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๐ Kolakoski Sequence
In mathematics, the Kolakoski sequence, sometimes also known as the OldenburgerโKolakoski sequence, is an infinite sequence of symbols {1,2} that is the sequence of run lengths in its own run-length encoding. It is named after the recreational mathematician William Kolakoski (1944โ97) who described it in 1965, but it was previously discussed by Rufus Oldenburger in 1939.
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- "Kolakoski Sequence" | 2026-02-02 | 64 Upvotes 16 Comments
๐ Biangbiang Noodles
Biangbiang noodles (simplified Chinese: ๐ฐป๐ฐป้ข; traditional Chinese: ๐ฐป๐ฐป้บต; pinyin: Biรกngbiรกngmiร n), alternatively known as youpo chemian (simplified Chinese: ๆฒนๆณผๆฏ้ข; traditional Chinese: ๆฒนๆฝๆฏ้บต) in Chinese, are a type of Chinese noodle originating from Shaanxi cuisine. The noodles, touted as one of the "eight curiosities" of Shaanxi (้่ฅฟๅ ซๅคงๆช), are described as being like a belt, owing to their thickness and length.
Biangbiang noodles are renowned for being written using a unique character. The character is unusually complex, with the standard variant of its traditional form containing 58 strokes.
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- "Biangbiang Noodles" | 2024-06-25 | 11 Upvotes 6 Comments
๐ Valid Email Addresses
An email address identifies an email box to which email messages are delivered. A wide variety of formats were used in early email systems, but only a single format is used today, following the specifications developed for Internet mail systems since the 1980s. This article uses the term email address to refer to the addr-spec defined in RFC 5322, not to the address that is commonly used; the difference is that an address may contain a display name, a comment, or both.
An email address such as John.Smith@example.com is made up of a local-part, an @ symbol, then a case-insensitive domain. Although the standard requires the local part to be case-sensitive, it also urges that receiving hosts deliver messages in a case-independent fashion, e.g., that the mail system at example.com treat John.Smith as equivalent to john.smith; some mail systems even treat them as equivalent to johnsmith. Mail systems often limit their users' choice of name to a subset of the technically valid characters, and in some cases also limit which addresses it is possible to send mail to.
With the introduction of internationalized domain names, efforts are progressing to permit non-ASCII characters in email addresses.
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- "Valid Email Addresses" | 2012-11-30 | 50 Upvotes 59 Comments
๐ The staff ate it later
"The staff ate it later" (Japanese: ใใฎๅพใในใฟใใใ็พๅณใใใใใ ใใพใใ, Hepburn: Kono ato, sutaffu ga oishiku itadakimashita; More fully translated as the staff ate and enjoyed it later) is a caption shown on screen in a Japanese TV program to indicate that the food presented during the program was not thrown away after filming. Some have questioned the authenticity of displaying the caption.
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- "The staff ate it later" | 2025-09-02 | 489 Upvotes 303 Comments
๐ Lithophone
A lithophone is a musical instrument consisting of a rock or pieces of rock which are struck to produce musical notes. Notes may be sounded in combination (producing harmony) or in succession (melody). The lithophone is an idiophone comparable to instruments such as the glockenspiel, vibraphone, xylophone and marimba.
In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, lithophones are designated as '111.22' โ directly-struck percussion plaques.
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- "Lithophone" | 2020-02-22 | 54 Upvotes 7 Comments
๐ False Banana Tree
Ensete ventricosum, commonly known as enset or ensete, Ethiopian banana, Abyssinian banana, and false banana, is an herbaceous species of flowering plant in the banana family Musaceae. The domesticated form of the plant is only cultivated in Ethiopia, where it provides the staple food for approximately 20 million people. The name Ensete ventricosum was first published in 1948 in the Kew Bulletin, 1947, p.ย 101. Its synonyms include Musa arnoldiana De Wild., Musa ventricosa Welw. and Musa ensete J.F.Gmel. In its wild form, it is native to the eastern edge of the Great African Plateau, extending northwards from South Africa through Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to Ethiopia, and west to the Congo, being found in high rainfall forests on mountains, and along forested ravines and streams.
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- "False Banana Tree" | 2019-06-26 | 16 Upvotes 1 Comments
๐ Open Letter to the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
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- "Open Letter to the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees" | 2019-06-30 | 113 Upvotes 133 Comments
๐ Lowercase
Lowercase is an extreme form of ambientminimalism where very quiet, usually unheard sounds are amplified to extreme levels. Minimal artist Steve Roden popularized the movement with an album entitled Forms of Paper, in which he made recordings of himself handling paper in various ways. These recordings were commissioned by the Hollywood branch of the Los Angeles Public Library.
๐ Descent of Inanna into the Underworld
The Descent of Inanna into the Underworld (or, in its Akkadian version, Descent of Ishtar into the Underworld) or Angalta ("From the Great Sky") is a Sumerian myth that narrates the descent of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar in Akkadian) into the Underworld to overthrow its ruler, her sister Ereshkigal, the "Queen of the Dead." But following the removal of her adornments, she perishes and her corpse is suspended on a nail. The god Enki intervenes indirectly, restoring Inanna to life. However, on her return journey, Inanna is required to deliver another living human in exchange for her freedom. She selects Dumuzi, her spouse, who is abruptly transported to the Underworld. In response to the pleas of Dumuzi's sister, Geshtinanna, his circumstances are somewhat ameliorated: he is permitted to remain in the Underworld for only a portion of the year, with his sister assuming his role for the remaining duration.
The myth exists in two main versions: one in Sumerian and the other in Akkadian. The Akkadian version was first discovered and translated in the 1860s. The existence of the longer and older Sumerian version was first established in the early 20th century, but it required approximately fifty years for epigraphists to fully reconstruct and translate it.
The story of Descent of Inanna into the Underworld offers insights into Mesopotamian culture through its numerous characters and developed plot. The influence of this culture on subsequent civilizations is evident in the traces of Mesopotamian elements found in Greece, Phoenicia, and the Old Testament. In the 20th century, the story was used by some psychoanalysis theorists to illustrate psychic mechanisms.
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- "Descent of Inanna into the Underworld" | 2025-07-30 | 36 Upvotes 10 Comments
๐ Ads.txt
ads.txt (Authorized Digital Sellers) is an initiative from IAB Technology Laboratory. It specifies a text file that companies can host on their web servers, listing the other companies authorized to sell their products or services. This is designed to allow online buyers to check the validity of the sellers from whom they buy, for the purposes of internet fraud prevention.
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- "Ads.txt" | 2024-03-18 | 19 Upvotes 17 Comments