Random Articles (Page 3)
Have a deep view into what people are curious about.
🔗 Email Storm
An email storm (also called a reply allpocalypse) is a sudden spike of "reply all" messages on an email distribution list, usually caused by a controversial or misdirected message. Such storms can start when even one member of the distribution list replies to the entire list at the same time in response to an instigating message. When other members respond, pleading for the cessation of messages, asking to be removed from the list, or adding vitriol to the discussion this triggers a chain reaction of email messages. The sheer load of traffic generated by these storms can render the email servers inoperative, similar to a distributed denial-of-service attack.
Some email viruses also have the capacity to create email storms by sending copies of themselves to an infected user's contacts, including distribution lists, infecting the contacts in turn.
Discussed on
- "Email Storm" | 2017-08-04 | 69 Upvotes 23 Comments
🔗 Wikipedia chooses Lua as its new template/macro language
Discussed on
- "Wikipedia chooses Lua as its new template/macro language " | 2012-01-31 | 25 Upvotes 1 Comments
🔗 Halligan Bar
A Halligan bar (also known as a Halligan tool or Hooligan tool) is a forcible entry tool used by firefighters.
Discussed on
- "Halligan Bar" | 2022-08-22 | 80 Upvotes 34 Comments
🔗 Topological quantum computer
A topological quantum computer is a theoretical quantum computer that employs two-dimensional quasiparticles called anyons, whose world lines pass around one another to form braids in a three-dimensional spacetime (i.e., one temporal plus two spatial dimensions). These braids form the logic gates that make up the computer. The advantage of a quantum computer based on quantum braids over using trapped quantum particles is that the former is much more stable. Small, cumulative perturbations can cause quantum states to decohere and introduce errors in the computation, but such small perturbations do not change the braids' topological properties. This is like the effort required to cut a string and reattach the ends to form a different braid, as opposed to a ball (representing an ordinary quantum particle in four-dimensional spacetime) bumping into a wall. Alexei Kitaev proposed topological quantum computation in 1997. While the elements of a topological quantum computer originate in a purely mathematical realm, experiments in fractional quantum Hall systems indicate these elements may be created in the real world using semiconductors made of gallium arsenide at a temperature of near absolute zero and subjected to strong magnetic fields.
🔗 Polywater
Polywater was a hypothesized polymerized form of water that was the subject of much scientific controversy during the late 1960s. By 1969 the popular press had taken notice and sparked fears of a "polywater gap" in the US.
Increased press attention also brought with it increased scientific attention, and as early as 1970 doubts about its authenticity were being circulated. By 1973 it was found to be illusory, being just water with any number of common organic compounds contaminating it.
Today, polywater is best known as an example of pathological science.
Discussed on
- "Polywater" | 2020-05-20 | 49 Upvotes 1 Comments
🔗 Turboencabulator
The turboencabulator or turbo-encabulator (and its later incarnations, the retroencabulator or retro-encabulator and Micro Encabulator) is a fictional machine whose alleged existence became an in-joke and subject of professional humor among engineers. The explanation of the supposed product makes extensive use of technobabble.
The gag was popular for many years. The following quote is from the original Students' Quarterly Journal article written by J. H. Quick in 1944. The citation in the later Time article misspells several of the technical terms. General Electric, Chrysler and Rockwell Automation use many of the same words.
The original machine had a base plate of prefabulated amulite, surmounted by a malleable logarithmic casing in such a way that the two main spurving bearings were in a direct line with the panametric fan. The latter consisted simply of six hydrocoptic marzlevanes, so fitted to the ambifacient lunar waneshaft that side fumbling was effectively prevented. The main winding was of the normal lotus-o-deltoid type placed in panendermic semi-boloid slots in the stator, every seventh conductor being connected by a nonreversible tremmie pipe to the differential girdlespring on the "up" end of the grammeters.
Discussed on
- "Turboencabulator" | 2022-01-01 | 121 Upvotes 52 Comments
- "Turboencabulator" | 2013-11-30 | 25 Upvotes 11 Comments
🔗 Janet Airlines
Janet, sometimes called Janet Airlines, is the unofficial name given to a highly classified fleet of passenger aircraft operated for the United States Department of the Air Force as an employee shuttle to transport military and contractor employees. The purpose is to pick up the employees at their home airport, and take them to their place of work. Then, in the afternoon, they take the employees back to their home airports. The airline mainly serves the Nevada National Security Site (most notably Area 51 and the Tonopah Test Range), from a private terminal at Las Vegas's McCarran International Airport.
The airline's aircraft are generally unmarked, but do have a red paint strip along the windows of the aircraft, which gives some sort of hint at Janet being the operator.
Discussed on
- "Janet Airlines" | 2019-04-21 | 180 Upvotes 56 Comments
🔗 Joybubbles
Joybubbles ((1949-05-25)May 25, 1949 – (2007-08-08)August 8, 2007), born Josef Carl Engressia Jr. in Richmond, Virginia, was an early phone phreak. Born blind, he became interested in telephones at age four. He had absolute pitch, and was able to whistle 2600 hertz into a telephone, an operator tone also used by blue box phreaking devices. Joybubbles said that he had an IQ of "172 or something". Joybubbles died at his Minneapolis home on August 8, 2007(2007-08-08) (aged 58). According to his death certificate, he died of natural causes with congestive heart failure as a contributing condition.
Discussed on
- "Joybubbles" | 2021-10-17 | 84 Upvotes 6 Comments
🔗 Oregon Trail Generation
Xennials or xennials (also known as the Oregon Trail Generation and Generation Catalano) are the micro-generation of people on the cusp of the Generation X and Millennial demographic cohorts. Researchers and popular media use birth years from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. Xennials are described as having had an analog childhood and a digital young adulthood.
In 2020, xennial was included in the Oxford Dictionary of English.
Discussed on
- "Oregon Trail Generation" | 2021-07-24 | 78 Upvotes 48 Comments
🔗 Fosbury Flop
The Fosbury flop is a jumping style used in the track and field sport of high jump. It was popularized and perfected by American athlete Dick Fosbury, whose gold medal in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City brought it to the world's attention. The flop became the dominant style of the event; before Fosbury, most elite jumpers used the straddle technique, Western Roll, Eastern cut-off, or scissors jump to clear the bar. Though the backwards flop technique had been known for years before Fosbury, landing surfaces had been sandpits or low piles of matting and high jumpers had to land on their feet or at least land carefully to prevent injury. With the advent of deep foam matting, high jumpers were able to be more adventurous in their landing styles and hence more experimental with jumping styles.
Discussed on
- "Fosbury Flop" | 2024-03-07 | 20 Upvotes 14 Comments