Today I Learned

[Buzz Bloom]

TIL that today is the first palindromic day in 909 years - 02/02/2020. Enjoy it while it lasts.

11/02/2011

 

[OmCheeto]

TIL that today is the first palindromic day in 909 years - 02/02/2020. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Let me correct that for you:
... today is the first cross cultural palindromic day in 909 years ...

In other words, it works for MO/DY/YEAR(USA), DY/MO/YEAR(other countries), and YEAR/MO/DY(still other countries*) formats.

Perhaps you misunderstood the headline?

For the first time in over 900 years,
Sunday is an extra rare palindrome
day

I think it can be interpreted two different ways:

1. Palindrome days are extra rare. (not really)​

2. This palindrome day is extra rare. (yes)​

Of course, I wouldn't have known any of this, unless I'd seen the story yesterday.------------------
*You can peruse the list of who uses what, for yourself: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_format_by_country

 

[Adesh]

Today I learned that people with first name John are not called Johnny, Jonathans are called Johnny.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

Today I learned that people with first name John are not called Johnny, Jonathans are called Johnny.

No, I don't think that's right. Johnny is normally a nickname for John. Jonathans (like myself) do not usually have an H before the N, and may be known as Jon, Jonny or even Jony (as in Jony Ive), although I don't normally use any of those.
Whoever wrote the relevant Wikipedia articles seems to support my position:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonny

 

[Adesh]

No, I don't think that's right. Johnny is normally a nickname for John. Jonathans (like myself) do not usually have an H before the N, and may be known as Jon, Jonny or even Jony (as in Jony Ive), although I don't normally use any of those.
Whoever wrote the relevant Wikipedia articles seems to support my position:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonny

Actually, I asked someone if they were ever called Johnny, but he replied like this

And for me he is a very respectable man, therefore I believed him.

 

[Mark44]

No, I don't think that's right. Johnny is normally a nickname for John.

I agree, and the wiki article is pretty convincing.
Here are a few well-known people in the US whose first name is Johnny:
Johnny Carson, born John William Carson
Johnny Depp, born John Christopher Depp II
Johnny Mercer (songwriter, singer, and lyricist in the 30s to 50s), born John Herndon Mercer
Johnny Mathis (singer), born John Royce Mathis
Johnny Rivers (singer), born John Henry Ramistella

I could go on ...

 

[PeroK]

Today I learned that the "Lorenz gauge" in EM theory is correctly written without a "t" and is named after Ludvig Lorenz, and not his more famous namesake Hendrik Lorentz, as in the Lorentz Transformation.

 

[mfb]

If we can trust the name of the Lorentz–Lorenz equation they are the same person.

(It's named after these two.)

 

[Adesh]

Today I learned that AIDS (the disease) came to humans from Chimpanzees. Geez, Chimps are so smart they passed to us, wow!

 

[Klystron]

Today I learned mathematician John Nash died in an automobile accident in 2015 while returning with his wife from Norway where he received an award for developments in non-linear partial differential equations. I was recovering from major surgery at the time and missed the announcements. Today while reading this obit, I noticed this 2015 thread under "Related Threads". While I did not appreciate the fictions in the novel and movie based on his life, his work on game theory among others led me to study computer science as a second career after electronics.

 

[epenguin]

Today I learned from JT Bell here https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/mini-road-trip-dont-take-this-place-for-granite.983859/ that there really was a choo choo in Chattanooga.

Once I only knew the song. The existence of a real place became a bit more assured when I saw The Glenn Miller film with James Stewart and June Allyson. The song wouldn't have quite worked for most real places, which don't have the right name.

