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Think chess is just a board game?
Think again. Scientists say the number of possible chess games is greater than the number of atoms in the entire universe — and that’s not an exaggeration. Known as the Shannon Number, this mind-melting figure (around 10¹²⁰) means that every move you make could open a new universe of possibilities — literally!
That’s what makes chess so endlessly fascinating. Even after centuries of play, no two games have ever been the same. From ancient kings to modern AIs, everyone’s still trying to master this infinite puzzle. It’s not just a game of strategy — it’s a glimpse into the boundless complexity of human thought.
That’s what makes chess so endlessly fascinating. Even after centuries of play, no two games have ever been the same. From ancient kings to modern AIs, everyone’s still trying to master this infinite puzzle. It’s not just a game of strategy — it’s a glimpse into the boundless complexity of human thought.
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11th century method for calculating Earth's radius!
Al-Biruni calculated the Earth's radius to be approximately 6,339.9 km (or 6,336 km in some sources), which is an incredibly close estimate for his time. He used a method involving trigonometry, the height of a mountain, and measuring the angle of the horizon's dip from the mountaintop. This calculation was highly accurate, with a margin of error of less than 1% compared to modern measurements.
Al-Biruni's method:
Concept: Al-Biruni understood that the Earth's curvature causes the horizon to appear lower from a mountaintop than from sea level.
Height measurement: He determined the height of a mountain by measuring the angle of elevation from two different points on flat ground.
Horizon dip: Using an astrolabe, he measured the angle of dip (or depression) of the horizon below the horizontal line from the mountaintop.
Calculation: He applied the law of sines to the large triangle formed by the Earth's center, the mountaintop, and the horizon to calculate the Earth's radius.
Result: His calculation for the radius was about 6,339.9 km, and his estimate for the circumference was within 0.3% of today's accepted value.
Al-Biruni's method:
Concept: Al-Biruni understood that the Earth's curvature causes the horizon to appear lower from a mountaintop than from sea level.
Height measurement: He determined the height of a mountain by measuring the angle of elevation from two different points on flat ground.
Horizon dip: Using an astrolabe, he measured the angle of dip (or depression) of the horizon below the horizontal line from the mountaintop.
Calculation: He applied the law of sines to the large triangle formed by the Earth's center, the mountaintop, and the horizon to calculate the Earth's radius.
Result: His calculation for the radius was about 6,339.9 km, and his estimate for the circumference was within 0.3% of today's accepted value.
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He couldn’t read notes — but he taught a whole nation how to feel them.
He had only two years of formal education.
He couldn’t read sheet music.
He learned to play the piano at 45 — and only played on the black keys.
And yet, he became America’s most beloved composer.
More than 1,000 melodies,
450 hits,
35 songs that became timeless American classics.
His name was Irving Berlin.
He was born Israel Beilin on May 11, 1888, in a small Belarusian town called Tolochin — the son of a synagogue cantor.
When he was just 5 years old, their home was burned down during a pogrom.
Fleeing persecution, the Beilin family immigrated to New York in 1893.
At Ellis Island, a clerk misheard their surname and wrote “Beilin.”
Later, a typesetter accidentally replaced the i with an r on printed sheet music.
To blend in, Israel changed his first name to Irving.
And so, Izzie Beilin became Irving Berlin — the man who would one day write the songs of a nation.
At just 13, he sang in bars and wrote songs at night.
Soon, performers were fighting for the chance to sing his work.
One day, a singer named Dorothy Goetz broke into his office, begging for a song.
Another woman barged in seconds later — and the two began to fight right there on the floor.
Berlin recalled:
“They scratched, screamed, and pulled hair, yelling they wanted to sing my songs.
I once dreamed that people would fight to perform my music — and now that dream has come true.”
He gave the song to the second woman.
But he married Dorothy.
Five months later, Dorothy died of typhoid fever. She was only 20.
Years later, Irving fell in love again — this time with Ellin Mackay, the daughter of a wealthy telegraph magnate.
Her father was furious: a Jewish immigrant was not the husband he had in mind for his daughter.
He forbade the marriage, kidnapped her, and sent her to Europe.
But love found its way.
Ellin escaped, returned to New York, and married Berlin in secret.
