Life's great mysteries (things that make NO sense)

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[Mondayman]

Con is the opposite of pro. I guess that makes Congress the opposite of Progress.

 

[Klystron]

Is this post just about technology or can we post stuff about people to? The thing I fail to understand is people who spends countless thousands of pounds to go on holiday to a hot country, stay in a hotel a hundred yards from the beach...and then go swimming in the hotel pool instead of the Sea!

It make zero sense to me, you could have swam in a pool in your own town...

As a devout swimmer who first learned to swim in the Pacific Ocean I can offer some clues to this behavior.

The tourists may have selected the venue because of the beautiful swimming pools. I swim daily in a large private pool but it cannot compare to the nearby swimming complex at the Flamingo Hotel much less the simulated tidal saltwater pools at Mandalay Bay or water slides at Wet&Wild.

Service: Hotel pools form social centers with free beach towels for guests, food and drink service and entertainments for children, showers and shade all a short distance from their rooms. No transportation hassles or safety concerns (by comparison).

Security: Hotel pools tend to be very safe with trained lifeguards, roving security patrols, cameras and lights. Beaches at resorts are open to anyone walking by. Even 'private' beaches are accessible by swimmers, boats and watercraft. Tourists can 'experience the ocean vibe' from comfort and security of the hotel grounds without real or perceived dangers of the open ocean.

Ability: Swimmers from cold climates may lack experience in open water swimming with unpredictable waves, currents, wildlife and rocks. People may learn to swim for a kilometer in a pool without touching the sides or bottom. Swimming the same distance across a lake or bay introduces psychological challenges even for experienced swimmers.

 

[Mondayman]

I don't understand why people are suddenly upset this year about residential schools here in Canada. Where was this anger years ago? They still existed not even 30 years ago. They were common knowledge. My grandma survived one, and any effort to bring it up to others usually fell flat.

 

[phinds]

Con is the opposite of pro. I guess that makes Congress the opposite of Progress.

Or, as Mark Twain said, the United States has no native criminal class ... except for congress.

 

[jtbell]

Paper towels apparently can ONLY be made so that they tear everywhere EXCEPT where the perforations are.

Also toilet paper.

This reminds me of a SF short story that I read a long time ago. In it, someone investigated this phenomenon, and discovered that making the perforations larger increased the strength of the paper. Continuing this process to its logical conclusion, he ended up eliminating all the paper, leaving an invisible substance that was stronger than anything else known to man, which he called "Nothing."

He received a visit from a spy or government agent who attempted to shoot him and steal his secret. But he had put up a screen of Nothing in front of his desk, so the bullets fell to the floor harmlessly.

Does anybody else remember this story? I don't remember the author for sure, but it might have been Robert A. Heinlein.

 

[jtbell]

I don't understand why people are suddenly upset this year about residential schools here in Canada.

My impression is that it's because of the recent discovery of a mass grave of 215 bodies at one of them.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57291530

 

[Keith_McClary]

I don't understand why people are suddenly upset this year about residential schools here in Canada.

The Tulsa Massacre is also getting some press, and Xinjiang and Myanmar. The 1948 conquest, ethnic cleansing and colonization of Palestine, not yet.

 

[256bits]

I don't understand why people are suddenly upset this year about residential schools here in Canada. Where was this anger years ago? They still existed not even 30 years ago. They were common knowledge. My grandma survived one, and any effort to bring it up to others usually fell flat.

Cuz the jig is up. No more royal commission, endless discussion, yada, yada, plus the world is now aware.
Sorry for your gramma being put through that.

 

[256bits]

Quebec mystery
No one has ever explained why there are do many streets and roads named Barre in Quebec.
Was this some famous dude never mentioned in history books.

 

[Mondayman]

My impression is that it's because of the recent discovery of a mass grave of 215 bodies at one of them.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57291530

I lived in Kamloops for a few years. An elder who is a friend of mine survived that school. He lived with me for six months and pointed out the grave site to my ex, who's work happens to be in that exact school. It's not like this was some random discovery. People have been asking for years, "Where did my child/children go?"

I had another good friend survive that school. He ran away home, and lived on a mountain not far from his parents with his horse. RCMP would look for runaways.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?

