A study found that taking lots of photos at an event will actually decrease your ability to build memories of it. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: If you really want to remember a moment, try not to take a photo | (ted.com)
Tech
WTF Fun Fact – Music On Hold Origin
The practice of playing music to callers on hold was created by a factory owner who discovered that a loose wire in his factory’s phone lines made the building a giant receiver. The broadcast from a close radio station was transmitted through the wire and played when calls were put on hold. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Music on hold – Wikipedia
WTF Fun Fact – Autonomous Laserweeder
Carbon Robotics has created an autonomous laserweeder – a ~10,000 lbs. self-driving robot that can kill 100,000 weeds an hour using eight 150-watt lasers. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Nuclear Tunnel Boring Machine
In 1972, The Los Alamos National Laboratories patented a nuclear tunnel boring machine, claiming it could reach depths of 18+ miles. It uses molten lithium to melt through rock, leaving behind a tunnel with a glass-like finish. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TUNNELING BY MELTING – ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION USA (freepatentsonline.com)
WTF Fun Fact – Bliss Historically A Vineyard
The Windows XP default background image known as “Bliss” was historically a vineyard. The vines had been taken out a couple years before the photo was taken due to a pest infestation. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Bliss (image) – Wikipedia
WTF Fun Fact – Excel Paintings
80-year-old Tatsuo Horiuchi has created paintings in Microsoft Excel for over 15 years. He uses vector drawing tools developed primarily for graphs and simple shapes to make panoramic scenes of life in rural Japan. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Tatsuo HORIUCHI’s PASOKONGA-painting with Excel
WTF Fun Fact – Missing Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators
The USSR built a chain of remote lighthouses along the arctic coast, each one powered by it’s own miniature nuclear generator. Over 1000 of these RTG’s (Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator) were put in place but several remain unaccounted for. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: The nuclear lighthouses built by the Soviets in the Arctic – BBC Reel
WTF Fun Fact – Snow Animation From Frozen Helps Solve Cold Case
The animation code for the snow from ‘Frozen’ was used to help engineers from the Snow Avalanche Simulation Laboratory in Switzerland solve a 62-year-old Russian cold case known as the Dyatlov Pass incident where 9 Russian hikers perished. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Engineers Used ‘Frozen’ Animation Code to Solve Dyatlov Pass Mystery | IndieWire
WTF Fun Fact – 3D Printed House For Sale
In January 2021, the first commercial 3D printed house in the US went on sale for $299,000. At the time, it was priced 50% below the cost of comparable homes in the area. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Commercial 3D printed house in the US now on sale for $300,000 » 3dpbm (3dprintingmedia.network)
WTF Fun Fact – Hand Squeezed Vs Juice Machine
A startup, Juicero, lost $120 million of investor money after customers realized their $700 juicing machine that squeezed bags of pre-sliced vegetables into juice, could be squeezed faster by hand. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Juicero’s $700 Juicer Got Disrupted By Hands, Literally | by Sean Kernan | Better Marketing
WTF Fun Fact – Stephen Hawking On The Immortality Drive
The DNA sequence of Stephen Hawking is stored on a hard disk, called the “Immortality Drive,” onboard the ISS. He is among a select group of humans to have their DNA immortalized. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Immortality Drive – Wikipedia
WTF Fun Fact – First Robot With Citizenship
In 2017, social robot Sophia was given citizenship by Saudi Arabia – the first robot to be given legal personhood anywhere in the world. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Aston Martin Submarine
Aston Martin partnered with submarine maker Triton to develop a limited edition submarine known as Project Neptune. The submarine seats 3 people and has a top speed of 5 knots and is expected to cost ~$4 million. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: The Triton And Aston Martin Submarine So High Tech It Would Make 007 Blush | Motors | TheSportsman
WTF Fun Fact – Google Maps Of Other Planets
There’s a Google Map for Mercury, Venus, Earth’s moon, Mars, Pluto, three out of four of Jupiter’s moons, and all but one of the round Saturnian moons. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Google Moon Space out with planets in Google Maps (blog.google)
WTF Fun Fact – Type-in Programs
In the early days of home computers (late 1970’s to early 80’s), computer magazines featured code listings that readers would spend hours typing into their computer in order to play a game or have a certain program. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Type-in program – Wikipedia
WTF Fun Fact – Dynasphere
The Dynasphere was a monowheel vehicle design which was patented in 1930 by Dr J. A. Purves. Purves’ idea was inspired by a sketch made by Leonardo da Vinci. The vehicle had a top speed of 30 mph. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Dynasphere – Wikipedia
WTF Fun Fact – Segway Owner Dies Riding Segway
James William “Jimi” Heselde purchased the Segway Company in 2009. Nine months later he died after falling off a cliff while riding a segway. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Segway boss Jimi Heselden dies in scooter cliff fall – BBC News
WTF Fun Fact – Nokia Message Tones
In old Nokia phones, the standard notification tone for an SMS (text message) was simply ‘M’ (for message) in Morse code. The “Special” tone when receiving an SMS was Morse code for “SMS”. – WTF Fun Facts