Today I Learned

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Today I learned that cleaning a white hat can be done with bleach cleaner, but it’s important to rinse it before wearing it again. I also discovered that "oyster veneering," a woodworking technique from the late 1600s, is experiencing a minor revival despite its labor-intensive nature. Additionally, I learned that the factorial of 23 (23!) equals 25,852,016,738,884,976,640,000, which interestingly has 23 digits, a unique coincidence among factorials. I found out that medical specialists often spend less than 10 minutes with patients, and that watching TV can contribute to weight gain. Other insights included the fact that a kiss can transfer around 80 million microbes, and that bureaucracy can sometimes hinder employment opportunities. The discussion also touched on various trivia, such as the emotional sensitivity of barn owls and the complexities of gravitational lensing around black holes.
  • #3,031
Adesh said:
Is it a joke or do humans really eat the flesh of Chimpanzees?
Heck, some humans even eat other humans (so I'm told).

Reportedly, human liver goes well with a nice Chiante.
 
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  • #3,032
TIL that hyponatremia is a serious thing. My wife went from racking up 20,000 steps a day on the fitbit to being unable to walk unaided to the bathroom in the space of two or three weeks.

The expectation is that 72 hours in the ICU will get her electrolytes back where they belong. The hope is that an underlying cause is identified as well.

Yesterday is the last time I plan to call 911 and then wimp out and let her refuse transport. We got to the primary care physician this morning. The doctor said "what are you doing here instead of the hospital?"

Remind me never to refuse transport when the time comes.

I have subsequently learned that the excursion to the ICU was warranted but failed in its goal of preventing the companion condition of Central Pontine Myelinolysis. Correcting hyponatremia too rapidly can result in demyelinization of the neurons in the Pons. We hit pretty much all of the risk factors for this result. The symptoms are a scary batch. We managed to miss "locked in syndrome" and "death" but hit most of the rest. Time will tell to the degree to which recovery can be made. It is quite variable.
 
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  • #3,033
jbriggs444 said:
The expectation is that 72 hours in the ICU will get her electrolytes back where they belong. The hope is that an underlying cause is identified as well.
Fingers crossed...
 
  • #3,034
  • #3,035
TIL that there is a thing called 'caffeine withdrawal', with quite annoying symptoms. Especially the 'muscle pain' part.
Second thing I learned is, that indeed, it was addiction.

Third is, that it was not flu: that could have been somewhat consoling - getting flu while being vaccinated, that's at least rare and not about your own stupidity, no? :doh:
 
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  • #3,036
Hi for all! Tonight I learn Python but without classes. Python's classes and inheritance I will learn tomorrow. :)
 
  • #3,037
TIL that the optimal frequency for CPR is along the rhythm of Staying Alive.
Can anybody please provide me a better song!
 
  • #3,039
Ibix said:
Nellie the Elephant.

Edit: the chorus only, but see:

That's a little faster than staying alive.

Which one?

I should know this
 
  • #3,040
pinball1970 said:
That's a little faster than staying alive.

Which one?

I should know this
That's the one I was taught, about nine years ago now. @berkeman's the EMT, isn't he?
 
  • #3,041
Ibix said:
That's the one I was taught, about nine years ago now. @berkeman's the EMT, isn't he?
@berkeman can also tell us if mouth to mouth is still recommended.
I don't trust the net on that sort of thing.
 
  • #3,042
fresh_42 said:
TIL that the optimal frequency for CPR is along the rhythm of Staying Alive.
Can anybody please provide me a better song!
Well, the warped humor at medic trainings sometimes involves the song "Another One Bites the Dust", but I don't recommend it. I use "Stayin' Alive" myself when I'm checking my rhythm and don't have another medic checking it for me (team CPR).

Current AHA guidelines for the compression rate is 100-120/minute (it used to be "at least 100/min", but changed to 100-120 in the latest update):

https://www.aafp.org/afp/2016/0501/p791.html

pinball1970 said:
@berkeman can also tell us if mouth to mouth is still recommended.
I don't trust the net on that sort of thing.

Yes, for professional rescuers, ventilations with compressions are the standard technique. We use a barrier of some sort (from pocket mask to BVM or other devices) to isolate us from the patient's mouth. We would only use mouth-to-mouth on our own family members if there were no barrier available.

1581871191326.png


For lay-responders, the AHA has recognized Hands-Only-CPR as effective. It's not quite as effective as including ventilation/breaths at the proper rate, but it is WAY better than not doing anything at all and watching the patient die over the next few minutes while you wait for EMS to arrive.

I encourage everybody to take at least a Hands-Only-CPR class, since it is so incredibly important for increasing survival rates to start good quality compressions right away.

https://cpr.heart.org/en/cpr-courses-and-kits/hands-only-cpr
 
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  • #3,043
berkeman said:
We would only use mouth-to-mouth on our own family members if there were no barrier available.
I don't think I would have scruple in case of emergency. Except in the US. There I would run away instead of risking being sued afterwards (according to my personal risk aversion function). Here it is a crime doing nothing. The legal status in the US bears far too many unknowns to risk anything apart from calling 911.
 
