Today I Learned

[symbolipoint]

Good! At least a few people at some places and times think the way I do about spelling and pronouncing.

T.I.L. - (See the section on "Etymology") https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas
I often wondered why Arkansas is spelled as it is but is pronounced slightly differently on its last syllable.

 

[pinball1970]

You guys know this guy? I do not feel worthy to do an obituary. Should come from a physics fella.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250701/news/fermilab-leader-during-search-for-top-quark-dies/

 

[sbrothy]

https://news.fnal.gov/2025/06/fermilab-mourns-the-passing-of-john-peoples-third-director/

 

[Hornbein]

TIL that in Spanish Zorro means The Fox.

 

[Hornbein]

TIL James Clerk Maxwell was the first to produce an artificial color image, using the scheme known as RGB (red green blue). The slides he used are now in a museum.

(Actually I knew that but forgot so I relearned this.)

 

[symbolipoint]

TIL, smart alec, based on a real person.
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/32046/where-did-phrase-smart-alec-come

 

[DaveC426913]

Heard that term a lot as a child...

 

[fresh_42]

Today I learnt about an art project (touring Europe, currently Vienna):

Together with his artistic colleagues Jan Vogler, Vanessa Perez and Mira Wang, the legendary Bill Murray presents an exciting crossover between music, literature and acting.

Respect!

 

[fresh_42]

TIL that the main contributor of microplastics in our inland waters is washing machines.

 

[Hornbein]

TIL that the main contributor of microplastics in our inland waters is washing machines.

I read that plastic clothing sheds microfibers during washing. Wouldn't hand washing result in the same?

 

[fresh_42]

I read that plastic clothing sheds microfibers during washing. Wouldn't hand washing result in the same?

Sure. The problem isn't the machine, it's the fabric.

 

[sbrothy]

In Australia they mostly use cold water in washing machines which begs the question as to why we use 60 or 90 degree celsius on the Nothern Hemisphere and what the consequences are to the climate...?

 

[gmax137]

Heard that term a lot as a child...

Just the other day I was thinking about my dad, gone now 20+ years. I remembered him telling me, "nobody likes a smart alec."

 

[DaveC426913]

Just the other day I was thinking about my dad, gone now 20+ years. I remembered him telling me, "nobody likes a smart alec."

Bingo!

 

[fresh_42]

The German words for this are more colorful, not in the sense of profanity, but rather more aphoristic.

 

[sbrothy]

... that boost::beast::http::status has an error status (which I'm sure have perfectly valid reasons), that reads:

[...]
enum class status : unsigned
{
[...]
i_am_a_teapot                       = 418,
[...]

Calling the kettle back anyone?

 

[Jonathan Scott]

... that boost::beast::http::status has an error status (which I'm sure have perfectly valid reasons), that reads:

[...]
enum class status : unsigned
{
[...]
i_am_a_teapot                       = 418,
[...]

Calling the kettle back anyone?

This is a consequence of RFC 2324, dated April 1 1998: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2324

418 I'm a teapot

Any attempt to brew coffee with a teapot should result in the error
code "418 I'm a teapot". The resulting entity body MAY be short and
stout.

The more serious-minded wanted to remove this spoof status code, but there was such an uproar that it has been retained.

 

[sbrothy]

I love C++! And it's crazy geeky user-base!

EDIT: Then again what it says about me that I'm digging around in those headers I'm not sure. :P

 

[DaveC426913]

TIL my brother has the exact same recurring dream as I do. I thought it was my special thing.

I dream that I can stand at the top of a flight of stairs, tilt my toes down at an angle, and surf down the edges of the steps to the bottom on one fluid motion. (The kind of thing people do by accident when they slip and slide down a flight of stairs, but I am doing it deliberately and with controlled grace).

It is such a strong feeling, even awake, that I am still not entirely convinced I have only done it in my dreams and not in real life.

(Of course, I also have a recurring dream that I can "skate" in the air for an indeterminate time. Like through a grocery store. I can run and leap, and sort of not land again, as long as I keep on one just touching, I can even steer, like having a rudder in the water.)

