Today I Learned

[Jonathan Scott]

Yesterday I learned that if making a snowman seems like too much effort, you can just put a small snowball on a big one and call it a snow BB-8.

We had 4 inches of snow Thursday. That's the most we've had here since at least 1992 and possibly longer. As we rarely get more than a dusting of snow here in the south of England, the authorities don't consider it financially worth while to provide much in the way of gritting and snow-clearing, so that really brought everything to a halt. Any road with a slight gradient (lengthways or sideways) became impassable. Hundreds of people were stuck overnight on blocked main roads and in trains (using the third rail electric system) where ice on the rails was causing them to lose power. Fortunately it's all melting rapidly now.

 

[OmCheeto]

TIL that Steven King wrote the book which was the basis for the movie "The Shawshank Redemption".

 

[Borg]

TIL (actually yesterday) a way to leave a message if you know that your plane is going to crash.

A secret 9/11 note from beyond the grave

I was describing the plot of my book, asking whether there’s any way a person could leave a hidden message inside his body before he died.

The room went silent. The mortician told me that if you’re on a plane that’s going down, if you handwrite a note and eat it, the human stomach has enough liquids to protect the note from burning.

“The ultimate message in a bottle,” the mortician said. “And it really happened.”

“What’re you talking about?” I asked. “When?”

“9/11.”

Right there, the story came out. On 9/11, the victims of the Pentagon attack were brought to Dover. When the morticians worked on one of the bodies, they found a note inside. Apparently, as the plane was going down, one of the victims on Flight 77 actually ate a note, which was found by a Dover mortician.

And, speaking of messages - Oldest message in a bottle found on Australian beach.

An Australian woman has found the world's oldest known message in a bottle nearly 132 years after it was thrown into the sea

 

[dlgoff]

And, speaking of messages - Oldest message in a bottle found on Australian beach.

Really amazing. Here's a picture of the bottle and message compliments of Smithsonian.

 

[Bystander]

Here's a picture of the bottle and message compliments of Smithsonian.

An early ocean currents survey?

 

[CWatters]

Today I (and a few others) learned the personal mobile phone number of a BBC Radio 1 presenter after he gave it out live on air as some sort of dare. It immediately started ringing so much he couldn't get to the screen to put it into airplane mode and shut it up. Despite thousands of people calling him one of the first few calls he answered was a wrong number.

 

[mfb]

This Deutsche Seewarte doesn't exist any more, but the successor to its successor still exists, and it is still in Hamburg: "Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie"

I don't think they need the bottle for ocean current surveys today.

 

[fresh_42]

I don't think they need the bottle for ocean current surveys today.

Nope. The problem had been successfully tackled in 1992.

 

[NascentOxygen]

And, speaking of messages - Oldest message in a bottle found on Australian beach.

The message in the bottle was found in dunes behind the beach, so it's not as though it was washed up only last week.

It's only a couple of weeks since news that a letter posted during WW1 was finally delivered. No one knows why delivery took so long, or if someone does know they're keeping quiet about it.

 

[CWatters]

Today I learned that Knotty Ash is a real place. RIP Ken Dodd...

 

[Drakkith]

Today I learned about the existence of Chlorine Trifluoride, an extremely reactive compound that can burn through sand, asbestos, and even concrete. A report describing an incident where a container of the substance cracked, leaking chlorine trifluoride onto the concrete floor, where it subsequently burned through 30 cm of concrete and then nearly a meter of gravel, said, "The concrete was on fire."

 

[david2]

Today I learned that humans are carrying more microbes in and on their bodies then there are cells.

In fact 10 times more...

 

[Bystander]

Today I learned that humans are carrying more microbes in and on their bodies then there are cells.

In fact 10 times more...

Source?

 

[fresh_42]

Source?

Oh, you can pick them up almost everywhere in the environment.

 

[Bystander]

Oh, you can pick them up almost everywhere in the environment.

And, presumably, these microbes are not massless?

 

[david2]

Oh, you can pick them up almost everywhere in the environment.

lol

Source?

There was a microbiologist on a dutch news webite who said that. He did not say that there were ten times more. That I read after a quick google search.

But Wiki says the folowing:

Humans are colonized by many microorganisms; the traditional estimate is that the average human body is inhabited by ten times as many non-human cells as human cells, but more recent estimates have lowered that ratio to 3:1 or even to approximately the same number.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_microbiota

Still a lot imho.

 

[Bystander]

Still a lot imho.

A new excuse for the over weight? And anti-biotics a new fad diet?

