These are the random fun facts that I’ve come across in the past month. This post is for documenting the random insights, unexpected learnings, and uncategorized pieces of information that I’ve come across.
Gmail + Hack
My friend Tywen told me that if I add a “+” in my gmail before the @, I can create unlimited aliases of my email. For instance, I could take my email (username@gmail.com) and change it to username+shopping@gmail.com to create a sibling email. This can help keep your main email address off marketer’s lists or help sort incoming emails
Landscape Postcards that Reuse the Same Skies
A collector noticed the same skies being used in various different landscape. While some thought it was a branding stamp to mark a post cards under a specific printer, the real reason was the printing company wanted to the postcards to simply have a better sky. The same visual repeated across many different postcards, creates a new type of pattern
Pho Restaurant Number Meanings
Many authentic Pho neighborhood restaurants have a number in them. In Orange County alone, there’s a Pho 99, Pho 86, Pho 45, Pho 54, and a Pho 79. Sometimes the numbers are included because they are lucky like Pho 555 or Pho 888 (5 and 8 are auspicious numbers). But most of the time, the numbers represent important years for that family such as the year they immigrated, the year Saigon fell (‘75), or the creation of South Vietnam (‘54).
Rwandan Milk Bars
“Milk is a favorite drink in Rwanda, and milk bars serve it up in abundance, fresh or fermented, hot or cold. “When you drink milk, you always have your head straight and your ideas right.”
NYT: At Rwanda’s Favorite Bars, Forget the Beer, Milk is What’s on Tap
Zillow’s Naming Origin
The name Zillow was made by taking pillow from one column and zillion from another during a naming exercise. The team was drawing lines between the columns of words to find the new company’s name.