Daily Facts

Diablo was originally developed as a turn-based game. After proposing to make it real-time, the developer said it could take weeks to months. It turned out to be a few lines of code and took a few hours.

Modern military aircraft designs can be extremely unstable, requiring computer based corrections so pilots can fly them.

The SR-71 Blackbird intentionally leaked fuel while on the ground by design. Once in the air, panels would heat up and expand, sealing the gaps.

PC Games can be much more difficult to make than console games due to the wide range of drivers, software versions, different peripherals and hardware combinations.

Read Dead Redemption 2 simulates horse anatomy movement with surprising realism.

Kerbal Space Program uses real orbital physics despite being simplified. However, scientific methods used in the real world apply to the game.

Debug builds of programs/games that developers use can behave different to release builds of programs/games. Bugs/issues related only to the release build can be much harder to fix.

Games run logic tied directly to frame rate, causing bugs at higher FPS. Developers use Delta Time, the time between two frames, to compensate for this.

The term “Easter egg” in games originated from Atari in 1980.

Sunsets on Mars appear blue instead of red due to the fine dust in the thin atmosphere.

There are more possible chess games than atoms in the observable universe.

The Sun appears white from Space, not yellow. That's caused by our atmosphere.

AI Models don't "Understand" things the same way humans do, they statistically predict patterns. Essentially an expensive and advanced auto-complete.

Computer encryption relies on difficult to solve math problems, some problems take decades to centuries to solve on a typical computer. Quantum Computing will likely render many encryptions used globally useless with earliest threat estimates expected around 2030-2035.

First ever website created by CERN in the 1990s is still online.

Majority of planets rotate counter-clockwise, the same direction they orbit the sun. Except Venus and Uranus. Venus rotates clockwise while Uranus spins on it's side.

Modern Aircraft Carriers use enough electricity to power small cities.

During WWII, torpedo's could malfunction and in some cases circled around to hit the boat that fired them.

The routing system that connects the internet world-wide has surprisingly little built-in security.

Submarines create majority of their oxygen from Sea Water. However, when the levels get low they light an oxygen candle. A candle that literally creates oxygen.

The first ever computer bug was a literal bug. Back in September 9 1947, a moth got stuck in a relay causing issues. Coining the term "Debugging"

QWERTY keyboard layout was designed in 1970s to intentionally spread common combinations of letters away from each other, slowing typists down. It was to stop internal mechanisms clashing on typewriters.

The first paper money was invented in China during the Tang Dynasty around 618 AD.

The spice trade was one of the primary motivations for European exploration in the 15th century.

The first recorded trade embargo was imposed by Athens against Megara in 432 BC.

Coffee was originally chewed, not brewed — Ethiopian tribes mixed coffee berries with animal fat for energy.

The term 'cartel' originally referred to a written agreement between warring nations.

The word 'salary' comes from the Latin 'salarium' — Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt.

Opium poppies were first cultivated in lower Mesopotamia around 3400 BC.

The first vending machine was invented in ancient Egypt — it dispensed holy water

Coca-Cola originally contained approximately 9 milligrams of cocaine per glass.

The Silk Road was one of the earliest international trade networks, spanning over 4,000 miles.

Nicotine is named after Jean Nicot, who introduced tobacco to the French court in 1560.

Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) can be used to extinguish small fires by releasing CO2.

Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide and sublimates directly from solid to gas at -78.5°C.

Charcoal has been used as a water purification method for over 4,000 years.

Activated charcoal is used in hospitals to treat certain types of poisoning.

Phosphorus was accidentally discovered by an alchemist trying to turn lead into gold in 1669.

Lithium, used in batteries and medicine, was discovered in a Swedish mine in 1817.

Potassium hydroxide (lye) has been used in soap-making for over 5,000 years.

The word 'pharmacy' comes from the Greek 'pharmakon,' meaning both remedy and poison.

Aspirin was originally derived from willow bark, which contains salicylic acid.

Penicillin was discovered by accident when Alexander Fleming left a petri dish uncovered in 1928.

Sulfuric acid is the most widely produced chemical in the world — over 260 million tons per year.

Acetone is naturally produced by trees and is found in volcanic gases.

Ethanol (drinking alcohol) has been produced by humans for over 9,000 years.

Mercury was once used as a medicine — it was prescribed for everything from syphilis to constipation.

Grafting fruit trees — joining two plant species — has been practiced for over 4,000 years.

Chlorophyll, the pigment that makes plants green, is structurally similar to hemoglobin in human blood.

Bamboo is the fastest-growing plant on Earth, capable of growing up to 35 inches per day.

Capsaicin, the compound that makes peppers hot, is used in medical pain relief patches.

Cannabis sativa plants can grow up to 20 feet tall in optimal conditions.

Vanilla is the second most expensive spice in the world, after saffron.

There are over 700 species of eucalyptus, and almost all are native to Australia.

Indoor LED grow lights can produce up to 3x the yield of traditional lighting methods.

Bioluminescent fungi exist — some mushroom species glow in the dark.

Hydroponic growing was used by the Aztecs as floating gardens called 'chinampas.'

The world's most expensive coffee, Kopi Luwak, costs up to $600 per pound.

Compound interest was called the 'eighth wonder of the world' by Albert Einstein.

The GDP per capita of Luxembourg is over $120,000 — the highest in the world.

The first recorded insurance contract was written in Genoa, Italy, in 1347.

The underground economy accounts for an estimated 15-20% of global GDP.

The concept of supply and demand was first described by Ibn Khaldun in the 14th century.

The Dutch East India Company was the first publicly traded company in history (1602).

The black market for counterfeit goods is estimated at $500 billion per year globally.

The GDP of the global pharmaceutical industry exceeds $1.4 trillion annually.

The word 'monopoly' comes from Greek: 'monos' (single) + 'polein' (to sell).

The Netherlands was the first country to legalize same-sex marriage and also pioneered modern tulip economics.

Bolivia has over 17,000 plant species, making it one of the most biodiverse countries on Earth.

The Amazon rainforest produces about 20% of the world's oxygen supply.

Colombia produces about 60% of the world's emeralds.

Madagascar is the world's largest producer of vanilla, growing about 80% of the global supply.