Today I Learned

[BillTre]

It's Geiger.

If its not in my spell checker, it can always be questioned.

 

[pinball1970]

They used to sell radioactive compounds in drug stores in the early years:

View attachment 363573

or this one

Which reminds me of this guy.

 

[pinball1970]

@BillTre

@OmCheeto (for some context)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eben_Byers

 

[sbrothy]

One time I was goofing around with a gieger counter measuring radioactivity around and about the lab. Ran into this professor who had a big watch with glowy numbers on it. We measured it and saw it was radioactive. The prof. said there's a lot of metal in the watch so his wrist should be protected from it. I flipped his arm over and measured the radioactivity going through the back of the watch and his arm. He stopped wearing the watch after that.

You don't mention what the professor's teaching subject was, but why would he think a relatively thin layer of metal would stop radiation. It cannot have been alpha-particles can it? Must have been something worse(!).

Reminds of a scandal somewhere where a watch factory was situated next to a dairy farm producing yogurt with predictable effects. I cannot find the particular one I was thinking about but Google Scholar has no shortage of similar results.

Recent Research Involving the Transfer of Radionuclides to Milk

(Maybe take "recent" with a grain of (iodized) salt.)

EDIT: Replaced "diary farm" with "dairy farm".

 

[BillTre]

You don't mention what the professor's teaching subject was

Neurobiology and behavior.

 

[sbrothy]

Neurobiology and behavior.

Well at least he took the watch off. So he can't have been completely incompetent.

 

[BillTre]

Well at least he took the watch off. So he can't have been completely incompetent.

Many biologists don't have a deep understanding of things outside their field, but some do understand basics.

 

[sbrothy]

I guess this goes for all fields but I found biology particularly complex. And that was on a pre-college level. Highest level. What's called A-level here in Denmark, but still. Give me chemistry any day.

This was of course in the AIDS era. T-cells everywhere!

 

[PeterDonis]

I define value by what it takes to achieve or produce something

So if I paint your house, the job is a lot more valuable if I use a toothbrush? It takes a lot more to achieve the result that way.

 

[sbrothy]

So if I paint your house, the job is a lot more valuable if I use a toothbrush? It takes a lot more to achieve the result that way.

There's a book called "Parkinton's Law" which takes a cynical view of administrative and bureaucratic work which states that employees will fill to accomplish the work no matter how much work there is. It's pretty funny.


Parkinsons Law: Or The Pursuit Of Progress

"A must read. Many of our everyday decisions are (or should have been) based upon Parkinson's insights.For example, he wrote "Work expands to fill the time allotted for it". If you schedule more time, you'll create more tasks to accomplish a particular goal.The many corollaries derived from this law are significant.“Junk expands to fill the space allotted for it”. Regardless of how much storage space we create, we’ll accumulate junk that will exceed the allotted space. The more highways we build the more traffic jams we create.He described how in many organizations people rise to the “level of their incompetence”.He noted the significance of an organization that has created excellent offices, beautiful grounds and buildings or excellent bureaucratic efficiency. Healthy growing organizations are always in chaos. The great Marble houses of banks and railroad terminals foretold the decline of those industries relative significance. When you’re busy growing and creating, you don’t have time or resources to devote to your own self admiration"

 

[PeterDonis]

It's pretty funny.

Yes, that book is indeed funny--but the underlying point it's making is that all the extra effort involved in the various bureaucratic processes it describes adds no actual value at all. At one point, Parkinson has an official, A, who is overworked and hires subordinates, and ends up heading an office of seven people--but when a document comes in that requires a response, even though all seven of them weigh in on it, the final response is the same as what A would have produced on his own if the other six officials had never been born.

 

[sbrothy]

Yes, that book is indeed funny--but the underlying point it's making is that all the extra effort involved in the various bureaucratic processes it describes adds no actual value at all. At one point, Parkinson has an official, A, who is overworked and hires subordinates, and ends up heading an office of seven people--but when a document comes in that requires a response, even though all seven of them weigh in on it, the final response is the same as what A would have produced on his own if the other six officials had never been born.

