- How the bootstrap load made the historic Intel 8008 processor possible (righto.com)
Near the end of 1972, Intel introduced their first 8-bit microprocessor, the 8008. Decades later, this processor still influences computing; you probably use an x86 processor that is a descendent of the 8008. One unusual feature of the 8008 processor is its use of a “bootstrap load” or “bootstrap capacitor”, a special capacitor circuit to improve performance. Federico Faggin, who led the development of the 8008, is the main character in this story; he invented a new way to fabricate bootstrap capacitors for the Intel 4004 and 8008 processors and says it “proved essential to the microprocessor realization” and “without [the bootstrap load], there was no microprocessor.”
- Cannabis (drug) (Wikipedia)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various traditional medicines for centuries. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive component of cannabis, which is one of the 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 other cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol (CBD). Cannabis can be used by smoking, vaporizing, within food, or as an extract.
