Today I Learned

[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)

 

[sbrothy]

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.

And good luck distancing yourself from the sinking mass of air-filled compartments. I don't know what this phenomenon or syndrome is called, but the massive amount of air in the water will make you go down like a stone. Life jacket or not.

 

[Borg]

And good luck distancing yourself from the sinking mass of air-filled compartments. I don't know what this phenomenon or syndrome is called, but the massive amount of air in the water will make you go down like a stone. Life jacket or not.

If you're referring to being dragged under by a sinking ship, that's probably a myth.
https://mythbusters.fandom.com/wiki/Sinking_Titanic_Myth

 

[sbrothy]

If you're referring to being dragged under by a sinking ship, that's probably a myth.
https://mythbusters.fandom.com/wiki/Sinking_Titanic_Myth

I'm not talking about suction per se, but the compartments of air escaping when the ship sinks makes a mix of water and air which makes flotation impossible. I doubt that this is a myth, but I've perforated so many myths lately that I'm ready to stand corrected... I'll look into it....

 

[BillTre]

Air mixed with water will reduce the water's density and thus its ability to float things denser than the air-water mixture's density. Until the air separates out from the water.

 

[sbrothy]

Air mixed with water will reduce the water's density and thus its ability to float things denser than the air-water mixture's density. Until the air separates out from the water.

Yeah, that's what I meant. It probably has a name but yeah.

 

[DaveC426913]

Air mixed with water will reduce the water's density and thus its ability to float things denser than the air-water mixture's density. Until the air separates out from the water.

It wouldn't have to do that for very long to effectively drown a person. It doesn't have to literally drag them under or sink them, all it has to do is prevent then from getting a clean breath for a minute or two. Alternately, they make take a breath and take in water instead.

 

[sbrothy]

It wouldn't have to do that for very long to effectively drown a person. It doesn't have to literally drag them under or sink them, all it has to do is prevent then from getting a clean breath for a minute or two. Alternately, they make take a breath and take in water instead.

Either way you're having a bad day.

 

[BillTre]

TIL that hummingbirds have extended their ranges and evolved beak changes in a few decades after hummingbird feeders were patented in 1947.
Science news article here.

Often their beaks got longer to better slur up lots of sugar water.
In colder areas their beaks got shorter to reduce heat loss.
Male beaks got pointier since they tend to fight for feeder access.

The most surprising finding, though, was how quickly these changes took place. By the 1950s, hummingbirds were noticeably different from those of the 1930s: a time span of only about 10 generations of birds, Alexandre says.

 

[sbrothy]

I'm not talking about suction per se, but the compartments of air escaping when the ship sinks makes a mix of water and air which makes flotation impossible. I doubt that this is a myth, but I've perforated so many myths lately that I'm ready to stand corrected... I'll look into it....

It's Aeration, not Suction (blog post but supposedly with a video of the phenomenon I didn't have time to see though)

Bubbling Seas can Sink Ships (New Scientist)

 

[DaveC426913]

It's Aeration, not Suction (blog post but supposedly with a video of the phenomenon I didn't have time to see though)

Bubbling Seas can Sink Ships (New Scientist)

Now I don't know which one to use...

 

[sbrothy]

... that goosebumps from listening to music (among other psychosomatic stimuli) is called frisson. Incidentally:

Proximal binaural sound can induce subjective frisson

 

[jack action]

TIL that $\frac{1}{998001}$ has a repeating decimal containing all numbers between 000 and 999 except 998 ... in order! (Shown below with added spaces for readability)

1/998 001 = 0.000 001 002 003 004 005 006 007 008 009 010 011 012 013 014 015 016 017 018 019 020 021 022 023 024 025 026 027 028 029 030 031 032 033 034 035 036 037 038 039 040 041 042 043 044 045 046 047 048 049 050 051 052 053 054 055 056 057 058 059 060 061 062 063 064 065 066 067 068 069 070 071 072 073 074 075 076 077 078 079 080 081 082 083 084 085 086 087 088 089 090 091 092 093 094 095 096 097 098 099 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681 682 683 684 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765 766 767 768 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 800 801 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 810 811 812 813 814 815 816 817 818 819 820 821 822 823 824 825 826 827 828 829 830 831 832 833 834 835 836 837 838 839 840 841 842 843 844 845 846 847 848 849 850 851 852 853 854 855 856 857 858 859 860 861 862 863 864 865 866 867 868 869 870 871 872 873 874 875 876 877 878 879 880 881 882 883 884 885 886 887 888 889 890 891 892 893 894 895 896 897 898 899 900 901 902 903 904 905 906 907 908 909 910 911 912 913 914 915 916 917 918 919 920 921 922 923 924 925 926 927 928 929 930 931 932 933 934 935 936 937 938 939 940 941 942 943 944 945 946 947 948 949 950 951 952 953 954 955 956 957 958 959 960 961 962 963 964 965 966 967 968 969 970 971 972 973 974 975 976 977 978 979 980 981 982 983 984 985 986 987 988 989 990 991 992 993 994 995 996 997 999 ...

