Today I Learned

[phinds]

It's everywhere on the planet.

Yeah, I remember when I was a kid, back in the 40's, there were dragonflies everywhere. Now, you can find them in some locations but mostly they are gone.

 

[sbrothy]

https://www.buglife.org.uk

EDIT: No affiliation.

 

[Hornbein]

Where I live in Bali there used to be many fireflies. A few persist. It's mostly rice paddies that get sprayed with chemicals.

 

[jack action]

It's not just chemicals. Insects are very sensitive to temperature.

In a tropical zone, temperatures usually vary very little. With climate change, it is estimated that the insect biomass has reduced by 85% since 1986 in the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve in Mexico.

The Bumblebees in Western Canada moved from the prairies to the Rockies, which is a colder area.

The ones who stay in the hotter temperatures grow smaller, giving them disadvantages. (Like butterflies with smaller wings, leading to shorter traveled distances.)

Monocultures also lead to higher temperatures that insects have to get away from.

My source is from this great local TV report. (La semainte verte - Insectes, la 6e extinction massive?, in French)

 

[sbrothy]

It's a problem capitalism (EDIT: I don't know what's wrong with me? . It looked like I was trying to get s... past the radar. Not intentional.) is painfully aware of:

The economic cost of losing native pollinator species for orchard production (Journal of Applied Ecology)

Cost of Pollination (Cornell)

 

[DaveC426913]

It's a problem capitalism (I mean of course democracy.) is painfully aware of:

The economic cost of losing native pollinator species for orchard production (Journal of Applied Ecology)

Cost of Pollination (Cornell)

Black Mirror has more than one episode than tries to address the looming threat of pollinator loss. Of course, it's science-fiction...

 

[sbrothy]

Black Mirror has more than one episode than tries to address the looming threat of pollinator loss. Of course, it's science-fiction...

This may surprise you but I love science fiction!

 

[sbrothy]

Black Mirror has more than one episode than tries to address the looming threat of pollinator loss. Of course, it's science-fiction...

I've only seen the first episode (45 minutes?!) so far, and it's definitely.... different.

EDIT: Although I've yet to see it's science fictional side... but I guess there's time for that...

 

[DaveC426913]

I've only seen the first episode (45 minutes?!) so far, and it's definitely.... different.

It's 45 minutes because that is the standard length of a one hour show on network stations. The other 15 are for commercials.

EDIT: Although I've yet to see it's science fictional side... but I guess there's time for that...

Which season?

Are you starting with s1 or s7? They both involve 21st century technology and issues. (OK, you're right - sci fi is not the right term. Speculative fiction is better.)

 

[sbrothy]

It's 45 minutes because that is the standard length of a one hour show on network stations. The other 15 are for commercials.


Which season?

Are you starting with s1 or s7? They both involve 21st century technology and issues. (OK, you're right - sci fi is not the right term. Speculative fiction is better.)

I see. Well I naturally started with S01E01. I wasn't aware there were any other way. I joke. The episodes seem pretty self-contained, but I could hardly know that when I started, now could I?

EDIT!:

"[...] most episodes set in near-future dystopias containing sci-fi technology—a type of speculative fiction."
---- Black Mirror (Wikipedia)

 

[DaveC426913]

I see. Well I naturally started with S01E01. I wasn't aware there were any other way. I joke. The episodes seem pretty self-contained, but I could hardly know that when I started, now could I?

EDIT!:

"[...] most episodes set in near-future dystopias containing sci-fi technology—a type of speculative fiction."
---- Black Mirror (Wikipedia)

Right. S1E1 "National anthem". You're right. Not so much sci-fi as modern problems - mass media, virtual flash mobs, cancel culture, sponsored, publicized stunts, the effect of the internet population on individuals. A common theme in Black Mirror.

 

[sbrothy]

T.I.L. My baby niece earned a 2:1. I text my son and he said, "She's that old! How did that happen!?"

Her uncle, me, tried to push her into science as a kid but she would not have it.
English Literature.
Well done kid.

I've overlooked this message. I have a little (half-)sister who's worked her way to - at least as I understand it, minimum a bachelors degree.

Right. S1E1 "National anthem". You're right. Not so much sci-fi as modern problems - mass media, virtual flash mobs, cancel culture, sponsored, publicized stunts, the effect of the internet population on individuals. A common theme in Black Mirror.

So it's woke. (The word "snowflake" comes to mind but I can't find a single funny application. My fault. )

Nah, I'm joking of course.

Reminds of that HBO show "Big Mouth". That should be required watching for all teenagers. :)

 

[DaveC426913]

So it's woke. (The word "snowflake" comes to mind but I can't find a single funny application. My fault. )

Huh? Quite the opposite. The public's sentiment in this scenario is quite malicious. They're trying to hurt him, disgrace him, make fun of him.

 

[sbrothy]

Huh? Quite the opposite. The public's sentiment in this scenario is quite malicious. They're trying to hurt him, disgrace him, make fun of him.

Oh yeah, the film. Certainly. I was thinking more like in real life though.

