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.

  • #61
Today, after I placed my turkey on it's cooking platform, and stood back to admire my hunting skills, it stuck me that my bird was a bit differently shaped than turkeys of past. It looked, to me anyways, like my turkey had been crossbred, with a turtle. Knowing such things are highly improbable, I googled: genetically modified turkey

To my horror, I found, that it was true. (kind of, but not really)

Why are turkeys genetically modified? oo)

I would not recommend reading the article, as it's kind of creepy.

Anyways, they aren't really "genetically modified", in a turtle-turkey kind of way.

It's more like Monique's signature quote; "The capacity to blunder slightly is the real marvel of DNA. Without this special attribute, we would still be eating skinny single breasted turkeys, that could have still have sex without our help". — Lewis Thomas & Me

Creepiest thing of all, is that it all started, with a government plot, to make people, happy...

Let's Talk Turkey!
Therefore in 1934 BARC began a breeding program
to create this new type of turkey. Four different
breeds (White Holland, White Austrian,
Narragansett, and Bronze) and Wild Turkey
were used to create this new turkey.

The government, created the turkeys we are about to eat...oo)

In 1947 the new turkey made its commercial debut

That was even before my time...oo)

The Turkey-Industrial Complex

Another creepy website. But they gave me the age of turkeys, when the are, um...
2014.11.27.1055.Dr.Strangelove.jpg

metaphorically speaking:

turkeys will spend about 10 to 18 weeks on a farm before they're brought into the processing plant

Also:

Domesticated turkey
The average lifespan for a domesticated turkey is ten years.

Which, if you know me, and are aware of my otherworldly interpolative skills, leads to:

Today, we will all be eating:

Teenaged mutant sexless turkeys...

2014.11.27.0916.teenaged.mutant.ninja.turkey.jpg


:)

I would have googled "sexless" and "ninja". But, I knew, I'd get a whole lot of really, really weird, um, stuff...
Don't do it, lisab. Don't even go there.
 
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Physics news on Phys.org
  • #62
OmCheeto, I predict you will become known as "the man that knew too much":D Happy Thanksgiving to you and everyone at PF :)
 
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  • #63
Today I Learned that I should have paid more attention in high school maths classes :rolleyes:
 
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  • #64
Today I learned that netapp snapmanager can recover and back up sharepoint site's data.
 
  • #65
Today I learned that Alka-Seltzer should not be swallowed dry with a beer chaser.
I'll probably never use that chair again.
 
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  • #66
Today I learned that this is the tallest building in the state of Wyoming:
uQ5raDN.jpg
 
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  • #68
lisab said:
Today I learned that this is the tallest building in the state of Wyoming:
uQ5raDN.jpg
The one in front?
 
  • #70
Watson is selling his Nobel Prize, to buy a painting (or was it to get attention?).
 
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  • #71
Today I learned that coincidence in life makes me believe in the unseen Gods and Goddesses more and more.
This is my spiritual life and I won't care about whatever scientists would say about their existence from now on.
 
  • #72
strangerep said:
Benefit? Like,... um,... stopping the damned dog next door from barking... ?

A lot of people don't know this, but yes. If you feed a barking dog enough chocolate, it will stop barking ... permanently.

(chocolate is poisonous to dogs.)
 
  • #73
Today I also learned that anyone can now ask IBM's Watson questions for free.

Strangely enough, it wasn't Monique's post that led me down that path of discovery but rather a strange post by someone else that made me think that they are really a computer program that's posting on the forum.
 
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  • #74
I learned that compile time optimization really is worth it. More than 50% improvement!
 
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  • #75
We need a parallel thread "today I forgot".

Yes, I know - it will be empty. But at some point it is what starts to dominate.
 
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  • #76
Borek said:
We need a parallel thread "today I forgot".

Yes, I know - it will be empty. But at some point it is what starts to dominate.

Today I forgot to take a shower after my yoga class.
 
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  • #78
Greg Bernhardt said:
Today I learned how to properly cut a lime for use in drinks
Today I learned, that if you know something I don't about cutting limes, you need to shareo_O what if I have been getting inebriated in an improper fashion ? I would be horrified :eek::D
 
  • #79
I learned that kiwi fruits taste better, but are a hell of a lot harder to get at, if you peel them first.
 
  • #81
Greg Bernhardt said:
I learned today that a Barbara is a very tasty wine
Acidity in Barbera is very high.
 
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  • #82
That you can find camouflaged animals at night with a camera that has flash: (that include cats)

two%2Bracoons.JPG
 
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  • #83
Whilst putting things in their proper places a couple of nights ago, I ran across the February 1998 edition of Scientific American.
I read that a supernova, SN 1987A, released, in the first 10 seconds, the equivalent energy to that released by all of the stars in the universe, combined.
Being the magazine was from another millennia, I thought they might have just been guessing.
But I checked today, and it appears to be true. [ref]
Also, 99% of that energy was in the form of neutrinos.

I tried to figure out how bright it would have been, had the energy been released as visible light, but "Apparent Magnitude" math looks like a word problem. I'll have to run off to the cosmology forum, and figure this out. :)

Ps. Given the age of the article, and that they said that 5 years in the future, stellar stuff was going to collide with previously sloughed off stellar stuff, and make it glow, I checked that out also. It looks like they nailed it.

280px-SN1987a_debris_evolution_animation.gif
 
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  • #84
The Minke whale native to Norway is available for commercial use.

Their "Fisheries Institute" along with some other Countries tried milking them.

A cow has 'bout 5% milk fat, and that's generous.

The minke Whale has 50% milk fat and was good for 1,600 liters in just under an hour long milking...
 
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  • #85
nitsuj said:
The minke Whale has 50% milk fat and was good for 1,600 liters in just under an hour long milking...
You'd need pretty big hands and freakishly strong wrist muscles.
 
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  • #86
I have an iml file that stores config data about what version of libraries I would use. I learned that I don't know how to make it work in synch with cached data after gradling (after which the version number downloaded changes but the config file remains, WTH) :D:D
 
  • #87
AnOldStudent said:
I have an iml file that stores config data about what version of libraries I would use. I learned that I don't know how to make it work in synch with cached data after gradling (after which the version number downloaded changes but the config file remains, WTH) :D:D
I'd feel sympathetic if I had any idea of what the hell you're talking about.
 
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  • #88
Danger said:
I'd feel sympathetic if I had any idea of what the hell you're talking about.
Basically he can't handle his data:eek::D
 
  • #89
RonL said:
Basically he can't handle his data:eek::D
Understood. I have the same problem with Screech.
 
  • #90
Today I learned for the second time that I should not put a 9 volt battery in the same pocket as my keys.
 
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