(I used the bash command bc <<< "scale=4000;1/998001" to verify it.)

 

[DaveC426913]

TIL that $\frac{1}{998001}$ has a repeating decimal containing all numbers between 000 and 999 except 998 ... in order!

That's insane!

(Did anyone read Carl Sagan's 'Contact'? IYKYK)

 

[symbolipoint]

IYKYK

TIL that IYKYK stands for "if you know, you know". I did a quick web search.

 

[DrGreg]

TIL that $\frac{1}{998001}$ has a repeating decimal containing all numbers between 000 and 999 except 998 ... in order!

I observe that $998001 = 999^2$, so I suspect the result might generalise for $1 / (10^n-1)^2$ for other values of $n$.

 

[Janus]

TIL a new(old) Finnish joke:
An English man and a Swedish man were talking. English: A dog.
Swedish: What?
English: The dog.
English: Two dogs.
Swedish: Okay. We have: En hund, hunden, Två hundar, hundarna.
German: Wait, I want to try it too!
English: No, go away.
Swedish: No one invited you.
German: Der Hund.
English: I said go away....
German: Ein Hund, zwei Hunde.
Swedish: Stop it!
German: Den Hund, einen Hund, dem Hund, einem Hund, des Hundes, eines Hundes, den Hunden, der Hunden.
Finnish: Sup.
English: NO.
Swedish: NO.
German: NO. Finn, you go away!!
Finnish: Koira, koiran, koiraa, koiran again, koirassa, koirasta, koiraan, koiralla, koiralta, koiralle, koirana, koiraksi, koiratta, koirineen, koirin.
German: WHAT?
Swedish: You must be kidding us!
English: This must be a joke...
Finnish: Aaaand... koirasi, koirani, koiransa, koiramme, koiranne, koiraani, koiraasi, koiraansa, koiraamme, koiraanne, koirassani, koirassasi, koirassansa, koirassamme, koirassanne, koirastani, koirastasi, koirastansa, koirastamme, koirastanne, koirallani, koirallasi, koirallansa, koirallamme, koirallanne, koiranani, koiranasi, koiranansa, koiranamme, koirananne, koirakseni, koiraksesi, koiraksensa, koiraksemme, koiraksenne, koirattani, koirattasi, koirattansa, koirattamme, koirattanne, koirineni, koirinesi, koirinensa, koirinemme, koirinenne.
English: Those are words for a dog???
Finnish: Wait! I didn't stop yet. There is still: koirakaan, koirankaan, koiraakaan, koirassakaan, koirastakaan, koiraankaan, koirallakaan, koiraltakaan, koirallekaan, koiranakaan, koiraksikaan, koirattakaan, koirineenkaan, koirinkaan, koirako, koiranko, koiraako, koirassako, koirastako, koiraanko, koirallako, koiraltako, koiralleko, koiranako, koiraksiko, koirattako, koirineenko, koirinko, koirasikaan, koiranikaan, koiransakaan, koirammekaan, koirannekaan, koiraanikaan, koiraasikaan, koiraansakaan, koiraammekaan, koiraannekaan, koirassanikaan, koirassasikaan, koirassansakaan, koirassammekaan, koirassannekaan, koirastanikaan, koirastasikaan, koirastansakaan, koirastammekaan, koirastannekaan, koirallanikaan, koirallasikaan, koirallansakaan, koirallammekaan, koirallannekaan, koirananikaan, koiranasikaan, koiranansakaan, koiranammekaan, koiranannekaan, koiraksenikaan, koiraksesikaan, koiraksensakaan, koiraksemmekaan, koiraksennekaan, koirattanikaan, koirattasikaan, koirattansakaan, koirattammekaan, koirattannekaan, koirinenikaan, koirinesikaan, koirinensakaan, koirinemmekaan, koirinennekaan, koirasiko, koiraniko, koiransako, koirammeko, koiranneko, koiraaniko, koiraasiko, koiraansako, koiraammeko, koiraanneko, koirassaniko, koirassasiko, koirassansako, koirassammeko, koirassanneko, koirastaniko, koirastasiko, koirastansako, koirastammeko, koirastanneko, koirallaniko, koirallasiko, koirallansako, koirallammeko, koirallanneko, koirananiko, koiranasiko, koiranansako, koiranammeko, koirananneko, koirakseniko, koiraksesiko, koiraksensako, koiraksemmeko, koiraksenneko, koirattaniko, koirattasiko, koirattansako, koirattammeko, koirattanneko, koirineniko, koirinesiko, koirinensako, koirinemmeko, koirinenneko, koirasikaanko, koiranikaanko, koiransakaanko, koirammekaanko, koirannekaanko, koiraanikaanko, koiraasikaanko, koiraansakaanko, koiraammekaanko, koiraannekaanko, koirassanikaanko, koirassasikaanko, koirassansakaanko, koirassammekaanko, koirassannekaanko, koirastanikaanko, koirastasikaanko, koirastansakaanko, koirastammekaanko, koirastannekaanko, koirallanikaanko, koirallasikaanko, koirallansakaanko, koirallammekaanko, koirallannekaanko, koirananikaanko, koiranasikaanko, koiranansakaanko, koiranammekaanko, koiranannekaanko, koiraksenikaanko, koiraksesikaanko, koiraksensakaanko, koiraksemmekaanko, koiraksennekaanko, koirattanikaanko, koirattasikaanko, koirattansakaanko, koirattammekaanko, koirattannekaanko, koirinenikaanko, koirinesikaanko, koirinensakaanko, koirinemmekaanko, koirinennekaanko, koirasikokaan, koiranikokaan, koiransakokaan, koirammekokaan, koirannekokaan, koiraanikokaan, koiraasikokaan, koiraansakokaan, koiraammekokaan, koiraannekokaan, koirassanikokaan, koirassasikokaan, koirassansakokaan, koirassammekokaan, koirassannekokaan, koirastanikokaan, koirastasikokaan, koirastansakokaan, koirastammekokaan, koirastannekokaan, koirallanikokaan, koirallasikokaan, koirallansakokaan, koirallammekokaan, koirallannekokaan, koirananikokaan, koiranasikokaan, koiranansakokaan, koiranammekokaan, koiranannekokaan, koiraksenikokaan, koiraksesikokaan, koiraksensakokaan, koiraksemmekokaan, koiraksennekokaan, koirattanikokaan, koirattasikokaan, koirattansakokaan, koirattammekokaan, koirattannekokaan, koirinenikokaan, koirinesikokaan, koirinensakokaan, koirinemmekokaan, koirinennekokaan.
English:
Swedish:
German:
Finnish: Aaand now the plural forms…