Yes. It's ironic, sarcastic even. Anyone who've visited the DMV probably recognizes a lot of it's tropes.

 

[PeterDonis]

Anyone who've visited the DMV probably recognizes a lot of it's tropes.

Or anyone who's worked in a large bureaucracy.

 

[TensorCalculus]

Today I learned about how the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution is derived. I spent far too long trying to decode how it all worked and ended up having to write out every other step and spend like 5 minutes just staring at it thinking until the logic to get to that step clicked. Often the derivation would jump straight from one line to another and I would have to try and write out and figure out what the intermediate lines were. The pain was worth it though. Statistical mechanics (at least, the small glimpse that I got today) is pretty cool.

Thanks to @sbrothy, I also learned some new words: Portmanteau, cursorily and technically Anemic (I knew what Anemia was, but somehow I didn't know that an Anemic person has Anemia)

 

[fresh_42]

Today, I heard about what was probably the first stock company ever. A group of investors who elected a chairman once a year operated mills. Dividends were paid out in the form of cash, flour, or grain. The investors received 90%, the miller 10%. Sounds familiar.

France, 1372.

 

[Filip Larsen]

Today I learned not only that Quantum Inertial Navigation is actually a thing, but also that it is has been flight proven several times already and shows orders of magnitude improvement in inertial navigation accuracy:
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/...aunch-and-test-quantum-navigation-technology/
https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.04729
https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.08167

 

[TensorCalculus]

Today I learnt about Green's theorem!

 

[Borg]

TIL about Historical Tech Tree - visualize the entire history of technologies, inventions, and (some) discoveries, from prehistory to today.
https://www.historicaltechtree.com/

 

[fresh_42]

TIL about Historical Tech Tree - visualize the entire history of technologies, inventions, and (some) discoveries, from prehistory to today.
https://www.historicaltechtree.com/

I guess it's time for my annual check of my list of interesting webpages.

 

[Klystron]

TIL what President Bill Clinton meant when he famously replied to an interview question about cannabis use while a scholar at Oxford UK, "but I didn't inhale".

James Ballard's 1973 novel "Crash" that I am reading in ebook contains detailed descriptions of London cannabis smokers preparing and consuming hashish cigarettes. Unlike typical North American joints rolled with marijuana, UK smokers crumbled hash in tobacco to roll a joint. Bill Clinton, being allergic to tobacco smoke, would pass the cigarettes along at a party but could not directly partake of the harsh smoke.

Ballard's main character, also named James Ballard as in his autobiographical novel "Empire of the Sun", likewise does not smoke with his friends but mentions being affected by hash fumes particularly indoors and in enclosed automobiles where much of the action occurs.

 

[sbrothy]

We're nearing the time when fruits are fermenting and bees get inebriated and as we all know they're mean drunks!

Turns out bee hives have females on guard duty screening out those that return home in a stupor and can't do "the dance" properly. The punishment is instant and quite medieval:

"When a bee is drunk, it’s not hard for other members of the colony to notice it in their waggle dance.

Once spotted, the guard bees of the hive will immediately begin their investigation and punishment.

Honeybees are quite strict, and their reaction to a criminal offense is borderline medieval.

Without question, the guard bees will bite off the drunken bee’s legs, leaving it with little to no chance of survival. Pretty harsh for an accidental buzz.

This punishment serves as a warning to the rest of the hive."

---- Random Bee Blog

"To prevent the negative effects of drunken bees, guard bees act as vigilant bouncers.

They detect intoxicated intruders attempting to return to the hive and refuse entry, even resorting to aggressive measures like biting off legs if necessary.

These measures ensure that order is maintained and the impact of inebriated members is minimized, ultimately protecting the hive’s integrity."

---- easyscienceforkids

The morale of the story?

Don't drink and pollinate?
Don't drink and fly?
Don't drink and dance?

Take your pick.

EDIT: That should've been "moral" as opposed to "morale", right?

 

[fresh_42]

TIL that FB censors photos of a 29,500-year-old neolithic sculpture, the Venus of Willendorf.

