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π 1975 Icelandic Women's Strike
On 24 October 1975, Icelandic women went on strike for the day to "demonstrate the indispensable work of women for Icelandβs economy and society" and to "protest wage discrepancy and unfair employment practices". It was then publicized domestically as Women's Day Off (KvennafrΓdagurinn). Participants, led by women's organizations, did not go to their paid jobs and did not do any housework or child-rearing for the whole day. Ninety percent of Iceland's female population participated in the strike. Iceland's parliament passed a law guaranteeing equal pay the following year.
π AGPL License
The Affero General Public License (Affero GPL and informally Affero License) is a free software license. The first version of the Affero General Public License (AGPLv1), was published by Affero, Inc. in March 2002, and based on the GNU General Public License, version 2 (GPLv2). The second version (AGPLv2) was published in November 2007, as a transitional license to allow an upgrade path from AGPLv1 to the GNU Affero General Public License (a variant of the original Affero GPL license that is compatible with GPLv3).
Both versions of the Affero GPL were designed to close a perceived application service provider (ASP) loophole in the ordinary GPL, where, by using but not distributing the software, the copyleft provisions are not triggered. Each version differs from the version of the GNU GPL on which it is based in having an added provision addressing use of software over a computer network. This provision requires that the full source code be made available to any network user of the AGPL-licensed work, typically a web application.
Discussed on
- "AGPL License" | 2020-01-31 | 91 Upvotes 106 Comments
π Prawo Jazdy (Alleged Criminal)
"Prawo Jazdy" was a supposed Polish national who was listed by the Garda SΓochΓ‘na in a police criminal database as having committed more than 50 traffic violations in Ireland. A 2007 memorandum stated that an investigation revealed prawo jazdy [Λpra.vΙ Λjaz.dΙ¨] to be Polish for 'driving licence', with the error arising due to officers mistaking the phrase, printed on Polish driving licenses, to be a personal name while issuing traffic tickets.
π Launch loop
A launch loop or Lofstrom loop is a proposed system for launching objects into orbit using a moving cable-like system situated inside a sheath attached to the Earth at two ends and suspended above the atmosphere in the middle. The design concept was published by Keith Lofstrom and describes an active structure maglev cable transport system that would be around 2,000Β km (1,240Β mi) long and maintained at an altitude of up to 80Β km (50Β mi). A launch loop would be held up at this altitude by the momentum of a belt that circulates around the structure. This circulation, in effect, transfers the weight of the structure onto a pair of magnetic bearings, one at each end, which support it.
Launch loops are intended to achieve non-rocket spacelaunch of vehicles weighing 5 metric tons by electromagnetically accelerating them so that they are projected into Earth orbit or even beyond. This would be achieved by the flat part of the cable which forms an acceleration track above the atmosphere.
The system is designed to be suitable for launching humans for space tourism, space exploration and space colonization, and provides a relatively low 3g acceleration.
Discussed on
- "Launch loop" | 2018-07-26 | 116 Upvotes 49 Comments
- "The Lofstrom Loop" | 2015-11-30 | 30 Upvotes 19 Comments
π Codd's Cellular Automaton
Codd's cellular automaton is a cellular automaton (CA) devised by the British computer scientist Edgar F. Codd in 1968. It was designed to recreate the computation- and construction-universality of von Neumann's CA but with fewer states: 8 instead of 29. Codd showed that it was possible to make a self-reproducing machine in his CA, in a similar way to von Neumann's universal constructor, but never gave a complete implementation.
Discussed on
- "Codd's Cellular Automaton" | 2025-05-01 | 21 Upvotes 4 Comments
π Flanderization
Flanderization is the process through which a fictional character's essential traits are exaggerated over the course of a serial work. The term flanderization was coined by TV Tropes in reference to Ned Flanders of The Simpsons, who was caricatured over the show's run from a good neighbor who was religious among other characteristics into an evangelical "bible-thumper". Flanderization has been analyzed as an aspect of serial works, especially television comedies, that shows a work's decline.
Discussed on
- "Flanderization" | 2022-09-09 | 251 Upvotes 131 Comments
π Canon Cat
The Canon Cat was a task-dedicated, desktop computer released by Canon Inc. in 1987 at a price of US$1,495. On the surface it was not unlike the dedicated word processors popular in the late 1970s to early 1980s, but it was far more powerful and incorporated many unique ideas for data manipulation.
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- "Canon Cat" | 2021-02-21 | 51 Upvotes 31 Comments
- "Canon Cat" | 2009-05-06 | 35 Upvotes 15 Comments
π Phantom OS, a Russian OS where βeverything is an objectβ
Phantom OS is an operating system mostly made by Russian programmers. Phantom OS is based on a concept of persistent virtual memory, and is managed-code oriented. Phantom OS is one of a few OSes that are not based on classical concepts of Unix-like systems. Its primary goal is to achieve simplicity and effectiveness in both the operating system and applications at the same time.
Phantom is based on the principle that "Everything is an object", in contrast to the Unix-like approach of "Everything is a file".
Discussed on
- "Phantom OS, a Russian OS where βeverything is an objectβ" | 2019-04-16 | 72 Upvotes 23 Comments
π Milk Watcher
A milk watcher, milk saver, pot watcher, pot minder, milk guard, or boil over preventer is a cooking utensil placed at the bottom of a pot to prevent the foaming boil-over of liquids by collecting small bubbles of steam into one large bubble.
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- "Milk Watcher" | 2024-05-26 | 150 Upvotes 91 Comments
π The Fixed Price of Coca-Cola from 1886 to 1959
Between 1886 and 1959, the price of a 6.5-oz glass or bottle of Coca-Cola was set at five cents, or one nickel, and remained fixed with very little local fluctuation. The Coca-Cola Company was able to maintain this price for several reasons, including bottling contracts the company signed in 1899, advertising, vending machine technology, and a relatively low rate of inflation. The fact that the price of the drink was able to remain the same for over seventy years is especially significant considering the events that occurred during that period, including the founding of Pepsi, World War I, Prohibition, changing taxes, a caffeine and caramel shortage, World War II, and the company's desire to raise its prices. Much of the research on this subject comes from "The Real Thing": Nominal Price Rigidity of the Nickel Coke, 1886β1959, a 2004 paper by economists Daniel Levy and Andrew Young.
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- "The Fixed Price of Coca-Cola from 1886 to 1959" | 2015-11-22 | 103 Upvotes 38 Comments