But from the internet you can learn such things! Without the internet I would never have learned, as I did today:
that it was called "Gateway to the South" and that at one time all train travel to the American South went through it - normally you have to be an American to know a thing like that, and then probably not every one of you;
that it is where the first bottled Coca-Cola was produced;
that it is home to the Hunter Museum - I only notice where artworks are located vaguely out of the corner of my eye but somehow the name seems not new to me, but then again it is quite likely I confused it with the Hunterian museum in Glasgow;
and going on from that, that there was an American school of painting known as the Ashcan School (examples hosted in the said museum) some of which I found almost breathtaking, even just to see on the small screen of an iPad;
and that there is a school called American Impressionism – there obviously had to be, but I had never come across it. Again striking. Shamelessly imitative, at least very reminiscent I found certain paintings, but still beautiful, excellent. Very little known in Europe.

About Coca-Cola again, yesterday I learned that the Coca-Cola Company does not make any.

 

[Stephenk53]

Today I learned that your car battery can die and be unable to be jumpstarted without any prior signs of trouble. I also learned that my boss and the director know how to jumpstart a car.

 

[strangerep]

Today I learned that AIDS (the disease) came to humans from Chimpanzees.

Yeah, but think about how it was probably passed between the species.

Geez, Chimps are so smart they passed to us, wow!

Actually, I'd guess that's not what the girl chimp was thinking when she "passed it on" to the male human...

 

[BillTre]

It was probably done by humans eating Chimp meat.
There's a market for that.

 

[mfb]

Actually, I'd guess that's not what the girl chimp was thinking when she "passed it on" to the male human...

Cooked chimps of any sex tend to not think any more.
Infection with the chimpanzee version (SIV) after eating chimpanzee meat is relatively common, but it's a mild disease that normally doesn't spread further. Three times it mutated enough to spread among humans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV#Origins

 

[Adesh]

It was probably done by humans eating Chimp meat.
There's a market for that.

Is it a joke or do humans really eat the flesh of Chimpanzees?

 

[Adesh]

Yeah, but think about how it was probably passed between the species.

Actually, I'd guess that's not what the girl chimp was thinking when she "passed it on" to the male human...

We must contact Moderators to know if double meaning things are allowed.

 

[fresh_42]

TIL about Victor Lustig. A man whose cause of death statement listed under profession: Vendor in training.

Victor Lustig successfully sold the Eiffel Tower and brought $ 2,000,000,000 counterfeit money (today's equivalent) in circulation. Not bad for a trainee.

 

[BillTre]

Jungle meat is sold in markets:

Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species including mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds that are hunted for human consumption in tropical forests.[1] Bushmeat is an important food resource for poor people, in particular in rural areas.[2]

It can include chimps and gorillas.

 

[Adesh]

Today I learned that Sicilians don’t speak Italian , they speak some other dialects.

 

[strangerep]

Is it a joke or do humans really eat the flesh of Chimpanzees?

Heck, some humans even eat other humans (so I'm told).

Reportedly, human liver goes well with a nice Chiante.

 

[jbriggs444]

TIL that hyponatremia is a serious thing. My wife went from racking up 20,000 steps a day on the fitbit to being unable to walk unaided to the bathroom in the space of two or three weeks.

The expectation is that 72 hours in the ICU will get her electrolytes back where they belong. The hope is that an underlying cause is identified as well.

Yesterday is the last time I plan to call 911 and then wimp out and let her refuse transport. We got to the primary care physician this morning. The doctor said "what are you doing here instead of the hospital?"

Remind me never to refuse transport when the time comes.

I have subsequently learned that the excursion to the ICU was warranted but failed in its goal of preventing the companion condition of Central Pontine Myelinolysis. Correcting hyponatremia too rapidly can result in demyelinization of the neurons in the Pons. We hit pretty much all of the risk factors for this result. The symptoms are a scary batch. We managed to miss "locked in syndrome" and "death" but hit most of the rest. Time will tell to the degree to which recovery can be made. It is quite variable.

 

[Ibix]

The expectation is that 72 hours in the ICU will get her electrolytes back where they belong. The hope is that an underlying cause is identified as well.

Fingers crossed...