 

[david2]

A new excuse for the over weight? And anti-biotics a new fad diet?

nope! :)

...their total mass is about 0.2 kg.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4991899/

 

[CWatters]

So if a man weighs 80kg and the microbes weigh 0.2 then these microbes must be a lot smaller and lighter than human cells.

 

[nsaspook]

Today I learned about the existence of Chlorine Trifluoride, an extremely reactive compound that can burn through sand, asbestos, and even concrete. A report describing an incident where a container of the substance cracked, leaking chlorine trifluoride onto the concrete floor, where it subsequently burned through 30 cm of concrete and then nearly a meter of gravel, said, "The concrete was on fire."

Nasty stuff. We used it to clean semiconductor process chambers. When we decommissioned the machine even the electric cables were scrapped because of possible contamination issues.

 

[mfb]

So if a man weighs 80kg and the microbes weigh 0.2 then these microbes must be a lot smaller and lighter than human cells.

Yes. We have many small cells from other species and not that many but much larger human cells.

 

[Buzz Bloom]

TIL that an electric clock I expected to be very accurate is losing 1/2 seconds each day.
I learned this when we got a new similar click because one of he features in the old clock was no longer working.

I also leaned why the old clock was not accurate. It was dependent on correcting its time by receiving a radio signal about once a day. In some locations, the clock failed to receive the signal. However, it was still a puzzle why its loss of time was at such a large rate since my 20 year old mechanical watch only loss a few seconds a year. The puzzle was resolved when I noticed the old clock used a 12 volt ac-dc converter, so the clock could not use 60 cycle current to keep accurate time.

 

[collinsmark]

TIL that an electric clock I expected to be very accurate is losing 1/2 seconds each day.
I learned this when we got a new similar click because one of he features in the old clock was no longer working.

I also leaned why the old clock was not accurate. It was dependent on correcting its time by receiving a radio signal about once a day. In some locations, the clock failed to receive the signal. However, it was still a puzzle why its loss of time was at such a large rate since my 20 year old mechanical watch only loss a few seconds a year. The puzzle was resolved when I noticed the old clock used a 12 volt ac-dc converter, so the clock could not use 60 cycle current to keep accurate time.

A quartz crystal gaining/losing a half second per day is typical without more advanced compensation techniques -- Well, at least 1/2 second per day matches perfectly with the Wikipedia article anyway:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartz_clock#Accuracy

A purely mechanical watch losing only a few seconds per year?! I have a hard time believing that. I have a mechanical watch and it loses/gains more than a few seconds per day. People don't buy purely mechanical watches for their accuracy; they buy them for other reasons (and they can be very expensive: several thousand dollars [US]). Seriously, a cheapy, $5 quartz watch keeps way better time than my mechanical wristwatch.

Using the 60 Hz electrical grid (or 50 Hz depending on your location) for time keeping purposes is possible and not uncommon in practice. There are continuing efforts by utilities and associated standards committees to maintain and improve the long-term accuracy (averaged over at least the time period of typical load cycles). But there will always be short-term inaccuracies due to load conditions. Here's a link to something more specific than we are discussing, but sort of fits this topic on some level. https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk...m-experiment-in-us-means-clocks-will-speed-up

 

[Buzz Bloom]

A purely mechanical watch losing only a few seconds per year?! I have a hard time believing that. I have a mechanical watch and it loses/gains more than a few seconds per day.

Hi Collins:

I took another look at my antique cheap watch. I don't remember how old it is. It's brand is Perry Ellis. Apparently this brand began in 1976, so that puts an upper limit on its age. I carelessly mistook the watch's analogue movement with "mechanical", but it says it has a quartz crystal, and somehow that accuracy controls the mechanical movement, including the second hand's go and stop every second.

Regards,
Buzz

 

[theb2]

TIL because I’m a white male with German heritage I’m responsible for slavery in America, the holocast in Germany, and suppressing women in the tech fields, never felt more awkward in a class discussion lol

 

[fresh_42]

TIL because I’m a white male with German heritage I’m responsible for slavery in America, the holocast in Germany, and suppressing women in the tech fields, never felt more awkward in a class discussion lol

Well, your president is as well ...

 

[pinball1970]

I learned something week. I bought a book off amazon without researching it properly, titled abiogenesis. I bought it without reading reviews or anything else (stupid) when I got it something rang a bell as soon as I flicked through the pages. It was wikipedia! Someone had printed off the pages reproduced the images very poorly and then bound it! They even left all the pointless refs and links on. I complained to Amazon and they refunded my account (actually my mrs)

Beware folks!

