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While possessing the ultimate knowledge might be impossible due to many physical limits (unless you have a genie lamp stashed away somewhere), this doesn’t stop human curiosity from discovering, learning, and sharing as much as we can about the things that surround us. 

One proof of this is the How Things Work Instagram account, which contains various tidbits of information about anything and everything. Aiming to educate and empower its 1.9 million followers daily, it provides explanations and facts about our world that we don’t usually go out of our way to find. Scroll down to discover them, and don’t forget to upvote and share your favorites with fellow curious people!

A lot of people know the century-old myth that we only use 10% of our brain capacity. It toys with the idea that if we one day unlock our full brain potential, we may possess supernatural traits like infinite memory or even telekinesis. 

Indeed, it’s tempting to believe that there must be so much more that people can do, learn, and discover. This might be why even a whole myth was born to keep such hope alive.

This misconception received attention at the beginning of the 1900s, when scientists began exploring the abilities of the brain but lacked the proper tools to capture its workings.

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In 1907, the founder of American psychology, William James, proposed that “we are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources.” His suggestion set the 10% misconception ablaze, resulting in many other myths. 

One of them is related to Albert Einstein, who allegedly credited his genius to being able to use more than 10% of his brain. However, no such thing was ever documented, which proves that it was just a made-up story. 

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In fact, scientists today believe quite the opposite, saying that we use our entire brains daily. “All of our brain is constantly in use and consumes a tremendous amount of energy,” explains Mila Halgren, an associate professor of brain and cognitive sciences. “Despite making up only two percent of our body weight, it devours 20 percent of our calories. Even while we sleep, our entire brain remains intensely active.”

So now that we know that we use 100% of our brainpower, can we possess infinite memory or ultimate knowledge like the myth creators have hoped? Or are there still unbreakable boundaries? “This is still in contention,” Halgren says. “There may be certain problems that the human brain is fundamentally unable to solve, like how a mouse will never understand chemistry and a chimpanzee can’t do calculus.”

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For geeky fun, let’s entertain this idea and say that we unlocked the full power of our brain and one day woke up with infinite knowledge. What would happen? A team from Bright Side has come up with a possible plot.

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Donald Holder
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Could you imagine not only living to 140, but being fertile (pregnant)!? Incredible.

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“There are three possible outcomes in that scenario,” the narrator of the video says. “One is that you’ll regret it instantly. You won’t be able to deal with all the knowledge because you’ll probably learn something you didn’t want to know. You’d be aware of everyone’s thoughts, feelings, what’s happening around the world at any given time, and what’s about to happen. So, it could be damaging to your own sense of self.”

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Stinky
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That makes me so sad.......humans have so much to answer for.....

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Another possibility is that we’d probably feel superior to everyone else, which would lead us to become supervillains or try to ‘save’ the world. Either scenario would probably overwhelm us.

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Fat Harry (Oi / You)
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is more a mammal thing than a cat thing. My dogs do this, my horse does this, my hamster does this, and, to an extent I do it.

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The last outcome they came up with was the loss of humanity. "Infinite knowledge is something no human has ever experienced. You’d see what happens beyond the universe. You’d know about other intelligent life and alien civilizations. You’d even be aware of whether or not we have souls. Then, you wouldn’t be able to experience the emotions that make us human; such as surprise, hope, wonder, and fear. You’d become an emotionless robot.”

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Mimi La Souris
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

for me, brutalism everywhere is the death of the cities, the loss of attachment to one’s environment which also causes a decrease in mood

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I don’t know about you, but to me, every outcome sounds like the end of an apocalyptic movie. Having entertained this idea of ultimate knowledge, I now understand the importance of not knowing everything. I don’t know, all the knowledge in the world, including predicting the future seems like a LOT of work. I’d rather read the occasional book and watch cat videos on YouTube,” agrees the narrator of the Bright Side video.

