black & white TVs (www.metv.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/sfled on 2024-01-23 21:59:16+00:00.

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Anyone ever wonder how much power is wasted on bad code? (www.aisf.or.jp)
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The original post: /r/pcmasterrace by /u/Zombiecidialfreak on 2025-02-18 14:28:01.

I'm sure you've heard it before. "X game runs like shit and the devs are using [insert tool] to cover their laziness/bad code." While I don't always agree, I do understand that optimization is dying a slow death and it's made me wonder: Just how much electricity is wasted on bad code? I often notice things that should be fast, like Task Manager in windows, operate far far slower than it seems like it should. Even ultra lightweight programs are slow to open. Seriously, why does the Windows Calculator program take any more than 1/10th of a second to open? It's a damn calculator. They were literally the first computers ever and despite modern chips being literally billions of times faster it still can have trouble starting up on an SSD.

I have heard this from computer experts too (real computer experts like old school OS engineers, not armchair youtube coders). So much code is ultra slow and unoptimized because devs are just relying on raw compute power and saying "eh, fast enough" on 1000 different things, and it all amounts to slow code all around.

With the rise of A.I. the problem has gotten exponentially worse. How many articles have been made about how "X amount of kilowatts are used for every ChatGPT question answered"? This raw compute doesn't come free. Microsoft is reportedly looking to buy nuclear power plants just to run their A.I. systems, and I imagine Google, OpenAI, Apple, etc... are looking to do the same. Imagine if optimization sold software like pretty colors and convenience do. I would be willing to bet our objectively mega powerful hardware would feel as fast as it really is.

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Just bought a gt 420 for no reason u proud (i.redd.it)
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The original post: /r/pcmasterrace by /u/Upstairs-Plenty3395 on 2025-02-18 14:21:52.
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TIL a 1991 study by the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that a Camel cigarette ad campaign featuring the mascot Joe Camel was far more successful at advertising to children t... (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Sandstorm400 on 2024-01-23 20:08:49+00:00.

Original Title: TIL a 1991 study by the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that a Camel cigarette ad campaign featuring the mascot Joe Camel was far more successful at advertising to children than adults. The campaign ended in 1997 after increased litigation & pressure from U.S. federal agencies.

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TIL former NBA Star Dwight Howard Ate 5,500 Calories in Candy Every Day for a Decade. Howard was consuming the amount of sugar equivalent to 24 chocolate bars every day. (people.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/laterdude on 2024-01-23 20:05:12+00:00.

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TIL there is a patron saint for hangovers, and her name is Bibina (www.houseofcarmel.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Special_KC on 2024-01-23 10:43:22+00:00.

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TIL that a 2014 study showed that many human subjects preferred to give themselves a mild electric shock rather than being left alone with their own thoughts (www.science.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/BarnabyWoods on 2024-01-23 18:19:39+00:00.

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TIL in 1856, the Xhosa people followed a prophecy from a 15yo girl telling them to destroy all their cattle and crops (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/phlummox on 2024-01-23 17:54:09+00:00.

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TIL the highest ultraviolet index recorded was 43.3 detected at Bolivia's Licancabur volcano (www.cbsnews.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/embarassmentt on 2024-01-23 17:29:33+00:00.

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Today I learned from the 1950s to 1970s, attempts were made at running bus services between London and India. The trip took about 50 days, cost about $100, and buses are said to have included priv... (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/charons-ferry on 2024-01-23 16:31:25+00:00.

Original Title: Today I learned from the 1950s to 1970s, attempts were made at running bus services between London and India. The trip took about 50 days, cost about $100, and buses are said to have included private bunks and even a kitchen.

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TIL: DC Comics enraged “Fables” creator Bill Willingham so much that in 2023 he made the comic public domain and encouraged its use by creators, which effectively undermined the publisher's effort... (nerdbot.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/smrad8 on 2024-01-23 15:47:01+00:00.

Original Title: TIL: DC Comics enraged “Fables” creator Bill Willingham so much that in 2023 he made the comic public domain and encouraged its use by creators, which effectively undermined the publisher's efforts to control the property. DC had published "Fables" for 20 years but Willingham retained copyright.

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TIL the Mayans would install jade and other jewels into their teeth for decorative purposes. The sealants used to affix the jewels also helped prevent tooth decay. (www.science.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/bqzs on 2024-01-23 14:45:34+00:00.

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TIL about a plant that can 'walk' up to 20 meters per year: The Socratea exorrhiza, or the "walking palm," can slowly move itself to better locations. (www.bbc.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Altreports on 2024-01-23 13:30:43+00:00.

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TIL the name of Ishi, known as the 'last wild indian' is an adopted name. In the Yahi culture, he one cannot speak his own name until introduced by another Yahi. When asked his name, he said: "I h... (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/foobadoop on 2024-01-23 15:05:07+00:00.

Original Title: TIL the name of Ishi, known as the 'last wild indian' is an adopted name. In the Yahi culture, he one cannot speak his own name until introduced by another Yahi. When asked his name, he said: "I have none, because there were no people to name me"

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TIL Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter of "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" (1989) appeared in a virtual graduation message for the 2020 graduates of San Dimas High School. Some quotes from the messa... (variety.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Forward-Answer-4407 on 2024-01-23 14:56:45+00:00.

Original Title: TIL Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter of "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" (1989) appeared in a virtual graduation message for the 2020 graduates of San Dimas High School. Some quotes from the message included: "San Dimas High School football does rule", "be excellent to each other", "And party on".

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TIL of Khaled al-Assad, a Syrian archaeologist who in 2015 gave his life to protect the ancient city of Palmyra from destruction by IS militants. Under torture and pain of death, he refused to rev... (www.bbc.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Chemical-Elk-1299 on 2024-01-23 14:49:18+00:00.

Original Title: TIL of Khaled al-Assad, a Syrian archaeologist who in 2015 gave his life to protect the ancient city of Palmyra from destruction by IS militants. Under torture and pain of death, he refused to reveal the location of priceless artifacts he’d hidden away.

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TIL the Old London Bridge was crowded with houses and shops, some of them reaching up to 6 storeys in height. (en.wikipedia.org)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Wooden_Potential_699 on 2024-01-23 13:26:27+00:00.

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TIL Hewlett-Packard shipped USB keys to customers which contained malware that could allow an attacker to take over their system (www.cnet.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/gatzdon on 2024-01-23 11:42:22+00:00.

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TIL the Binary Millennium is only 14 years away - , January 19th 2038 at 03:14:07 UTC, apparently. (whattheythink.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Badaxe13 on 2024-01-23 11:32:10+00:00.

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TIL Natalie Imbruglia’s 1997 mega-hit “Torn” is a cover (www.youtube.com)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/Mr_Kinneas on 2024-01-23 11:09:09+00:00.

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TIL of the competitive sport of Hobby Horsing. Competitors compete in events such as Show Jumping, Dressage, Freestyle and Time trials. (youtu.be)
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/dcv5 on 2024-01-23 10:53:00+00:00.

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