She was 22; he was 37.
Her father disowned her.
When their first child was born, Berlin wrote “Russian Lullaby” — which became Song of the Year in 1927.
In 1918, Berlin wrote a song called “God Bless America.”
He set it aside and forgot about it for two decades.
Twenty years later, after hearing about Kristallnacht — the “Night of Broken Glass,” the first large-scale attack on Jews in Nazi Germany —
he pulled out the song again.
In 1939, it was performed publicly for the first time on Armistice Day.
The audience stood in silence, hats removed, as if hearing a national hymn.
The song brought him a fortune — but Berlin refused to profit from it.
“You don’t make money on patriotism,” he said.
He donated 100% of the royalties to the Boy Scouts of America — a fund that continues to this day, having raised over $10 million.
Irving Berlin lived to be 101 years old.
He passed away quietly in his sleep in 1989 —
the same way he lived: with grace, humility, and music in his soul.
He couldn’t read sheet music.
He learned to play the piano at 45 — and only played on the black keys.
And yet, he became America’s most beloved composer.
More than 1,000 melodies,
450 hits,
35 songs that became timeless American classics.
His name was Irving Berlin.
He was born Israel Beilin on May 11, 1888, in a small Belarusian town called Tolochin — the son of a synagogue cantor.
When he was just 5 years old, their home was burned down during a pogrom.
Fleeing persecution, the Beilin family immigrated to New York in 1893.
At Ellis Island, a clerk misheard their surname and wrote “Beilin.”
Later, a typesetter accidentally replaced the i with an r on printed sheet music.
To blend in, Israel changed his first name to Irving.
And so, Izzie Beilin became Irving Berlin — the man who would one day write the songs of a nation.
At just 13, he sang in bars and wrote songs at night.
Soon, performers were fighting for the chance to sing his work.
One day, a singer named Dorothy Goetz broke into his office, begging for a song.
Another woman barged in seconds later — and the two began to fight right there on the floor.
Berlin recalled:
“They scratched, screamed, and pulled hair, yelling they wanted to sing my songs.
I once dreamed that people would fight to perform my music — and now that dream has come true.”
He gave the song to the second woman.
But he married Dorothy.
Five months later, Dorothy died of typhoid fever. She was only 20.
Years later, Irving fell in love again — this time with Ellin Mackay, the daughter of a wealthy telegraph magnate.
Her father was furious: a Jewish immigrant was not the husband he had in mind for his daughter.
He forbade the marriage, kidnapped her, and sent her to Europe.
But love found its way.
Ellin escaped, returned to New York, and married Berlin in secret.
She was 22; he was 37.
Her father disowned her.
When their first child was born, Berlin wrote “Russian Lullaby” — which became Song of the Year in 1927.
In 1918, Berlin wrote a song called “God Bless America.”
He set it aside and forgot about it for two decades.
Twenty years later, after hearing about Kristallnacht — the “Night of Broken Glass,” the first large-scale attack on Jews in Nazi Germany —
he pulled out the song again.
In 1939, it was performed publicly for the first time on Armistice Day.
The audience stood in silence, hats removed, as if hearing a national hymn.
The song brought him a fortune — but Berlin refused to profit from it.
“You don’t make money on patriotism,” he said.
He donated 100% of the royalties to the Boy Scouts of America — a fund that continues to this day, having raised over $10 million.
Irving Berlin lived to be 101 years old.
He passed away quietly in his sleep in 1989 —
the same way he lived: with grace, humility, and music in his soul.
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How to tour the world without ever leaving Maine
My family has a place in Athens. People would always be interested when I mentioned we were going to Athens. Less so after I explained that it's a very small town kind of in the middle of nowhere. People also get less impressed by the "vacation house" when I explain about the outhouse and eternal rodent and snake population that is in residence when we aren't. And while we are, actually. I still love it!
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Every Reddit thread is secretly a JSON API endpoint!
Interesting. How'd I not know this earlier? Gonna figure out how to use.
Instagram used to have something similar, but then was shut down when got too popular. Remember ?a=1. Fun times!
Instagram used to have something similar, but then was shut down when got too popular. Remember ?a=1. Fun times!
express, not stress