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Auntriarch
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is something I'd love to do but I know I'd be too terrified (and I can't scuba anyway)

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Annik Perrot
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4 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And I guess human lives as well. Car vs boar, both are doomed. And car vs moose....

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BeesEelsAndPups
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pretty sure it's supposed to be Jared Leto. Jesus would have been more arabic looking

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Jane
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

AI always messes up hand and fingers... and the car is pretty funny too.

Jeff White
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This worked MUCH better if I scrolled the picture slightly up and down with the mouse roller. Jesus appeared like a miraculous apparition.

Beeps
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Did anyone else make it all the way to this post, because the article was titled “How Things Work” and was hoping to find an explanation of how these kind of images are generated?

Community Member
4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Is it bad that I could see Jesus even without closing my eyes and opening them?

UKGrandad
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The closer you look at the girls the more you see the limitations of AI. Blue dress girl has hair to just below shoulder-length - except for the ponytail that seems to double as a strap for her backpack, and she is holding the cup in her right hand with two-and-a-half fingers on one side and four on the other. And what is going on with the profile shape of black jacket girl's face? Zoom in and try to work it out.

PenguinQueen
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't care if it's AI - it's always nice to see Jesus appear. Especially if your like me on a doom scroll, felt like a little reminder to smile and put the phone away. Be happy and not glued to my screen, live..

Thomas Schwarting
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I saw that almost immediately! Pretty cool what our brains can see before our eyes do!

xolitaire
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not only is the car in the background obviously a wonky Transformer, girl on the right also has two left hands

Shaunn Munn
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If wearing glasses, take them off and move until pic is blurry. Much better than squinting.

Mark Fergel
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh, I see it. Something is off with that car in the background.

Savahax
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4 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've got dozens of these. Quite easy to make as well. It works best on thumbnails 1707437366...130144.jpg 1707437366923208-6696405130144.jpg

DC
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

... is EVERY dude with half a beard and long hair to be considered Jesus? I mean, I could very well state in half of the hidden Jesuses that I'd rather see Geezer Butler, whom I'd prefer to see due to several reasons anyway, ... Ok, that's one of them Hidden Geezers again ... not a random Geezer, of course ... anyway, ... anyway.

Cat Furr
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This gave my heart a start...I was pretty sure it was Jim Morrison

Shelly Graham
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to see, but I'm not seeing anything but a poorly produced AI generated image!

Donald Holder
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hidden photo that only the subconscious (untrained) eye can see! Incredible.

EDM
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Jared Leto and three future cult members? Did I see that correctly? I've never been great at magic eye images.

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Frunkadunk
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The patient on the table outlived the doctor who did the procedure. Their team did a great job.

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arthbach
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'd like to see a close up of this. Are there any physical barriers that are deterring the wolves, or is it purely, "Nope, not going in there. That's where those weird Moon Moon Wolves live."

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LB
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4 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is a UV microscope if I'm not mistaken. Source: used to study biology way back when and we were one of the first to have these for students because our professor was rad. I used to sneak them out for "regular" assignments also. But years have passed so please correct me if I'm wrong!

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LB
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, sunflowers are fake flowers, like how strawberries aren't berries. Wiki explains in more detail: what appear to be "petals" of an individual flower, are actually each individual complete ray flowers, and at the center is a dense pack of individual tiny disc flowers. Because the collection has the overall appearance of a single flower, the collection of flowers in the head of this sunflower is called a pseudanthium or a composite.

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Not-a-Clue (she/her)
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've got one like this in our toilet as there's not enough space for a separate sink. You can easily lean across. (UK)

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JoNo
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We aren't being told "How Things Work" like the title of this post states!

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arthbach
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They are called 'crinkle crankle walls' or 'serpentine walls'. In Suffolk (about a third of the way up England, on the right hand side) there are around 100 such walls, and about 50 in the rest of the country.