Why are strawberries the only fruit with the seeds on the outside?

Why did you have to hit the start button to turn off your computer?

How did Back to the Future II just happen predict that the Red Sox would win the world series about the same time Trump was elected president? [both of these events were considered impossible then]

 

[hutchphd]

Why are strawberries the only fruit with the seeds on the outside?

What about corn? Of course the center is not as tasty (at least to humans).

 

[DaveC426913]

Is this post just about technology or can we post stuff about people to? The thing I fail to understand is people who spends countless thousands of pounds to go on holiday to a hot country, stay in a hotel a hundred yards from the beach...and then go swimming in the hotel pool instead of the Sea!

It make zero sense to me, you could have swam in a pool in your own town...

I have a hypothesis: too much change is stressful. People want a vacation that allows them to do their normal routine - but without the downside of responsibility.

A vacation is thus the best of both worlds: they get the pleasure of doing things comfortably and at their own pace - and they can spend only as much time in the heat as they desire - but because they're doing it elsewhere, they don't have the don't have any of the stresses and responsibilities of home.

That's the recipe for a mentally-recharging rest.

 

[Vanadium 50]

What about corn?

Corn, like ketchup, is a vegetable.

 

[phinds]

Corn, like ketchup, is a vegetable.

You left out pizza.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

What about corn? Of course the center is not as tasty (at least to humans).

The seeds aren't on the outside. They are covered.

Corn is strange - a fruit produced by a grass.

 

[jack action]

Why are strawberries the only fruit with the seeds on the outside?

What about corn? Of course the center is not as tasty (at least to humans).

Looks to be on the inside to me:

Edit: Looks like @Ivan Seeking was faster than me.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

You left out pizza.

That's a food group.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The tallest man and the shortest woman.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Why is it that the one thing powdered sugar doesn't stick to is pastry? And what is the one thing we put it on?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

A vegetable is the edible portion of a plant. ... A fruit is the mature ovary of a plant. So a tomato is botanically a fruit but is commonly considered a vegetable. According to this definition squash, pepper and eggplants are also fruits. Then there are seeds such as peas which are also considered vegetables.
https://vric.ucdavis.edu/main/faqs.htm

Since the ovaries of a flowing plant is an edible part of a plant, does that mean all edible fruits are also vegetables?

 

[epenguin]

I think it's a hangover from the days when more snail mail went out. Personally, I've been using those things for years. I mail probably an average of 3 paper bills a week. I don't have a smartphone and have no interest in on-line bill pay.

I've found them quite useful. still have to send a few letters. Now actually the letter itself is scarcely more trouble than an email – you just print it out and fold it up. What I found took far more of my time was the envelopes. If I hadn't done one for a month say, it would usually take me at least four tries before I got it right, printing it on the back and upside down, wrong way round etc. But even more attempts if I had to print my sender's address in the top left corner as we do, a lot of trouble, used to write those by hand often. So helpful if I could just stick a preprinted label there.I make a modest regular contribution to a charity that saves stray dogs and finds them homes. In exchange it gives me these stickers with cute pictures of doggies, I keep up my subscription in gratitude. OK by now I have enough labels to last me quite some years, but I guess I'd feel bad now abandoning the dogs.

 

[Keith_McClary]

And after all that you have to be careful of paper cuts while licking them.

cute pictures of doggies

I have red air-ambulance helicopters.

 

[phinds]

And after all that you have to be careful of paper cuts while licking them.

No licking - they're self-adhering

 

[Ivan Seeking]

What do your cats really think of you?

Why do they have to think about doing something for 1 to 5 minutes before finally doing it; like jumping up on the couch.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Why do people bother to fold their underwear?

 

[DrGreg]

Why do they have to think about doing something for 1 to 5 minutes before finally doing it; like jumping up on the couch.

They're doing a health and safety assessment, working out the chances that the couch might jump on them, or run away.

 

[Twigg]

That time the Matlab installer tried to invoke black magic in my filesystem:

(I think it was supposed to be the "tools" directory? Or maybe summoning a demon, who knows!)

What do your cats really think of you?

They definitely see servants in all of us.