fun facts
Filling my boots
I learned a new idiom this week. To fill one’s boots is to, “take or obtain as much of something as one can. Primarily heard in UK.” | learn more
Category: fun facts
fun facts
Supersized pickup trucks
Angie Schmitt, writing for Bloomberg, tells the story of the pickup truck and its transformation from no-frills working truck to gigantic family vehicle. She makes the point that these large vehicles are more dangerous for pedestrians in crowded areas due […]
fun facts
The largest ink library in the world
“One branch [of the US Secret Service], some 120 men and women strong, collects ink. More than 8,500 samples of ink, in fact, which have been sent to the USSS from manufacturers since the 1920s.” | learn more
fun facts
The Beirut bank job
“[Security expert] Jayson E. Street tells us a story about the time he broke into a bank in Beirut Lebanon.” | learn more
fun facts
The advice to “keep your eye on the ball” is literally impossible
“So why are [All-Star batters] transmogrified into Little Leaguers when faced with 68-mph softballs? It’s because the only way to hit a ball traveling at high speed is to be able to see into the future, and when a baseball […]
fun facts
The best way to rob a bank is to own a bank
Ben Hunt: “I think that the collapse over the past week of Greensill Capital has a lot of systemic risk embedded within it, particularly as the fraudulent deals between Greensill and its major sponsors – Softbank and Credit Suisse – […]
fun facts
3 words for every location on Earth
I saw 3 words in the footer of an email and started digging in. I discovered, “Every 3 metre square of the world has been given a unique combination of three words.” Since 2016, Mongolia has used what3words for their postal system. | learn […]
fun facts
Who’s making all those scam calls?
Reporter Yudhijit Bhattacharjee tracked down a scammer who works at a call center in India and asked him some questions. | learn more
fun facts
The story of clearing, aka WTF is DTCC?
“And the DTCC is perhaps the most powerful entity you’ve never heard of. It’s the engine of the US securities markets; in 2019 alone, it processed over $2.15 quadrillion worth of securities (yes, quadrillion!)” | learn more