 

[Keith_McClary]

Lorentz–Lorenz

Pronunciations:

 

[Rive]

TIL that there is a thing called 'caffeine withdrawal', with quite annoying symptoms. Especially the 'muscle pain' part.
Second thing I learned is, that indeed, it was addiction.

Third is, that it was not flu: that could have been somewhat consoling - getting flu while being vaccinated, that's at least rare and not about your own stupidity, no?

 

[levadny]

Hi for all! Tonight I learn Python but without classes. Python's classes and inheritance I will learn tomorrow. :)

 

[fresh_42]

TIL that the optimal frequency for CPR is along the rhythm of Staying Alive.
Can anybody please provide me a better song!

 

[Ibix]

Nellie the Elephant.

Edit: the chorus only, but see:https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_a-m3pH9Dr8

 

[pinball1970]

Nellie the Elephant.

Edit: the chorus only, but see:

That's a little faster than staying alive.

Which one?

I should know this

 

[Ibix]

That's a little faster than staying alive.

Which one?

I should know this

That's the one I was taught, about nine years ago now. @berkeman's the EMT, isn't he?

 

[pinball1970]

That's the one I was taught, about nine years ago now. @berkeman's the EMT, isn't he?

@berkeman can also tell us if mouth to mouth is still recommended.
I don't trust the net on that sort of thing.

 

[berkeman]

TIL that the optimal frequency for CPR is along the rhythm of Staying Alive.
Can anybody please provide me a better song!

Well, the warped humor at medic trainings sometimes involves the song "Another One Bites the Dust", but I don't recommend it. I use "Stayin' Alive" myself when I'm checking my rhythm and don't have another medic checking it for me (team CPR).

Current AHA guidelines for the compression rate is 100-120/minute (it used to be "at least 100/min", but changed to 100-120 in the latest update):

https://www.aafp.org/afp/2016/0501/p791.html

@berkeman can also tell us if mouth to mouth is still recommended.
I don't trust the net on that sort of thing.

Yes, for professional rescuers, ventilations with compressions are the standard technique. We use a barrier of some sort (from pocket mask to BVM or other devices) to isolate us from the patient's mouth. We would only use mouth-to-mouth on our own family members if there were no barrier available.

For lay-responders, the AHA has recognized Hands-Only-CPR as effective. It's not quite as effective as including ventilation/breaths at the proper rate, but it is WAY better than not doing anything at all and watching the patient die over the next few minutes while you wait for EMS to arrive.

I encourage everybody to take at least a Hands-Only-CPR class, since it is so incredibly important for increasing survival rates to start good quality compressions right away.

https://cpr.heart.org/en/cpr-courses-and-kits/hands-only-cpr

 

[fresh_42]

We would only use mouth-to-mouth on our own family members if there were no barrier available.

I don't think I would have scruple in case of emergency. Except in the US. There I would run away instead of risking being sued afterwards (according to my personal risk aversion function). Here it is a crime doing nothing. The legal status in the US bears far too many unknowns to risk anything apart from calling 911.

 

[berkeman]

Except in the US. There I would run away instead of risking being sued afterwards (according to my personal risk aversion function). Here it is a crime doing nothing. The legal status in the US bears far too many unknowns to risk anything apart from calling 911.

Fortunately, we have the "Good Samaritan Law" here in the US. It generally protects private folks who decide to try to help in medical emergencies. There are a few conditions on its application, but in general they are pretty easy for a good samaritan to stay withing when providing help:

• You can't anything do anything that is recklessly negligent
• You can't accept any reward for your actions
• You have to stay within your level of training (no impromptu surgeries with your pocket knife)

As long as you stay within the guidelines of the Good Samaritan Law, you can still be sued, but the other party will not win. The reason for this law is obvious -- the government wanted to encourage lay responders to help others during times of medical emergencies.

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

 

[fresh_42]

Sure, but ... . Jurisdiction is completely different to what I'm used to, hence no risks - except I personally knew the person.