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Donald Holder
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is sooo freaking scary the first or second time you approached it. But damn it's also so fricn awesome

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Sand Ers
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I -knew- my yellow tshirts were my favorite for a reason! The grey one performs surprisingly poorly compared to the white one.

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#53

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quentariel
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Fascinating. It took me a long time to find them, but now they seem super obvious. (A tip: look at the vertical lines)

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BebeR
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Would this not actually cause accidents?? Imagine a random speedbump appearing out of nowhere. (Thinking about emergency vehicles and police who are sometimes required to go over the speed limit)

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Raymond Core
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

R.J. Mitchell supposedly was inspired by watching terns to design the Spitfire fighter plane.

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LB
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is actually useful for thinking about painting in my new place. Probably go with all white though, and just get loads of plants.

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Pedantic Panda
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As a panda has mentioned previously, the hole on the lid wasn't added until 1991.

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OneWithRatsAndKefir
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It’s only slightly red for me when I don’t look directly at it. Look at the text to get the same effect if you’re struggling to ‘see’ the red!

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Donald Holder
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, I guess being one of the longest time period richest man in the world. You can can buy just a plethora of cool things. I wonder if he ever allows chemistry students to tour?

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Sand Ers
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you want a fascinating rabbit hole, look up “dendrochronology”.

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Mahayana
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Quebec this winter it went from 13 degrees to -28 (Celsius!) in twelve hours.

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Savahax
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

@Donald the image was (according to my maths) taken from an altitude of 3500/4000 meters, calculated using trig from a skyscraper in the photo. Most likely from an airplane with a damned good camera

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Jrog
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Usual BP b******t repost. They don't. Tested it once. Failed spectacularly. Stupid idea. Moving on.

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General Anaesthesia
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"16 miles (24 kilometers) high which makes it about three times higher than Mt. Everest. In addition to being very tall, it is also very wide (340 miles or 550 kilometers) and covers an area larger than the entire chain of Hawaiian islands. Olympus Mons is a very flat mountain which slopes by only 2 to 5 degrees. It is a shield volcano built up by eruptions of lava." - https://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ask/199-Where-is-the-highest-mountain-in-our-Solar-System

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Fat Harry (Oi / You)
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mum told me YEARS ago that the best way to make money from land was to build a multi-storey car park.

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ZGutr
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4 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Disadvantages are clear, but what are the advantages? what's wrong with the original : a tree !!

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BebeR
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Leipzig Zoo in Germany in 2009 > three bears @ the zoo went bald. It was caused by a bad diet and when corrected their fur grew back

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Jrog
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

BP at it again. Tested on a tiny stretch. Doesn't work and wear off quickly. Very expensive. Reflectors more reliable. Dumb idea shelved.

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JoNo
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How do they know this? Did they ask a baby or take their eyes out? It's the same as when they say what dogs/cats etc can see. Would eyes still work outside of the head?

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Tom Hardeveld
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4 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

eh... no they didn't. reversing a before and after photo is not reversing age. A nice case of BPBS

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ZGutr
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

tip: do NOT attach to bare metal, always attach both the battery. Some cars -though not many- have the positive connected to the frame. I found this out when installing extra high-beams on my suzuki s-cross.

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Auntriarch
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4 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Okay I'm lucky, now what is it. Edit: ah thanks chaps, I must have missed these machines, cos I'm not lucky then

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Savahax
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had a screw drilled into my tyre 3 times now. Perfectly right into the top

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Eevi
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'll take Affogato minus the coffee, thank you very much <3

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BebeR
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

''Amar Bharati is an Indian Sadhu or ascetic who is known for claiming to have kept his right arm raised for 50 years in a testament of his devotion to the Hindu deity Shiva, and as a call for world peace.''

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BebeR
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Mihailo Tolotos. His mother died in childbirth and he was then adopted by Orthodox Monks at a monastery on Mount Athos in Greece.

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LB
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4 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There's a lot of muscles in my nose, too... *Does bunny impression* Anyway, this is some AI bulshit, I think.

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