Today I Learned

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Discussion Overview

The thread invites participants to share daily lessons or interesting facts they have learned, encompassing a wide range of topics from personal experiences to historical facts, scientific insights, and humorous observations. The scope includes casual learning, trivia, and personal anecdotes.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants share personal insights, such as learning about the cleaning of hats or the time spent with medical specialists.
  • Others discuss historical techniques like "oyster veneering" and its revival, with one participant clarifying it is not a food-preparation method.
  • Mathematical observations are made regarding factorials, specifically that 23! has 23 digits, with some participants exploring the implications of this coincidence.
  • Several participants mention humorous or trivial facts, such as the number of microbes transferred in a kiss or the age of Cambridge University compared to the Aztecs.
  • Some participants express personal reflections on learning new words or concepts, such as "hyperacusis" and its effects on their music-making.
  • There are repeated claims about the impact of television on body image, with some participants sharing personal experiences related to this topic.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

The discussion features a variety of viewpoints and personal anecdotes, with no clear consensus on any specific topic. Participants express differing opinions and experiences, particularly regarding the effects of television and the historical context of various facts shared.

Contextual Notes

Some claims made in the discussion are based on personal experiences or anecdotal evidence, and there are instances of participants correcting or refining each other's statements without reaching a definitive conclusion.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in casual learning, trivia, personal anecdotes, or exploring a variety of topics in a light-hearted manner may find this thread engaging.

  • #421
Google finds a page "The Fastest Fish on Land", which claims the mudskipper would hold that record.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #424
TIL that the first Flash gained his powers by inhaling the 'deadly' fumes of hard water. Comics had low standards back in the golden age...
Are mudskippers fast because of their prolonged exposure to hard water too?
 
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  • #425
Enigman said:
Are mudskippers fast because of their prolonged exposure to hard water too?
There's no claim made at that link that they're fast, much less "the fastest fish on land." In fact, when I tried, google did not provide a link to any page that addressed the question.
 
  • #426
Today I learned that, of all the arts, poetry is the second most despised. At least, that is the claim made by a poet who came up to me at a cafe this morning and started a conversation, intrigued that I was doing a drawing of Edgar Allan Poe.

What, then, do you suppose the most despised art is?
 
  • #427
zoobyshoe said:
Today I learned that, of all the arts, poetry is the second most despised. At least, that is the claim made by a poet who came up to me at a cafe this morning and started a conversation, intrigued that I was doing a drawing of Edgar Allan Poe.

What, then, do you suppose the most despised art is?
Not really their disrespect, maybe it's just their ignorance and negligence. Attitude toward the subject matter varies upon individuals, cultures and cultural norms.
 
  • #428
zoobyshoe said:
What, then, do you suppose the most despised art is?
advertising.
 
  • #429
jim hardy said:
advertising.
Afraid not.

What I learned today is that Opera is the most despised of the arts.
 
  • #430
zoobyshoe said:
Afraid not.

What I learned today is that Opera is the most despised of the arts.
Opera might be bad but poetry is verse.
 
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  • #431
Enigman said:
Opera might be bad but poetry is verse.

We definitely have a serious pundemic on our hands...
 
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  • #432
Enigman said:
Opera might be bad but poetry is verse.
and so delightful.
"What medicine else can cure the fits
Of lovers when they lose their wits?
Love is a boy by poets styled
Then spare the rod and spoil the child."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudibras
 
  • #434
zoobyshoe said:
Afraid not.

What I learned today is that Opera is the most despised of the arts.
Today I learned that some opera isn't too bad.

 
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  • #435
lisab said:
Today I learned that some opera isn't too bad.


Quod Erat Demonstratum.
 
  • #436
Today I learned why gardening in the front yard is illegal in many places.

As I was potting 3 tomato plants in the front yard, I discovered that Nanonesians are better than TV.
 
  • #437
Today I learned there are 842 lbs of moon rocks on earth.
 
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  • #438
Today I learned that the volume of a 10 dimensional cube with a edge length of 5 centimeters is going to be 48 million(48,000,000)cm^10.
 
  • #439
Today I learned (again) how annoying a broken DNS server is. Including the inability to look for other DNS servers.
 
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  • #440
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  • #442
OmCheeto said:
Just wait until ...
Argh!


"Windows troubleshooter is unable to locate the problem"
so is help desk.

okay, fine...
Terminated.jpg
 
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  • #443
jim hardy said:
today i learned a new concept - dns server
http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090408_why_dns_is_broken_part_1_trust/good grief - and we rely on this stuff?
Some of the things you only care about when it is broken.
Turned out to be more complicated, the DNS server was certainly part of the problem but my general internet connection has other issues as well (using a different one now).
 
  • #444
Austin (in Texas) is known for some weirdness, but . . .

That started Monday when a public briefing by the Army in Bastrop County, which is just east of Austin, got raucous. The poor U.S. Army colonel probably just thought he was going to give a regular briefing, but instead 200 patriots shouted him down, told him was a liar and grilled him about the imminent federal takeover of Texas and subsequent imposition of martial law.
. . . .
The idea that the Yankee military can't be trusted down here has a long and rich history in Texas. But that was a while back. Abbott's proclamation that he was going to keep his eye on these Navy SEAL and Green Beret boys did rub some of our leaders the wrong way.
. . . .
"Your letter pandering to idiots ... has left me livid," former State Rep. Todd Smith wrote Gov. Abbott. "I am horrified that I have to choose between the possibility that my Governor actually believes this stuff and the possibility that my Governor doesn't have the backbone to stand up to those who do."
http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpoli...ys-national-guard-to-stave-off-obama-takeover
 
  • #445
Alex299792458 said:
Today I learned that the volume of a 10 dimensional cube with a edge length of 5 centimeters is going to be 48 million(48,000,000)cm^10.

Would you care to explain how, or is it time for one of us to relearn something? I make that number to be about 5^11, not 5^10.
 
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  • #447
From USGS - Harrison (Jack) Schmitt is the only USGS geologist to do field work on another planetary body.

As a member of the Apollo 17 party, he was able to conduct field surveys on the moon.
 

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