 

[BillTre]

I am half way through reading what seems to be a good book on abiogenesis.
It is "The Vital Question" by Nick Lane.
Its main focus is on where the energy flow came from and the origin of chemi-osmotic power for making ATP.
I find it very interesting and well written.

 

[theb2]

Well, your president is as well ...

The last of our white buffalo

 

[pinball1970]

I am half way through reading what seems to be a good book on abiogenesis.
It is "The Vital Question" by Nick Lane.

Reading that book made want to brush on my biochem! Great book as is "Life Ascending"

 

[Tom.G]

Today I learned that not all piston engines have a wrist pin (piston pin). There are apparently radial aircraft engines where the connecting rod is firmly attached to the piston and the whole cylinder rocks! Who would'a thought that was more convenient?

See this post for a sketch: https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/radial-piston-input-torque.943080/

 

[CWatters]

At school I built a steam engine that worked that way. When the cylinder was in one position a hole in the side wall lined up with an inlet hole, when it rocked the other way the same hole lined up with an exhaust hole. All very simple if not exactly efficient. On mine the pivot was near the middle of the cylinder rather than at the top.

The boiler was a powdered milk tin. No separate safety valve. If the pressure got too high the lid blew off sending boiling water into the air/face.

 

[Buzz Bloom]

TIL (actually a few days ago) a new word: kakistocracy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakistocracy

The earliest usage of the word dates to the 17th century, in Paul Gosnold's A sermon Preached at the Publique Fast the ninth day of Aug. 1644 at St. Maries.​

The sermon applied the term to Nero. The following are some references to later uses.

Usage of the word was rare in the early part of the 20th century, but it regained popularity in 1981 with criticism of the Reagan administration.

In November 2016, the word became commonly used by critics of Trump, a man who had never held any public office, after he was elected President of the United States and began to announce his appointees.​

 

[Drakkith]

Today I learned that honeybees are apparently very good at hiding. One got into my apartment, probably by crawling underneath the front door, and buzzed around for a bit. Before I could get the broom and shoo it back outside, it went behind my desk and completely disappeared! I have no idea where it may be and I only hope I don't get a stinging surprise in the near future.

 

[fresh_42]

Today I learned that honeybees are apparently very good at hiding. One got into my apartment, probably by crawling underneath the front door, and buzzed around for a bit. Before I could get the broom and shoo it back outside, it went behind my desk and completely disappeared! I have no idea where it may be and I only hope I don't get a stinging surprise in the near future.

Mine (surprise) has been in a toe ... It hurt twice, because I like bees.

 

[Ibix]

Today I learned that there is a thing called a "lithophone". It's like a xylophone, but instead of the bars being made of wood they are made of stone - slate and granite in this particular case. I had no idea you could make a musical sound from a stone, let alone play a tune.

I was so surprised I didn't make any rock music jokes.

 

[jtbell]

Today I learned that the latest trend in home decorating is to turn your books "backwards" on your bookshelves so their spines face towards the back of the shelf and the page-ends face outwards. This makes for a more uniform look, but also makes it rather difficult to find a specific book if you actually want to read it.

https://inews.co.uk/culture/backwards-books-maddest-interior-trend-2018/

A Google search for "backwards books" turns up lots of pictures of this sort of thing.

 

[fresh_42]

Today I learned that there is a thing called a "lithophone". It's like a xylophone, but instead of the bars being made of wood they are made of stone - slate and granite in this particular case. I had no idea you could make a musical sound from a stone, let alone play a tune.

I was so surprised I didn't make any rock music jokes.

And I thought this was a lithophone:

Source

 

[Tom.G]

I noticed the lithophone pictured uses quinary rather than decimal -- perhaps due to the limited number of fingers available?

 

[Drakkith]

I noticed the lithophone pictured uses quinary rather than decimal -- perhaps due to the limited number of fingers available?

Huh... I thought it used an evolution of early quaternary...

 

[kyphysics]

This might leave Russ Watters and NTL2009 reeling , but today I learned that Dave Ramsey's financial principles are taught in 30% of U.S. secondary schools.

This might increase in the future, as Ramsey is America's most listened to financial "guru." Even though I don't agree with him on some things, I do think it's great that the solid stuff he teaches in areas of agreement ARE being taught to young kids.

