Today I Learned

[pinball1970]

Today I didn't exactly learn a lesson as much a I got a prejudice confirmed, kind of. I meet a lot of people who talk to their dogs as they would to children. No harm in that, except they often claim that the dog understands them(?). Still, no big deal. More than a few times though I've met girls (for some reason it seems to be mostly girls) who claim that their dog "doesn't like men", or "doesn't like people of color"(?!).

This leaves me completely baffled! Is your dog a racist?! The explanation must be that the owner feels unsafe around men or people of color and the dog picks up on that. Trying to clear up these misunderstandings is like navigating a minefield though. I mean how do you politely explain to a girl that maybe she's the one with the issues, not her dog. Or worse: that maybe she's a closeted misandrist and/or racist?

People are weird.

There is no polite way. Explain that the dog owner is an idiot to believe such nonsense.
Animals get spooked, full stop. Sometimes justified (an aggressive person) sometimes not (babies killed by dogs unprovoked)
You cannot predict when this may happen.
'My dog would never...'

No you don't. Unless you speak dog.

 

[sbrothy]

There is no polite way. Explain that the dog owner is an idiot to believe such nonsense.
Animals get spooked, full stop. Sometimes justified (an aggressive person) sometimes not (babies killed by dogs unprovoked)
You cannot predict when this may happen.
'My dog would never...'

No you don't. Unless you speak dog.

I think it might be more complicated. There could be a legitimate reason for a girl to be uneasy in the company of certain demographics. She could be a gang rape victim or something (not that i want to make excuses for racism). Far out but possible.

 

[Rive]

This leaves me completely baffled! Is your dog a racist?! The explanation must be that the owner feels unsafe around men or people of color and the dog picks up on that.

Some dogs are trained to make difference (well, some can pick up the expectations without much training, actually), and so they react differently even without the owner around.

Sad and complicated stuff.

 

[pinball1970]

I think it might be more complicated. There could be a legitimate reason for a girl to be uneasy in the company of certain demographics. She could be a gang rape victim or something (not that i want to make excuses for racism). Far out but possible.

Agree and read your post again.
Dogs have certain traits, we get them as a puppy we hone those possibilities.

 

[pinball1970]

Some dogs are trained to make difference (well, some can pick up the expectations without much training, actually), and so they react differently even without the owner around.

Sad and complicated stuff.

A close connection with 1000s of years unnatural selection.
Bottom line is my dog could attack a stranger and there is absolutely no way to find out why. We cannot ask the dog, movements? Size? Smell?

I do not have a dog for several reasons.

 

[Rive]

is my dog could attack a stranger and there is absolutely no way to find out why.

Once I've heard a case about a dog continuously harassing groups of guests (only groups!).
Needed an expert to clarify that it's not attacking. It's herding

 

[sbrothy]

Once I've heard a case about a dog continuously harassing groups of guests (only groups!).
Needed an expert to clarify that it's not attacking. It's herding

You mean it herded them agrssively like sheep? :)

 

[Rive]

Yes. It was in the breed. But it never ever seen a sheep, so ... found it's own way

 

[fresh_42]

You mean it herded them agrssively like sheep? :)

Smart dog. Groups of people are sheep!

 

[sbrothy]

Yes. It was in the breed. But it never ever seen a sheep, so ... found it's own way

Hahaa. "Line up people! Humor the dog please!" :)

 

[symbolipoint]

who claim that their dog "doesn't like men", or "doesn't like people of color"(?!).

This leaves me completely baffled! Is your dog a racist?! The explanation must be that the owner feels unsafe around men or people of color and the dog pic

Yes that is the way a few of them are, but it is based on the dog's experiences. A dog may come to quick judgements according to how people treated him/it. One would imagine that the dog can be reconditioned also, but that would be for some canine behaviorist to explain.

 

[symbolipoint]

Smart dog. Groups of people are sheep!

THAT poetically explains many things, do you'all realize!

 

[symbolipoint]

Hahaa. "Line up people! Humor the dog please!" :)

That is a sensible way of viewing it.

 

[BillTre]

People are weird.

Dogs are color blind.
However, there are other clues they could use for distinguishing race, like their owner's reactions.

 

[vela]

Dogs are color blind.

That's now known to be a myth.

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/can-dogs-see-color/

 

[symbolipoint]

This thing of TIL-Dogs Racist or Not Like Men has already been examined or something.
You can begin some online reading here:

https://www.petguide.com/petcare/training/dog/can-dogs-be-racist/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/canine-corner/201909/can-dogs-be-racist
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/canine-corner/201602/is-it-possible-dog-could-be-racist

The first article, "petguide,..." tells the basic idea well enough.

 

[fresh_42]

TIL that there is something called Diesel pest or maybe Diesel plague in English, I don't know. We add Bio Diesel these days and that contains bacteria. If a boat lies unused in the harbor for longer then there will grow a slimy compound at the bottom of the tank consisting of those bacteria. This slimy material diffuses into the normal part of Diesel if the boat is moved again and clogs filters and fuel lines.

