Today I Learned

[berkeman]

If the doggie is not fixed already, that could be a problem with violation of his vows. Sorry doggy...

 

[BWV]

This number has not changed for any European country in over 300 years

 

[jtbell]

Today I learned that cashless ATMs are a thing. Instead of cash, they dispense pot, using a loophole to get around restrictions that are intended to prevent people from using debit or credit cards to buy pot via a retail point-of-sale terminal. The ATMs code the transaction as a cash withdrawal, instead of a purchase.

Visa cracks down on cashless ATMs at cannabis dispensaries (MarketWatch)

 

[Ibix]

This number has not changed for any European country in over 300 years

View attachment 299273

What happened 300 years ago? Divide by zero somewhere is the only thing I can think of, but the implications of that are pretty horrible...

 

[BillTre]

What happened 300 years ago? Divide by zero somewhere is the only thing I can think of, but the implications of that are pretty horrible...

Depending on how you count population and people, you might get numbers different from one in the US before the Civil War. Prior to that slaves were only counted as 3/5 of a non-slave, in the official census anyway.

 

[jbriggs444]

Depending on how you count population and people, you might get numbers different from one in the US before the Civil War. Prior to that slaves were only counted as 3/5 of a non-slave, in the official census anyway.

The legendary two headed man. One half person per capita.

 

[LCSphysicist]

View attachment 299110

He has become a jedi

 

[Drakkith]

The legendary two headed man. One half person per capita.

Goes well with the 2.5 kids every american should have.

 

[Oldman too]

TIL, α = 1/137.035999206
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2964-7

 

[strangerep]

TIL, α = 1/137.035999206
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2964-7

Once again, it gives me pause (for thought) that we have such a stunning theory of QED, yet still find significantly frustrating issues in galactic/cosmological dynamics.

 

[Klystron]

TIL Telluric currents exist, can be used as an energy source and to map subsurface Earth. Thanks @Baluncore .

I knew Tellus is Latin for Earth and that we ground EM circuits and send and receive VLF and ELF signals through the Earth. I was taught or I assumed that the many references in old books to geomantic or telluric currents talked about some spiritual or supernatural essence or described the Earth's geomagnetic field.

Fra Junipero Serra mentioned telluric currents guiding his mission site planning in California but I assumed he meant compass readings. I need to rethink the meaning of many old manuscripts I read years ago though I no longer have access to those libraries and no longer understand much Latin and Spanish due to age. Live and learn something new each day.

 

[gmax137]

Live and learn something new each day.

That's it.

 

[strangerep]

TIL that, for large areas of the Antarctic, the bedrock on which the ice rests is in fact below sea level.

 

[Oldman too]

TIL, this makes perfect sense.
https://www.science.org/content/art...a-could-delay-catastrophic-ice-sheet-collapse

 

[phinds]

TIL that I'm not the only one who misreads words (didn't really think I was, but this confirms it)

TIL the title of the PF science fiction subforum is "Writing and Worldbuilding". I read the title as "Word Building"

I still read it as Word building.

My problem is that every time I see the word "lawmakers" I read it as "lawn makers" in the split second before my brain recovers and thinks "crap ... did it again!"

 

[Borg]

My problem is that every time I see the word "lawmakers" I read it as "lawn makers" in the split second before my brain recovers and thinks "crap ... did it again!"

That's understandable. Both of them involve the use of a lot of fertilizer.

 

[Hamiltonian]

TIL that a toddlers adult teeth are right bellow their eyes, I can't get that image out of my mind

 

[Oldman too]

TIL, although the title to this looks like a Douglas Adams sequel its really a great piece on high Redshift Quasars.

https://trs.jpl.nasa.gov/bitstream/handle/2014/54549/CL#21-0804.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

 

[jtbell]

Today I learned about the Crayola Experience.

Discover the magic of color with a day of hands-on family fun!

What's next, Play-Doh Park?

 

[Astronuc]

TIL a few things:

A 2013 sniper attack on an electric power substation in Northern California, which caused more than $15 million in damages and destroyed 17 transformers, led Idaho National Laboratory researchers to develop a novel protective solution.

Currently, the U.S. imports about 85% of its high-voltage transformers from other countries. These large, custom-built devices cost $2.5 million to $10 million dollars each. With limited supplies, expensive raw materials and fabrication times of more than a year, the loss of a single piece of equipment could prevent reliable power from being delivered, creating a risk to national security, economic stability and public health.

https://inl.gov/article/armor-techn...-the-power-grid-licensed-by-michigan-company/

 

[kyphysics]

poor dental hygiene can lead to acne

I had 3 - yup 3 - cavities and was recently breaking out in my face. After getting a cleaning and the cavities filled, I'm noticing a cleared up complexion.

The bad bacteria all encrusted/living/multiplying in your mouth from bad dental hygiene can get into your skin tissue as well and lead to breakouts/acne.

My date will thank me for this. Note to self: get dental cleanings more often. This was my first time back since COVID (i.e., it was 2 years since a cleaning).

 

[nsaspook]

The Watermelon War​

 

[Borg]

TIL that Ukraine's postal service announced that it will release a commemorative 'Russian warship, go f#ck yourself' stamp.

https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-to-release-russian-warship-go-fck-yourself-stamp-2022-3

 

[BillTre]

There's a meme for that;

 

[Borg]

Russia has about 11 million people with relatives in Ukraine. Can't wait until letters start showing up in Russia posted with these stamps.

 

[Rive]

Can't wait until letters start showing up in Russia posted with these stamps.

Well, thinking about more collectibles, are you?

 

[Borg]

Well, thinking about more collectibles, are you?

Wow, those are expensive. I scrolled down and finally found one for $10 only to discover that shipping was an additional $170.

 

[jack action]

TIL that in Trading Places, Louis Winthorpe’s (Dan Aykroyd) prison number is the same as Jake Blues’ (John Belushi) prison number in The Blues Brothers as a tribute to Belushi, who had died the year before.

 

[BWV]

Reading 1493, the excellent book on the Columbian Exchange. Natural rubber remains critical for medical and industrial applications. While native to Amazonia, commercial production of rubber trees in the Americas stopped in the 1930s due to a native fungus. Asia today produces most of the world's Rubber in a monoculture that is very susceptible to the blight - a few spores from Brazil crossing the Pacific could lead to a global economic disaster

 

[Hornbein]

Reading 1493, the excellent book on the Columbian Exchange. Natural rubber remains critical for medical and industrial applications. While native to Amazonia, commercial production of rubber trees in the Americas stopped in the 1930s due to a native fungus. Asia today produces most of the world's Rubber in a monoculture that is very susceptible to the blight - a few spores from Brazil crossing the Pacific could lead to a global economic disaster

Blight killed all the banana trees in the Americas in 1900 or so. They recovered by importing bananas from the Cavendish hothouse in the UK. Yep, the same gravitational constant Cavendish family. They are "dwarf bananas" because the tree is smaller even though Cavendish bananas are giant.

Cavendish are my fave bananas even though they don't have much flavor. I don't like the taste of the original bananas, so bland is better.