I wish we had an investment class when I was a kid that taught me that if I invested $5 a day for 20 years (the price of a single Star Bucks drink!) and NEVER put in another dime of my money after that into that investment retirement account, then I'd be a millionaire about 15 years later.

Just a few bucks a day...just a few bucks a day...and let compound interest take over with time.

He says that if you're not a millionaire in America with several decades of working experience, then you're a loser (barring any tough life circumstances like being handicapped, a victim of racism, etc.)! Harsh words. But he says it's easy if you just save your money, invest early, and let compound interest take over.

I want to be a millionaire with that $5/day plan!

 

[fresh_42]

I want to be a millionaire with that $5/day plan!

Have you actually done the calculation with current interest rates and average inflation or do you just trust some guru? You sound like the latter.

 

[kyphysics]

Have you actually done the calculation with current interest rates and average inflation or do you just trust some guru? You sound like the latter.

Not sure if it's current (2016 figures given), but he employs MIT, Stanford, etc. mathematicians, actuaries, accountants, etc. to do his "math work" for him, as he's talked about on the show.

They could be wrong. But, I trust these highly trained, professionally licensed guys, though. He'll often say something like: "My team crunched the numbers and gave me this total...I'm not a geek like them."

 

[fresh_42]

Not sure if it's current (2016 figures given), but he employs MIT, Stanford, etc. mathematicians, actuaries, accountants, etc. to do his "math work" for him, as he's talked about on the show.

They could be wrong. But, I trust these highly trained, professionally licensed guys, though. He'll often say something like: "My team crunched the numbers and gave me this total...I'm not a geek like them."

This attitude is the first step to get ripped off.

 

[kyphysics]

This attitude is the first step to get ripped off.

True. I agree to some extent (a very good warning - one Ramsey would endorse too). Except, we trust people in life all the time, who are respected, highly trained, and have no history of ripping people off (like a Robert Kiyosaki, who is a financial industry charlatan). ...Although, this is a check-able area for the average citizen (don't need a Ph.D. to do it), so you're right in a way too.

I am curious, though, if those figures hold up. We should probably talk about it in the relevant financial thread (I have one started, but there are others in place on this forum too), however, if you're interested.

Also, you can use the SEC's government compound interest calculator to do some of this basic stuff. It's a .gov site.

 

[kyphysics]

Not sure if it's current (2016 figures given), but he employs MIT, Stanford, etc. mathematicians, actuaries, accountants, etc. to do his "math work" for him, as he's talked about on the show.

They could be wrong. But, I trust these highly trained, professionally licensed guys, though. He'll often say something like: "My team crunched the numbers and gave me this total...I'm not a geek like them."

Scratch the MIT, Stanford, etc. part...I'll have to look up the episode where he talks about his team, since I don't know if those are the actual schools/pedigree of his staff members (I think I vaguely remember something like that...). Don't want to give false info. and want to be accurate.

He has talked about his team and their background before, though, but more as a way to jokingly tell us he's not a "nerd" like them.

 

[mfb]

You need 13% interest rate for that. Forget it.

With 10% interest rate you end up with $480,000. If we assume 2% inflation these $480,000 in 35 years are worth as much as $237,000 today.
With 5% interest rate you end up with $131,000. If we assume 2% inflation these $131,000 in 35 years are worth as much as $65,000 today.

Sure, there are investments where you become a millionaire. There are even investments where $1800 initial investment ($5/day for a year) can make you a billionaire in this time frame. But that needs an extraordinary amount of luck.

Saving money and waiting for compound interest is a good idea. But you won't become a millionaire just by saving $5/day for 20 years and then waiting for 15 more.

 

[Drakkith]

For Rubik's Cube fans, today I learned that there exists a 4D version of the Rubik's Cube. Obviously we can't make a physical 4D Rubik's Cube, but there is software which will generate the puzzle that you can solve. One such software is Magic Cube 4D. In addition to extending a Rubik's Cube into the 4th dimension, the program will generate much larger cubes (up to 8 cubes of 9x9x9) along with entirely different shapes. Good luck and happy solving!

 

[Buzz Bloom]

TIL

In fact, nobody knows how to actually calculate the entropy for a generic gravitational system.

This quote is from
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/entropy-and-contracting-universe.943975/#post-5973770 .

 

[DrGreg]

Today I learned why uppercase and lowercase letters are called "cases".

It goes back to ancient times, when I was a boy and fonts weren't files on a computer, but were lumps of metal stored in compartments of a shallow wooden drawer or case. Typically capital letters were put in the case above and non-capitals in the case below.

Source: Letter case