EDIT: I mean like in meta-humor if that makes any sense? I may have seen too much Family Guy. I was trying to turn it into a joke but failed.

 

[Hornbein]

TIL he term "baroque" comes from the Portuguese word barroco, meaning "misshapen pearl". Maybe it's one of those sobriquets originally meant to be derisive, like Big Bang, Impressionist, or Methodist.

 

[Swamp Thing]

TIL he term "baroque" comes from the Portuguese word barroco, meaning "misshapen pearl". Maybe it's one of those sobriquets originally meant to be derisive, like Big Bang, Impressionist, or Methodist.

... and meritocracy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meritocracy

While the word was coined and popularized as a pejorative, its usage has ameliorated. Today, the term is often utilised to refer to social systems in which personal advancement and success primarily reflect an individual's capabilities and merits

 

[diogenesNY]

Sadly, This doesn't surprise me. When I was a kid and driving with my parents on the highway, the windscreen was always splattered with insects. Not so anymore.

When I was a kid (1970s) there was a joke:

Q: How can you tell a happy biker?
A: By the number of flies in his teeth.

 

[sbrothy]

-- Mommy, can I have a dog this christmas?
-- No, you'll eat roast pork like the rest of us. Silly boy.

 

[sbrothy]

When I was a kid (1970s) there was a joke:

Q: How can you tell a happy biker?
A: By the number of flies in his teeth.

Sadly, this joke doesn't work anymore. The roads smell better than in my youth, but also, the insects aren't there anymore. When I was a child the windscreen was covered in bugs (and every adult smoked like chimneys in the car); not so anymore.

 

[sbrothy]

Sadly, this joke doesn't work anymore. The roads smell better than in my youth, but also, the insects aren't there anymore. When I was a child the windscreen was covered in bugs (and every adult smoked like chimneys in the car); not so anymore.

Man, I seem to be repeating myself. Scatterbrain-syndrome. Sorry.

 

[Hornbein]

TIL the oldest depiction of a boat is on a pebble from 7000BC. The oldest of a sailboat is 3500BC on an Egyptian pot. The first known trade expedition was Hatshepsut's to the land of Punt, a two-thousand mile journey that would have taken about six months in 1450 BC.

The hammock was invented in Central America using the bark of the hamak tree.

The word catamaran comes from the Tamil kattumaram [tied wood].

The cat o' nine tails "was traditionally kept in a bag made from red baize, leading to the expression 'let the cat out of the bag.'" The frayed knots had to be made by the sailor to be punished.

"Admiral Vernon was known for his wearing of coats made from 'grogram' ... which had given him the name 'Old Grog.' This nickname soon came to apply to the beverage he had created."

Hannah Snell signed up as a Royal Marine in 1748, concealing her identity for two years in spite of having been severely wounded in battle in southern India. One evening she got drunk and spilled the beans. She became a celebrity and had two sons.

The Fresnel lenses used in lighthouses can be disassembled into hundreds of prisms, making for easier transport.

The passengers of the Titanic had life jackets made of cork. When they jumped from the sinking vessel the hard cork sometimes broke their jaw or knocked the wearer unconscious. As if they didn't have enough problems already.

 

[Hornbein]

TIL that Harvard Law School has one of the seven remaining original copies of the Magna Carta. It was purchased in 1946 for $27.50 when it was believed to be a copy in poor condition.

 

[DaveC426913]

Man, I seem to be repeating myself. Scatterbrain-syndrome. Sorry.

I totally hear you. Every time I post: "Did I post this already?"

 

[Borg]

TIL about the Talking Baby Podcast.
https://www.youtube.com/@tbpc_1

 

[DaveC426913]

TIL about the Talking Baby Podcast.

I've seen the entire "Never go up against a Sicilian when death is on the line! AHAHAH AHAAHAH" scene acted out by AI babies. I wish I could post it but it's on Facebook.

 

[Hornbein]

Til in the early 2000s, LLNL in collaboration with Russian nuclear scientists, created Livermorium, a highly radioactive element, Lv, 116 on the Periodic Table. The City of Livermore changed its seal so that the graphic of an atom erases large parts of a cowboy on a bronc and a vineyard. And it created Livermorium Plaza with a large round statue of Lv at its center.

 

[jack action]

I've seen the entire "Never go up against a Sicilian when death is on the line! AHAHAH AHAAHAH" scene acted out by AI babies. I wish I could post it but it's on Facebook.

There you go:

​

 

[Hornbein]

I find the film Boss Baby to be original and entertaining.

 

[sbrothy]

I realize this is an old story

I totally hear you. Every time I post: "Did I post this already?"

Yeah. I usually search the forums first, but even if I get no hits I'm always a little insecure.

 

[sbrothy]

... that eggs, contrary to popular belief, are toughest horizontally:

Challenging Common Notions on How Eggs Break and the Role of Strength Versus Toughness (nature.com)

MIT Engineering Students Crack Egg Dilemma, Finding Sideways is Stronger (MIT news)