Today I Learned

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Today I learned that cleaning a white hat can be done with bleach cleaner, but it’s important to rinse it before wearing it again. I also discovered that "oyster veneering," a woodworking technique from the late 1600s, is experiencing a minor revival despite its labor-intensive nature. Additionally, I learned that the factorial of 23 (23!) equals 25,852,016,738,884,976,640,000, which interestingly has 23 digits, a unique coincidence among factorials. I found out that medical specialists often spend less than 10 minutes with patients, and that watching TV can contribute to weight gain. Other insights included the fact that a kiss can transfer around 80 million microbes, and that bureaucracy can sometimes hinder employment opportunities. The discussion also touched on various trivia, such as the emotional sensitivity of barn owls and the complexities of gravitational lensing around black holes.
  • #1,981
Borg said:
It's going to be a crazy four years. :wideeyed:

This kind of crazy?



Today, I learned to stay off the north jetty of Humboldt Bay(coordinates: 40°45′53.06″N 124°14′05.01″W), when the National Weather Service issues a High Surf Advisory for Northern California after overnight measurements indicated a surf height of 27 feet.
 
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  • #1,982
OmCheeto said:
This kind of crazy?
Sure that crazy is the appropriate adjective here?
 
  • #1,983
OmCheeto said:
This kind of crazy?
Today, I learned to stay off the north jetty of Humboldt Bay(coordinates: 40°45′53.06″N 124°14′05.01″W), when the National Weather Service issues a High Surf Advisory for Northern California after overnight measurements indicated a surf height of 27 feet.

Just Wow!
 
  • #1,984
OmCheeto said:
This kind of crazy?
What a maroon. :oldlaugh:
Looks like he busted a right front tie rod early on. He was screwed after that.
 
  • #1,985
fresh_42 said:
Sure that crazy is the appropriate adjective here?

hmmmm... Are you implying that it's going to be crazier?
Could be.
But my imagination only goes so far, and the next 4 years is only a week old, and many of us are already... :oldfrown::oldmad::oldeek::oldsurprised::oldsurprised::oldsurprised::oldsurprised::oldsurprised:

We may need a new adjective.
 
  • #1,986
Borg said:
What a maroon. :oldlaugh:
Looks like he busted a right front tie rod early on. He was screwed after that.
Yah... He's the second best excuse for not defunding Planned Parenthood, IMHO.
 
  • #1,989
OmCheeto said:
This kind of crazy?
That is not crazy, that is a suicide attempt.Today I learned: There was never a proper randomized double-blind trial on whether parachute use prevents death when jumping out of airplanes.
 
  • #1,990
mfb said:
That is not crazy, that is a suicide attempt.Today I learned: There was never a proper randomized double-blind trial on whether parachute use prevents death when jumping out of airplanes.
Sure?
 
  • #1,991
Today I learned: There was never a published randomized double-blind trial on whether parachute use prevents death when jumping out of airplanes.
 
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  • #1,992
mfb said:
Today I learned: There was never a published randomized double-blind trial on whether parachute use prevents death when jumping out of airplanes.

Pfft. Total placebo.
 
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  • #1,993
dkotschessaa said:
Pfft. Total placebo.

More likely skewed results from those who couldn't report back the failure of their jump.
 
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  • #1,994
jedishrfu said:
More likely skewed results from those who couldn't report back the failure of their jump.

Questionnaire:

1. Did you use a Parachute? Y/N
2. How would you rate your landing experience on a scale of 1-10? ____
 
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  • #1,995
TIL why it's called terminal velocity.
 
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  • #1,996
mfb said:
Today I learned: There was never a published randomized double-blind trial on whether parachute use prevents death when jumping out of airplanes.
Sure ?
 
  • #1,997
Today I learned that just because Windows Update has been saying "Checking for Updates" day and night for 18 days (with the Windows Update service under svchost.exe showing 100% CPU for all of that time) that doesn't necessarily mean it's not making progress!

This morning, I found it had just applied 40 updates and had two more ready to install, after which it now reports it's up to date.

This is a Windows Vista system that I hadn't used since July, when I tried but failed to update it to Windows 7 (which it claimed should be compatible), getting some extremely obscure error in "specialization" processing after it had all apparently installed fine, probably due to the hard disk having been replaced a couple of years ago by someone who didn't do the right incantations to initialise the new disk correctly for Windows. Or perhaps the disk controller doesn't support the new disk properly. Or it's a side-effect of a known bug in the original CD version of the Windows 7 Update package to do with RAID controllers. Or something. Or something else. Grrr.
 
