The inventor of the USB standard Ajay Bhatt intended for it to be reversible but the idea was abandoned due to additional cost. Despite it becoming the standard, he regrets the decision. – WTF Fun Facts
Tech
WTF Fun Fact – Netflix Socks
There is a d.i.y Netflix Project which creates a pair of socks that will pause what you’re watching if you fall asleep while watching. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: http://makeit.netflix.com/projects/socks
WTF Fun Fact – First TV Broadcast With Stooky Bill
The first television broadcast took place in 1925. It was a done with a grey scale image in a 30-line vertically scanned format, at five pictures per second using a ventriloquist’s dummy nicknamed “Stooky Bill”. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Logie_Baird
WTF Fun Fact – Robotic Thread
MIT engineers have created a robotic, snake-like thread that can navigate through narrow blood vessels in the brain, promising treatment for strokes and other blockages. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: http://news.mit.edu/2019/robot-brain-blood-vessels-0828
WTF Fun Fact – Dubai Firefighters With Jetpacks
Since the streets are often congested, Dubai has equipped some of their firefighters with a jet ski and water “jetpack” combo called the Dolphin which can be deployed from the many waterways. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – CO2 To Fuel
Researchers have developed an efficient and eco-friendly catalytic reactor that can convert the common air pollutant CO2 into high concentrations of pure formic acid, which can be used as a liquid fuel.– WTF Fun Facts
Source: http://thetartan.org/2019/9/9/scitech/greenhouse-fuel
WTF Fun Fact – Webcam Invented
The webcam was invented because 3 faculty members at Cambridge University wanted to see the coffee levels in the break room so they didn’t waste a trip there to find an empty pot. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: http://tipsgeneral.com/how-to/geek-trivia-what-did-the-first-web-cam-monitor.html
WTF Fun Fact – Urine Detection Device
There are elevators in Singapore which are equipped with Urine Detection Devices. If triggered, the elevator will stop and the police are called. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/things-that-are-illegal-in-singapore-2015-7
WTF Fun Fact – Worthy Stupid Robot Monk
Xian’er, which translates to Worthy Stupid Robot Monk, is a robotic monk at China’s Longquan Buddhist temple which is designed to interact with tourists. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/28/world/asia/china-robot-monk-temple.html
WTF Fun Fact – Injectable Oxygen
Scientists have developed a micro particle filled with oxygen that can be injected into the blood flow, allowing us to live without breathing. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.foxnews.com/health/newly-developed-oxygen-particles-injected-into-blood-could-save-lives
WTF Fun Fact – Largest Search Engines
YouTube is the second largest “search engine”, right after Google. It’s bigger than Bing, Yahoo!, and Ask combined. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.tubics.com/blog/youtube-2nd-biggest-search-engine/
WTF Fun Fact – First E-Commerce Transaction
The first online e-commerce transaction ever was Stanford students buying marijuana from MIT students. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://curiosity.com/topics/the-first-online-transaction-was-a-drug-deal-curiosity/
WTF Fun Fact – Homemade Nuclear Reactor
A twelve-year-old from Memphis named Jackson Oswalt built a fusion nuclear reactor in his playroom and became the youngest person to do so, replacing the previous record which was 14 years of age. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://truththeory.com/2019/03/06/meet-a-12-year-old-who-built-a-nuclear-reactor-in-his-playroom/
WTF Fun Fact – Space Pen
The specially created NASA Space Pen is used instead of a simple pencil because the graphite contained in pencils is conductive and can cause short circuits and potentially fires. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Woody Allen Typewriter
Woody Allen has only ever used an early 1950’s manual Olympia SM-3 typewriter that he purchased when he was 16. Every script, screenplay, or comedy sketch was written on this one typewriter. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: http://www.openculture.com/2013/01/woody_allens_typewriter_scissor_and_stapler.html
WTF Fun Fact – Hacked Tractors
Farmers in the US are hacking their John Deere tractors with Ukrainian firmware purchased from invitation-only online forums in order to be able to have them serviced independently. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Microwave Door
Microwave doors have a metal mesh window to prevent the harmful microwaves from escaping. The holes are big enough to see inside but small enough to contain the microwaves. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://learning.knoji.com/why-microwave-ovens-can-have-see-through-windows/
WTF Fun Fact – Pop Up Ads
Ethan Zuckerman, inventor of the pop-up ad, has apologized to the world for creating one of the Internet’s most hated forms of advertising. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaymcgregor/2014/08/15/the-man-who-invented-pop-up-ads-says-im-sorry/#3fe6dfbb4ebe