 

[sbrothy]

TIL that FB censors photos of a 29,500-year-old neolithic sculpture, the Venus of Willendorf.

Is there a reason? Is it because FB find it pornographic?!

 

[sbrothy]

This one is more morbid and solemn than outright funny. Then again "funny" was never a prerequisite for a post in this thread was it?

It seems judges in "civilized" countries which still practices capital punishment (this sounds all wrong, but I mean as a relative term, as opposed to countries like Iran which dismembers people for stealing and hangs people in bundles from construction cranes) break their pen after handing down a death sentence. It's apparently a 2-500 year old tradition originating in the Indian Mughal Empire:

Just one of the links out there.

 

[fresh_42]

Is there a reason? Is it because FB find it pornographic?!

Depends on your definition or who you ask. In a European sense: no, in an American sense: yes.

 

[sbrothy]

I’ve always wondered what an adrenalin kick it must be to be a passenger in a rally race car. You know the type of racing where there’s a navigator in the passenger seat saying things like “120 meters, 40 degree right. 100 meters, 10 degrees left, elevation plus 15 degrees.” and so on. It’s actually possible to buy such a trip. It’s even within the reach of “ordinary” people (although it may take some saving up). If you’re really nasty you could give someone a giftcard to such a tour and watch them squirm. I’m not sure what’s more scary, that or a parachute jump.

Scary as that might be I just now read about the Blue Angels Air Show that:

“[…] Usually, two back seats rides are available at each air show; one goes to a member of the press, and the other to the "Key Influencer". […]”

Now, perhaps these seats can’t be bought in the same sense (at the very least it’s much more expensive). On the other hand I’m not sure my brain can handle that much adrenalin anyway!

 

[gmax137]

Many years ago I had a ride in a Steerman biplane. Stalls, rolls, flying upside down... It was quite a rush. I can't imagine a Blue Angels ride.

 

[fresh_42]

Italian businessman Marco De Veglia, known as one of the most vocal anti-vaccine activists who advocated that the coronavirus pandemic was a "pharmaceutical conspiracy," died of COVID-19. This was reported by Página 12 on August 4, 2021.

Source: https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/mundo/empresario-negacionista-vacunas-muerte-covid19/

 

[DaveC426913]

Italian businessman Marco De Veglia, known as one of the most vocal anti-vaccine activists who advocated that the coronavirus pandemic was a "pharmaceutical conspiracy," died of COVID-19. This was reported by Página 12 on August 4, 2021.

I'd be interested to hear his last words.


Speaking of Covid, I read an amusing note recently that said this offers an excellent litmus test for dating:
"Did you mask during Covid?"
You can learn a lot about someone by their answer to this simple question.

 

[Hornbein]

I'd be interested to hear his last words.

 

[Klystron]

I'd be interested to hear his last words.

In the 'irony is not dead but ubiquitous' category:

" 'cough'. They said ... I was stupid and a danger to others. 'cough, cough'. Could both be true? 'cough, gasp...".

 

[Hornbein]

Today I learned that the fluegelhorn is in the tuba family.



I also learned how to distinguish a sousaphone from a tuba. The s-phone wraps around the body.

 

[Swamp Thing]

TIL how an aha moment yielded a key insight into the analogy between electrical and mechanical systems, leading to a secret device that contributed to McLaren's success in Formula-1 for several years.

Apparently that video drew a lot of interest, but many people still had questions or had trouble understanding it.

The presenter has uploaded a second video in order to clear everything up...

 

[pinball1970]

I'd be interested to hear his last words.


Speaking of Covid, I read an amusing note recently that said this offers an excellent litmus test for dating:
"Did you mask during Covid?"
You can learn a lot about someone by their answer to this simple question.

Speaking of Covid. I watched this last night. I do not think you should be told what a film is before you watch it, it spoils the he surprise.
I think it may have helped me with this though.

 

[pinball1970]

T.I.L. something about axions/dark matter.I have heard of them so looked them up at wiki, then CP violation, then parity (edit) then some other stuff then gave up.

