BEST OF WEIRD.NET
🧠

Best Technology Facts

Top Weird Facts, ranked by Weird.net users. Join free →

  1. #1 🧠 More computing power than Apollo 11 fits in a USB-C charger A modern 30W USB-C power brick contains a microcontroller that vastly outperforms the Apollo Guidance Computer, which got humans to the Moon on ~64 KB of memory. Technology 100% liked · 4 votes
  2. #2 🧠 Laser printers use static electricity Laser printers use charged drums and toner powder before heat fuses the image onto paper. Technology Everyday Tech
  3. #3 🧠 CDs store data in microscopic pits Compact discs encode information in tiny pits and lands read by a laser. Technology Storage
  4. #4 🧠 Undersea cables carry most global internet traffic Most intercontinental internet data travels through fiber optic cables laid across the ocean floor. Technology Internet
  5. #5 🧠 Fiber optic cables carry data as light Fiber networks send pulses of light through glass strands to move information quickly. Technology Internet
  6. #6 🧠 GPS depends on precise clock corrections GPS satellites need extremely accurate clocks and relativistic corrections to keep locations reliable. Technology Navigation
  7. #7 🧠 Touchscreens can sense your finger's capacitance Many phones detect touch by measuring changes in an electric field caused by your finger. Technology Interfaces
  8. #8 🧠 Spacecraft often use older hardened chips Radiation-resistant chips can matter more in space than the newest consumer processor speed. Technology Space Tech
  9. #9 🧠 Mars rovers receive software updates Robots on Mars can get new instructions and software from Earth long after landing. Technology Space Tech
  10. #10 🧠 Supercomputers overwhelmingly run Linux Most of the world's fastest supercomputers use Linux-based operating systems. Technology Computing
  11. #11 🧠 Emoji are standardized like text The Unicode Consortium approves and encodes emoji so different systems can exchange them. Technology Text
  12. #12 🧠 UTF-8 preserves plain ASCII text UTF-8 was designed so ordinary ASCII files remain valid while allowing far more characters. Technology Text
  13. #13 🧠 Unicode gives symbols shared code points Unicode helps computers represent writing systems, symbols, and emoji consistently across platforms. Technology Text
  14. #14 🧠 DNS turns names into network addresses The Domain Name System translates readable domain names into addresses computers can route. Technology Internet
  15. #15 🧠 Incognito mode does not make you invisible Private browsing mainly hides local history; websites and networks can still see traffic. Technology Internet
  16. #16 🧠 Cookies were named after magic cookies Web cookies borrowed their name from an older computing term for a packet of data passed around. Technology Internet
  17. #17 🧠 GIF animation is older than many websites The GIF format supports simple animation and became a durable language of internet reaction culture. Technology Internet Culture
  18. #18 🧠 PNG supports transparency without losing image data PNG is a lossless image format that can include an alpha channel for transparency. Technology Data
  19. #19 🧠 JPEG compression throws detail away JPEG files save space by discarding image information that the algorithm expects people to notice less. Technology Data
  20. #20 🧠 Solid-state drives have no spinning platters SSDs store data in flash memory, avoiding the moving parts found in hard drives. Technology Storage
  21. #21 🧠 OLED pixels make their own light OLED screens do not need a backlight because each pixel can emit light directly. Technology Displays
  22. #22 🧠 E-ink moves tiny pigment particles Electronic paper displays use charged particles that rearrange to make text visible without constant power. Technology Displays
  23. #23 🧠 Trackballs came before everyday computer mice Trackball devices appeared in early computing and radar systems before mice became common on desks. Technology Interfaces
  24. #24 🧠 The first computer mouse was wooden Douglas Engelbart's early computer mouse prototype used a wooden shell and metal wheels. Technology Interfaces
  25. #25 🧠 Git was created to manage the Linux kernel Linus Torvalds created Git after the Linux project needed a new distributed version control system. Technology Programming
  26. #26 🧠 Java was first called Oak The Java programming language was originally named Oak before trademark issues forced a change. Technology Programming
  27. #27 🧠 Python was named after Monty Python The Python programming language was named for the comedy group, not the snake. Technology Programming
  28. #28 🧠 The first YouTube video was Me at the zoo YouTube's first uploaded video is a short clip filmed at the San Diego Zoo. Technology Internet Culture
  29. #29 🧠 The first text message said Merry Christmas The first SMS message sent in 1992 was the holiday greeting Merry Christmas. Technology Internet
  30. #30 🧠 Email predates the World Wide Web Networked email was used long before web browsers and web pages became mainstream. Technology Internet

Want personalized picks?

These are global rankings. Sign up to see what your Taste Twins recommend — usually wildly different from the global top.

Create free account → Take a 60-second taste quiz first