(Story told by a coast guard of the Kiel channel who reported about recreational boats that get stuck in the channel because of it.)

 

[fresh_42]

Tower in Frankfurt:
"LH 343 descend on flight level 3,000"

Tower in Paris:
"AF 343 descendre au niveau de vol 3,000" $^*)$

Now, if even a modern country like France frankly ignores IATA regulations, imagine Russia, China, and the rest of the world!$^*)$ I couldn't hear whether they - at least - still use feet or even change heights into meters.

 

[symbolipoint]

Today I Learned
Windows 10 has an included video editor as part of the Photos application.
If it is sufficient, then a user might not need to try or use something like OpenShot or ShotCut or others like those.

 

[epenguin]

Once I've heard a case about a dog continuously harassing groups of guests (only groups!).
Needed an expert to clarify that it's not attacking. It's herding

But isn't herding, taught and bred for by humans, based on wolves' original clever hunting tactic?

 

[symbolipoint]

But isn't herding, taught and bred for by humans, based on wolves' original clever hunting tactic?

APPROXIMATELY so. Look for information about the various breeds and the Predatory Sequence.

 

[fresh_42]

But isn't herding, taught and bred for by humans, based on wolves' original clever hunting tactic?

 

[Borg]

Organizational consultant.

 

[DaveC426913]

Yes that is the way a few of them are, but it is based on the dog's experiences. A dog may come to quick judgements according to how people treated him/it.

This is my understanding too.

Dogs who have experienced trauma may make associations that follow them. I recall a (possibly apocryphal) story about a dog that hated coppers because of the big shiny buttons on their uniforms.

Their judgments can be 'men', or even 'dark-skinned men'. Since those are generalizations from the individual to the group, then technically yes, some dogs can be sexist and/or racist.

 

[berkeman]

TIL that Backstroke Starting Ledges have been in use in international competition since 2013. I'm not sure how I could have missed this with all the time I spend in the workout pool and watching meets, but today I was watching a Pro International swim meet from Mission Viejo in Southern California, and noticed the meet officials putting something into the water at the starting blocks before the 200m backstroke event. I did a Google search, and found that FINA made them legal in 2013 to improve backstroke starts.

 

[pinball1970]

TIL that Backstroke Starting Ledges have been in use in international competition since 2013. I'm not sure how I could have missed this with all the time I spend in the workout pool and watching meets, but today I was watching a Pro International swim meet from Mission Viejo in Southern California, and noticed the meet officials putting something into the water at the starting blocks before the 200m backstroke event. I did a Google search, and found that FINA made them legal in 2013 to improve backstroke starts.

View attachment 302453

We used the gutters that ran the perimeter of the baths when we were kids. It did the job ok. Most of those old Victorian baths are gone now, shame.

 

[pinball1970]

This is my understanding too.

Dogs who have experienced trauma may make associations that follow them. I recall a (possibly apocryphal) story about a dog that hated coppers because of the big shiny buttons on their uniforms.

Their judgments can be 'men', or even 'dark-skinned men'. Since those are generalizations from the individual to the group, then technically yes, some dogs can be sexist and/or racist.

Or just the wrong sort of movement. My friend had a Japanese Akita and we spent the day together with the kids.
No issues till we got to the house and was joking around and I put my hand on his shoulder.
The dog did not bark or growl, it silently darted across the room jumped up and bit my arm just below the shoulder.

I had a thick bikers leather on which probably stopped the bite from going through my skin.

All day today together but one move took as aggression and it pounced.
I had a bite shape bruise on my arm for a week or so.
They are aggressive dogs but are supposed to be ok with kids and strangers if trained properly.

No issues since with anyone else, I kept my distance after that.

 

[pbuk]

TIL that there is something called Diesel pest or maybe Diesel plague in English, I don't know.

We call it "Diesel bug".

 

[epenguin]

I have a childhood memory of reading in the children's Encyclopedia about something or other that Benjamin Franklin did with lightning. Another one later of the physics teacher saying he nearly got a death certificate from the experiment. But somehow I can't remember ever knowing exactly what he did beyond it involving flying a kite in a thunderstorm (on this day, Jun 10, 1752). (I just thought he captured from it some electricity in a Leyden jar and showed it did the same things electrical charges were then known to do.)

Today I learned that nobody else is quite sure either.

https://www.history.com/news/benjamin-franklin-kite-experiment-electricity

And this recounts that somebody else did get his death from such an experiment.

Franklin surely did make contributions to electrical science. Including the lightning conductor, which has surely saved many lives and much property.

What I do remember and maybe TYL is that Franklin's lightning conductors were pointed. As they came in there was a British electrician (the word 'scientist' did not yet exist) who maintained that a round ending was more efficacious protection. As the other type was the invention of an American rebel the question became political, and your choice of lightning conductor shape manifested whether you were a supporter or opponent of the Kings Government.

 

[Buzz Bloom]

Hi @epenquin:

I am wondering what you use of "TYL" means. I looked at https://www.abbreviations.com/TYL and decided it was probably "Thank You Lord". Did I get it right?

Regards,
Buzz