Article here https://phys.org/news/2025-08-intergalactic-mysterious-dark-particle-clever.html

Paper here.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-025-02621-8/figures/3

 

[fresh_42]

T.I.L. something about axions/dark matter.I have heard of them so looked them up at wiki, then CP violation, then CP violation, parity then gave up.

Article here https://phys.org/news/2025-08-intergalactic-mysterious-dark-particle-clever.html

Paper here.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-025-02621-8/figures/3

I heard yesterday, I think it was Michelle Thaller, that there is a running gag among astrophysicists: "With an impact, you can explain everything."

I wonder whether there is an analogy among quantum physicists: "With a new particle, you can explain everything."

 

[DaveC426913]

Speaking of Covid. I watched this last night. I do not think you should be told what a film is before you watch it, it spoils the he surprise.
I think it may have helped me with this though.

Me, I need a hook - something about a show to intrigue me.

 

[jack action]

TIL:

'Nickname' is not 'nick' + 'name.'
It was originally 'ekename.' 'Eke' was the Middle English word for "also" or "in addition."
Since 'ekename' began with a vowel, people used 'an' before it.
Over time, 'an ekename' became 'a nickname.'

 

[symbolipoint]

TIL:

'Nickname' is not 'nick' + 'name.'
It was originally 'ekename.' 'Eke' was the Middle English word for "also" or "in addition."
Since 'ekename' began with a vowel, people used 'an' before it.
Over time, 'an ekename' became 'a nickname.'

Unsure if related or not, L.N.I.L. about "exonym" and "endonym".

What a people calls itself/themselves is the endonym. What other peoples call it is the exonym.

 

[Ibix]

Today I learned that the most prolific actress ever was Bess Flowers, who made a career as an extra. Wikipedia says she appeared in over 350 films including 23 Best Picture Oscar nominees, and her IMDB entry has 1121 items.

 

[gmax137]

@jack action

Is that the same "eka" mendeleev used in his table (e.g. eka aluminum, aka gallium)?

 

[symbolipoint]

Fit in a different board or subforum here but I found this which I did not earlier have a very clear concept:
T.I.L.

Five Laws of Library Science
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_laws_of_library_science

 

[DaveC426913]

TIL of an eggcorn.

An eggcorn is much like a mondegreen, except that the substituted word doesn't cause the phrase to stop making sense, whereas in a mondegreen it usually does. Mondegreens tend to live in song lyrics, whereas eggcorns not so much.

And also TIL, 'eggcorn' is, itself, an eggcorn. Apparently a mishearing of 'acorn'.

 

[jack action]

@jack action

Is that the same "eka" mendeleev used in his table (e.g. eka aluminum, aka gallium)?

Apparently, no:

To give provisional names to his predicted elements, Dmitri Mendeleev used the prefixes eka-, dvi- or dwi-, and tri-, from the Sanskrit names of digits 1, 2, and 3, depending upon whether the predicted element was one, two, or three places down from the known element of the same group in his table.

 

[sbrothy]

TIL about Historical Tech Tree - visualize the entire history of technologies, inventions, and (some) discoveries, from prehistory to today.
https://www.historicaltechtree.com/

Atomic Rockets has a page on those too. It might be a funnier read. As always YMMV:

Atomic Rockets: Tech Tree

 

[pinball1970]

T.I.L The moons of Uranus are named after characters created by William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope

 

[gmax137]

Lime and limpid green, a second scene
Now fights between the blue you once knew
Floating down, the sound resounds
Around the icy waters underground
Jupiter and Saturn, Oberon, Miranda and Titania
Neptune, Titan, stars can frighten

 

[jack action]

Lime and limpid green, a second scene
Now fights between the blue you once knew
Floating down, the sound resounds
Around the icy waters underground
Jupiter and Saturn, Oberon, Miranda and Titania
Neptune, Titan, stars can frighten

I know that!

Astronomy Domine

Good original from Pink Floyd:

​

Better cover from Voivod:

​

 

[gmax137]

RIP Syd!

If you like the pre-Dark Side Floyd, check out the Nick Mason videos on youtube. He was (is?) touring under the 'Saucer Full of Secrets' name.

 

[BWV]

Another hip early PF cover