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@learn

Learning, rebuilt for the age of SI. A @NathanLands project.

nathanlands.com
Joined August 2010
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The first message sent over the network that became the internet was "lo." They were typing "login" and the system crashed. October 29, 1969.
Text graphic: the word login with only the letters l and o lit in gold, the first message sent from UCLA to Stanford Research Institute on October 29, 1969.

ALT Text graphic: the word login with only the letters l and o lit in gold, the first message sent from UCLA to Stanford Research Institute on October 29, 1969.

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Thomas Edison earned 1,093 U.S. patents.
A Library of Congress portrait of Thomas Edison seated beside his early phonograph, around 1878.

ALT A Library of Congress portrait of Thomas Edison seated beside his early phonograph, around 1878.

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The Human Genome Project took 13 years and about $2.7 billion. By 2015, sequencing a human genome cost less than $1,500.
Bar chart drawn to scale: reading one human genome cost $2.7 billion in the Human Genome Project and under $1,500 by 2015. At true scale the 2015 bar is under a thousandth of a pixel wide.

ALT Bar chart drawn to scale: reading one human genome cost $2.7 billion in the Human Genome Project and under $1,500 by 2015. At true scale the 2015 bar is under a thousandth of a pixel wide.

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On April 28, 1869, railroad crews laid 10 miles of track in a single day.
Text graphic: 10 miles of railroad track laid by Central Pacific crews in a single day, April 28, 1869, plus 56 feet.

ALT Text graphic: 10 miles of railroad track laid by Central Pacific crews in a single day, April 28, 1869, plus 56 feet.

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The Golden Gate Bridge's two main cables contain 80,000 miles of steel wire. That is enough to circle the Earth three times.
Diagram: the 80,000 miles of steel wire in the Golden Gate Bridge's main cables drawn as a gold spiral wrapping a circle labeled Earth 3.2 times.

ALT Diagram: the 80,000 miles of steel wire in the Golden Gate Bridge's main cables drawn as a gold spiral wrapping a circle labeled Earth 3.2 times.

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In 1976, solar panels cost $106 per watt. By 2019 they cost 38 cents. A drop of 99.6%.
Bar chart drawn to scale: solar panels cost $106 per watt in 1976 and 38 cents in 2019, a drop of 99.6 percent. The 2019 bar is a thin sliver.

ALT Bar chart drawn to scale: solar panels cost $106 per watt in 1976 and 38 cents in 2019, a drop of 99.6 percent. The 2019 bar is a thin sliver.

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The Pentagon was built in 16 months. Ground was broken in September 1941. It was finished in January 1943.
A U.S. Army photo of the Pentagon under construction on July 1, 1942, with cranes and parked cars around the site.

ALT A U.S. Army photo of the Pentagon under construction on July 1, 1942, with cranes and parked cars around the site.

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Norman Borlaug, a crop scientist from Iowa, is credited with saving more than a billion people from starvation.
Text graphic: 1 billion plus, the number of people Norman Borlaug, a crop scientist from Iowa, is credited with saving from starvation.

ALT Text graphic: 1 billion plus, the number of people Norman Borlaug, a crop scientist from Iowa, is credited with saving from starvation.

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In 1803, the United States doubled in size for about 4 cents an acre.
A 1905 map by Frederick S. Dellenbaugh showing the territory of the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803 across the middle of the United States.

ALT A 1905 map by Frederick S. Dellenbaugh showing the territory of the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803 across the middle of the United States.

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The concrete in Hoover Dam and its power plant could pave a highway from San Francisco to New York.
A 1932 Bureau of Reclamation photo of two high-scalers standing on the rocky canyon wall during construction of Hoover Dam.

ALT A 1932 Bureau of Reclamation photo of two high-scalers standing on the rocky canyon wall during construction of Hoover Dam.

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