 

[symbolipoint]

Vernacular

still not 100% sure the full meaning, but can understand in some sense

 

[sbrothy]

... the exeedingly morbid "fact" which Benjamin Labatut's mentions in his book When We Cease to Understand the World, that ~40% of all people lack the gene that make them capable of detecting the odour of cyanide. This begs the question if 40% of those gassed to death in the Nazi death camps didn't realize something was wrong before the battle upwards for one last breath of air began, and only by looking at their fellow victim's behavior?!

I realize it's probably not so clear cut cf. Abillity to smell Solutions of Potassium Cyanide and Cyanide, Inability to Smell. Also, the gas was visible was it not?

Still, it's a pretty spooky fact, if indeed it is a fact.

Incidentally, Benjamin Labatut's book is shock full of crazy facts I didn't know about, but should probably be taken with a grain of salt as it is, after all, categorized as fiction.

 

[TensorCalculus]

Today I learned about the the intriguing yet horrifying history and science of the Buck v Bell court case, thanks to what is so far a very good book by Siddhartha Mukherjee -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gene:_An_Intimate_History

 

[BillTre]

 

[pinball1970]

Heard that term a lot as a child...

Probably not when discussing statistics ;)

 

[pinball1970]

T I.L. That Dr Becky has been diagnosed with breast cancer. In terms of YouTube she is one of the good guys.
Tells amateur astronomers what to see in the night sky every month and reviews key papers.

She sticks it in at the end of her monthly video here.

 

[sbrothy]

Today I learned about the the intriguing yet horrifying history and science of the Buck v Bell court case, thanks to what is so far a very good book by Siddhartha Mukherjee -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gene:_An_Intimate_History

Looks like there's a documentary too. Maybe it's worth a peek..?

 

[sbrothy]

TIL my brother has the exact same recurring dream as I do. I thought it was my special thing.

I dream that I can stand at the top of a flight of stairs, tilt my toes down at an angle, and surf down the edges of the steps to the bottom on one fluid motion. (The kind of thing people do by accident when they slip and slide down a flight of stairs, but I am doing it deliberately and with controlled grace).

It is such a strong feeling, even awake, that I am still not entirely convinced I have only done it in my dreams and not in real life.

(Of course, I also have a recurring dream that I can "skate" in the air for an indeterminate time. Like through a grocery store. I can run and leap, and sort of not land again, as long as I keep on one just touching, I can even steer, like having a rudder in the water.)

There are some things which are common to most, if not all, dreamers. Light switches don't work, digital displays show garbage and looking at your hands in dreams is pretty spooky. I don't know why the dreaming mind can't do hands, but it seems to be universal.

(On a more personal note recreational drugs never work. Probably because there aren't any.)

 

[sbrothy]

I once saw an animated (short?) film on TV about an entire dream sequence containing many of the dream-tropes I mentioned above, but I cannot seem to find it now. It was pretty "undergroundy" and artsy, but very fascinating. The protagonist just floated around, jumped and, as mentioned, experienced a lot of these tropes. I seem to remember there being no, or very little, sound.

It annoys me I can't seem to find it now...

If anyone knows which one I'm thinking about please give a beep. Fat chance I know. Still...

 

[TensorCalculus]

Looks like there's a documentary too. Maybe it's worth a peek..?

Oh cool: yes, maybe! I was never much of a biology person but Siddhartha Mukherjee has made it very enjoyable to learn about.

T I.L. That Dr Becky has been diagnosed with breast cancer. In terms of YouTube she is one of the good guys.
Tells amateur astronomers what to see in the night sky every month and reviews key papers.

She sticks it in at the end of her monthly video here.

Yes, I was so sad when I watched this video!!! Dr Becky has been a huge inspiration to me as a girl aspiring to be an astrophysicist and this is very tragic indeed

 

[TensorCalculus]

Today I learned that you need an ID to buy superglue

(At least, in the shop I went to)