  • #3,044
fresh_42 said:
Except in the US. There I would run away instead of risking being sued afterwards (according to my personal risk aversion function). Here it is a crime doing nothing. The legal status in the US bears far too many unknowns to risk anything apart from calling 911.
Fortunately, we have the "Good Samaritan Law" here in the US. It generally protects private folks who decide to try to help in medical emergencies. There are a few conditions on its application, but in general they are pretty easy for a good samaritan to stay withing when providing help:
  • You can't anything do anything that is recklessly negligent
  • You can't accept any reward for your actions
  • You have to stay within your level of training (no impromptu surgeries with your pocket knife)
As long as you stay within the guidelines of the Good Samaritan Law, you can still be sued, but the other party will not win. The reason for this law is obvious -- the government wanted to encourage lay responders to help others during times of medical emergencies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Samaritan_law
 
  • #3,045
Sure, but ... . Jurisdiction is completely different to what I'm used to, hence no risks - except I personally knew the person.
 
  • #3,046
berkeman said:
Well, the warped humor at medic trainings sometimes involves the song "Another One Bites the Dust", but I don't recommend it. I use "Stayin' Alive" myself when I'm checking my rhythm and don't have another medic checking it for me (team CPR).

Those two songs are the ones we were taught to use in our First Aid training.

Cheers
 
  • #3,047
How about John Cage?

 
  • #3,048
fresh_42 said:
I don't think I would have scruple in case of emergency. Except in the US. There I would run away instead of risking being sued afterwards (according to my personal risk aversion function). Here it is a crime doing nothing. The legal status in the US bears far too many unknowns to risk anything apart from calling 911.
The legal status of first aid in the US is much better than in various less developed countries.
 
  • #3,049
  • #3,050
mfb said:
The legal status of first aid in the US is much better than in various less developed countries.
Maybe. But I do not trust it, for various reasons. So why take a risk? Better to stay out of any trouble. The protection from being possibly sued, i.e. in a civilian process, not by the state attorney, is simply not given to the scale I personally would expect in order to take action. This is a subjective and personal assessment built from countless news stories, such as this guy suing the NFL for their halftime show. I don't care if this came to court or not, I just want to stay away from such things.

You can object that this is a possibility in any country governed by law, but a) the number of people who would even consider this here is significantly smaller if not zero, and b) it would never come even close to a court.
 
  • #3,051
today i learned not to visit a university library after you finish your courses in that university
 
  • #3,052
hagopbul said:
today i learned not to visit a university library after you finish your courses in that university
How come? Brings back too many memories? They won't let you in without an active student badge? You still have overdue books checked out?
 
  • #3,053
hagopbul said:
today i learned not to visit a university library after you finish your courses in that university
Unimaginable! Many years ago, I learned the opposite.
 
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  • #3,054
symbolipoint said:
hagopbul said:
today i learned not to visit a university library after you finish your courses in that university
Unimaginable! Many years ago, I learned the opposite.
#MeToo. :oldbiggrin:
 
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  • #3,055
hagopbul said:
today i learned not to visit a university library after you finish your courses in that university
Having not gone to university, the lesson here entirely escapes me.
 
  • #3,056
My favorite study area was a carrel up on the library reference floors, quiet with little traffic. Only needed to show student ID card to borrow books and use computers IIRC. The university installed RFID on materials and alarms at exits to reduce theft; now common security devices at most libraries.
 
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  • #3,057
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  • #3,058
Klystron said:
My favorite study area was a carrel ...

Today I learned that those quiet little cubicles in the old Physics library, and in Fisher Library stack, where I used to love spending endless amounts of time, had a specific name. :oldsmile:

They infuse a feeling hard to describe... and often there's lots of other intellectually oriented people nearby, mostly head-down tail-up,...
 
  • #3,059
Today I learned that Cliff Booth (I’m talking about the movie Once Upon A Time in Hollywood) was a fictional character.
Actually, yesterday I saw the movie and really admired Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) too much, he seemed to me a man who doesn’t care about life anymore all he wanted a square meal and almost no recognition. But today...
 
  • #3,060
strangerep said:
Today I learned that those quiet little cubicles in the old Physics library, and in Fisher Library stack, where I used to love spending endless amounts of time, had a specific name. :oldsmile:

They infuse a feeling hard to describe... and often there's lots of other intellectually oriented people nearby, mostly head-down tail-up,...
Naughty, subversive, anti-intellectual but great poetry with the memorable line

"Hanging like bats in a world of inverted values"

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=m2m_tGGUi5IC&pg=PT140&lpg=PT140&dq=hanging+like+bats+world+of+inverted+values&source=bl&ots=bBcblC03M1&sig=ACfU3U3liDp93CwsWzuydu8nAoelm8r87A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiz7vvBt93nAhU1t3EKHfAFA3IQ6AEwDHoECAsQAQ#v=onepage&q=hanging like bats world of inverted values&f=false

But Hey!
https://www.physicsforums.com/threa...-joy-of-reading-15-7-22-7.761845/post-4801572

There went I!

(Not the BL but almost as venerable.)
 
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