  • #1,998
Jonathan Scott said:
Today I learned that just because Windows Update has been saying "Checking for Updates" day and night for 18 days (with the Windows Update service under svchost.exe showing 100% CPU for all of that time) that doesn't necessarily mean it's not making progress!

This morning, I found it had just applied 40 updates and had two more ready to install, after which it now reports it's up to date.

This is a Windows Vista system that I hadn't used since July, when I tried but failed to update it to Windows 7 (which it claimed should be compatible), getting some extremely obscure error in "specialization" processing after it had all apparently installed fine, probably due to the hard disk having been replaced a couple of years ago by someone who didn't do the right incantations to initialise the new disk correctly for Windows. Or perhaps the disk controller doesn't support the new disk properly. Or it's a side-effect of a known bug in the original CD version of the Windows 7 Update package to do with RAID controllers. Or something. Or something else. Grrr.
Yeah, my bet is it's your last suggestion, "something else". It's ALWAYS "something else" with *&#^@%%# Windows.
 
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  • #1,999
Today I learned a judge granted an emergency stay on the executive order Trump signed regarding travellers holding certain passports.
 
  • #2,000
TIL about Göbekli Tepe while reading Sapiens: A brief histry of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari.
It “is an archaeological site atop a mountain ridge in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of modern-day Turkey, approximately 12 km (7 mi) northeast of the city of Şanlıurfa.”
What is fantastically unusual about this site are the very large carved monumental structures built there
GobekliTepe.png

about 9500 BCE by hunter gathers rather than by farmers who archeologists have determined have built all other similar kinds of structures found so far.
 

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  • #2,001
Buzz Bloom said:
TIL about Göbekli Tepe while reading Sapiens: A brief histry of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari.
It “is an archaeological site atop a mountain ridge in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of modern-day Turkey, approximately 12 km (7 mi) northeast of the city of Şanlıurfa.”
What is fantastically unusual about this site are the very large carved monumental structures built there
View attachment 112250
about 9500 BCE by hunter gathers rather than by farmers who archeologists have determined have built all other similar kinds of structures found so far.
Heh. I've actually been there.

Also, why it isn't a TIL, I would like to ask you lot: How do you "learn" all those things? For example I learn something every day, but forget in a few days/weeks. Do you write them down too? Or just not care whether you'll remember?
 
  • #2,002
Nugso said:
Heh. I've actually been there.

Also, why it isn't a TIL, I would like to ask you lot: How do you "learn" all those things? For example I learn something every day, but forget in a few days/weeks. Do you write them down too? Or just not care whether you'll remember?

If we all used spaced repetition we could remember all those facts almost forever!
 
  • #2,003
Nugso said:
Do you write them down too? Or just not care whether you'll remember?
Hi @Nugso:
I generally bookmark or download stuff I learn. Most of what I learn day-by-day is that I have problems understanding what I am learning. I don't post about those things as a TIL item, but very occasionally I actually come to understand something, or at least I am pretty confident that I have, and then I post about that. When I learn something I don't understand, I sometimes start a thread to seek someone who can explain it to me.

Regards,
Buzz
 
  • #2,004
  • #2,005
BillTre said:
Previously IL that some fish can communicate via their farts!

I wasn't aware fish were farters, so that's kind of a 2 for 1 deal there...

On the other hand I'm not sure I want to remember this one.

-Dave K
 
  • #2,006
dkotschessaa said:
If we all used spaced repetition we could remember all those facts almost forever!

Hehe, that's where Anki comes in handy I guess :)

Buzz Bloom said:
Hi @Nugso:
I generally bookmark or download stuff I learn. Most of what I learn day-by-day is that I have problems understanding what I am learning. I don't post about those things as a TIL item, but very occasionally I actually come to understand something, or at least I am pretty confident that I have, and then I post about that. When I learn something I don't understand, I sometimes start a thread to seek someone who can explain it to me.

Regards,
Buzz

I see. I'm currently taking notes of what I'm learning every day such as Nuremberg Trials and hCG. Would be good to remember them forever!
 
  • #2,008
Today I learned the new word: pareidolia.
 
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  • #2,009
Today I learned what might be the loneliest job in the world.

https://sputniknews.com/art_living/201702021050289083-austrian-town-loneliest-job/
The local community in Saalfelden, Austria, offers one of the loneliest jobs in the world. The locals are looking for a hermit, who is expected to live in a hut in the mountains without any modern facilities.
The person who will be chosen for this position will have no access to electricity, heating, internet or even a salary.

The applications are being received by a local priest, Alois Moser. Several applicants have already demonstrated their interest in the vacancy.
 

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