Today I Learned

[DrGreg]

I have been walking past Strawberry Studios for about two years without realizing it.

For many years I walked or drove past the front door of Slade Prison (the fictional location of the British sitcom Porridge) without recognising it.

St-albans-prison-gatehouse Gary Houston, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

 

[pinball1970]

TIL Nearly ten years on this site! (I received some points) What an interesting time with interesting very smart people.
I know I tend to post stuff about drums and photos rather than physics but I read more than I post.
Cheers PF.

 

[Hornbein]

TIL that in Major League Baseball, baseball bases are now 18 inches square. Previously, they were 15 inches square. This change, implemented in 2023, aims to reduce the risk of collisions between baserunners and fielders and encourage more aggressive base running, as the bases are now closer together. Running from home to a base is now three inches shorter, while running between two bases is 6 inches less.

 

[Hornbein]

Today I further learned that the minimal distance from the edge of home plate to the edge of first base is 87 feet. The usually quoted figure of 90 feet is the maximal distance between the two bases. 87 feet is minimal distance.

By the way when I asked an AI to calculate this it froze solid, twice. Too hard!

 

[pinball1970]

T.I.L what "Occultation" is w.r.t. celestial bodies.

Below is a nice article with the video of the star passing behind the planet.

https://phys.org/news/2025-04-planetary-alignment-nasa-rare-opportunity.html

A large collaboration - the below gives detail on the teams involved and position of the telescopes used,

https://science.larc.nasa.gov/URANUS2025/

 

[Janus]

TIL that Ethan Peck, who plays Spock on "Strange New Worlds" is the the grandson of Gregory Peck, by his first marriage to Eine "Greta" Kukkunen, a Finnish-American real estate agent. Given the Finnish stereotype of being "stone-faced", maybe he was born to the part.

 

[fresh_42]

TIL that Ethan Peck, who plays Spock on "Strange New Worlds" is the the grandson of Gregory Peck, by his first marriage to Eine "Greta" Kukkunen, a Finnish-American real estate agent. Given the Finnish stereotype of being "stone-faced", maybe he was born to the part.

And not to forget, the penchant for strange hairstyles!

 

[Borg]

And not to forget, the penchant for strange hairstyles!

And matching boots.

 

[Hornbein]

And not to forget, the penchant for strange hairstyles!

View attachment 360304

Aren't they the Leningrad Cowboys?

 

[fresh_42]

Aren't they the Leningrad Cowboys?

So? They are a Finnish rock band.

 

[Borg]

TIL that something called the Hairy Ball theorem impacts the design of fusion reactors.

Math's 'Hairy Ball Theorem' Has Surprising Implications​

 

[fresh_42]

TIL that something called the Hairy Ball theorem impacts the design of fusion reactors.

Math's 'Hairy Ball Theorem' Has Surprising Implications​

I like the German saying for this: "Einen Igel kann man nicht striegeln" (You can't groom a hedgehog). We even call it "Satz vom Igel" (hedgehog theorem), created by Hilbert.

 

[jack action]

TIL about chain racing. Two cars are chained together; the one in front has an engine but no brakes, the one in the back has brakes but no engine.

​

 

[fresh_42]

TIL about chain racing. Two cars are chained together; the one in front has an engine but no brakes, the one in the back has brakes but no engine.

And if you do it the other way around, you get an action movie.

 

[Swamp Thing]

View attachment 332119

A school classmate of mine had the ability to squirt saliva directly out of his salivary gland in a thin stream.

He went to medical college and ended up as a nephrologist, so I don't think he ever had occasion to demonstrate his 'skill' in an interview.

TIL that this trick is called "gleeking". Unbeknownst to me, it went through a brief peak in popularity on social media a couple of years ago.

 

[Hornbein]

TIL that this trick is called "gleeking". Unbeknownst to me, it went through a brief peak in popularity on social media a couple of years ago.

I once played disc golf with a man who had a habit of wafting tiny bubbles of saliva off of his tongue. I later found myself doing this too, even though I had made no attempt to garner this skill. If that sounds weird, well, it was.

 

[Hornbein]

Today I learned of hypernuclei, atomic nuclei that contain an additional strange particle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypernucleus

Recently there is evidence of antihypernuclei. Or should that be hyperantinuclei?

 

[sbrothy]

Today I learned that turtles can breathe using their butt.

Today I learned that according to Wikipedias list of Ig Nobel Prize Winners, in 2024 Takanori Tabeke was presented with this tongue-in-cheek award for discovering that several mammals are capable of this.

Also, the list itself is pretty funny.

 

[pinball1970]

T.I.L. My baby niece earned a 2:1. I text my son and he said, "She's that old! How did that happen!?"

Her uncle, me, tried to push her into science as a kid but she would not have it.
English Literature.
Well done kid.

 

[phinds]

Today I learned that 5/5/25 is "square root" day. Took me a sec to see why (Yeah, I'm slow)

The previous square root day was 4/4/16 and the next one is in 11 years: 6/6/36

 

[DrGreg]

Today I learned that 5/5/25 is "square root" day. Took me a sec to see why (Yeah, I'm slow)

The previous square root day was 4/4/16 and the next one is in 11 years: 6/6/36

This is a rare example of a number-related date that works for the whole world.

Usually number-related dates work either in the U.S. only (e.g. 3/14) or else everywhere except the U.S. (e.g. 22/7).

 

[Hornbein]

TIL that flying insects in the UK have decreased by 63% over the past four years.

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...t-decline-uk-cars-fears-flying-insect-numbers

 

[BillTre]

TIL that flying insects in the UK have decreased by 63% in the past four years.

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...t-decline-uk-cars-fears-flying-insect-numbers

Insect apocalypse. Its been talked about for a while.
Insect decline in the Anthropocene
Insect apocalypse
The Insect Apocalypse Is Here (paywalled)
The collapse of insects

 

[sbrothy]

TIL that flying insects in the UK have decreased by 63% over the past four years.

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...t-decline-uk-cars-fears-flying-insect-numbers

Sadly, This doesn't surprise me. When I was a kid and driving with my parents on the highway, the windscreen was always splattered with insects. Not so anymore.

 

[OmCheeto]

Sadly, This doesn't surprise me. When I was a kid and driving with my parents on the highway, the windscreen was always splattered with insects. Not so anymore.

Same here.

 

[Hornbein]

Same here.

It says there is no single cause. For most insects, everything is getting worse.

 

[fresh_42]

Insect apocalypse. Its been talked about for a while.
Insect decline in the Anthropocene
Insect apocalypse
The Insect Apocalypse Is Here (paywalled)
The collapse of insects

Yes, and not restricted to the UK. It's almost everywhere in Europe. There was a simple way to recognize this personally: 20 years ago, after a longer trip with the car, the windshield and lights were full of insects. I cannot remember now when I last cleaned them because of insects!

 

[sbrothy]

It says there is no single cause. For most insects, everything is getting worse.

My bet is that humankind (specifically industrialization) is at the root of the problem, but I'm speculating here, which I know is heavily frowned upon. (Don't browbeat me, please!)

 

[DaveC426913]

I'm not sure how widespread this is, but here in the Great White North we have stopped spraying insecticide everywhere, such as roadside brush land. We've also stopped spraying herbicide to kill off dandelions, etc.

We are seeing a rebound in insect populations as well as bird populations.

I have no citations or references for this.

 

[jack action]

It's almost everywhere in Europe.

It's everywhere on the planet.