 

[Ibix]

Should I ask why there are so many words for dog? And is it specific to dogs, or a general feature of the language?

 

[sbrothy]

Should I ask why there are so many words for dog? And is it specific to dogs, or a general feature of the language?

I wanna know too. That's insane (or maybe inane, IDK... )

 

[DaveC426913]

As long as someone puts this to the tune of "A Modern Major General" I'll be happy.

 

[Janus]

Should I ask why there are so many words for dog? And is it specific to dogs, or a general feature of the language?

General feature of the language. Finnish makes little use of prepositions like to, from, by, or in. And instead adds case endings to the word. Example, ssa means in, so talo = house, and talossa = in the house.
Thus, you have Koira = (the) dog , Koiraa = (a) dog, koirassa =in a/the dog, koirasta =about the dog, koiraan = to the dog, koiralla = with a dog, koiralle = for the dog, koirana = as a dog, koiraski = even a dog. You can also add ni, si or mme to signify my, your or our dog. Koirani = my dog. And they can be stacked. Koirastani = about my dog. Adding ko makes it into a question. Koirallako = with a dog? There is also an ending for "too": Koirastakaan = about the dog too. Then are negations, koirallansikokaan = not even a dog.
As I said, a lot of the ones in this joke have fallen out of use, so for example "not even a dog" is more likely to be said "Ei edes koiraa". ( which literally translates to "No at least a dog")

To add to the fun, adjectives need to be in the same case as the noun, so Large Black dog = Suuri musta koira, and About the large black dog = Suuresta mustasta koirasta

 

[Janus]

As an aside. This use of cases and the rules that apply to them tends to make the use of compound words common in Finnish So for instance, instead of Dinner table, it is Ruokapöytä ( literally foodtable). This allows you to use one case ending on one word rather than on two or more separate words. This resulted in what is thought to be the longest word in Finnish: Lentokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilas – Airplane jet turbine engine auxiliary mechanic non-commissioned officer student.

 

[DaveC426913]

TIL a bunch of things, in reverse:

- It is harmless,
- some kittens react as early as 4 weeks,
- many kittens do not react until six months of age,
- kittens look frightening when in the thrall - like, paralyzed in the midst of a frantic attack, eyes wide and staring vacantly into the distance. It can be ... alarming ...
- I bought one, unknowingly,
- some cat toys come loaded with catnip.


Some things in life can only be learned in hind sight, but must be experienced in forward.
Raising kittens appears to be one of those things.

 

[sbrothy]

... that "The Anonymous Collective" has begun following me on Facebook. Now I don't have paranoid tendencies but that kinda freaked me out for a second....

Should I be scared, flattered, indifferent, or what?

 

[BillTre]

... that "The Anonymous Collective" has begun following me on Facebook. Now I don't have paranoid tendencies but that kinda freaked me out for a second....

Should I be scared, flattered, indifferent, or what?

Deconstruct the collective.

 

[sbrothy]

Deconstruct the collective.

Turns out it's just some random guy calling himself that. I can just disable anonymous followers though I don't see the harm. My antics on FB aren't really that interesting....

EDIT: There's an abundance of AI persons nowadays though. Incredibly pretty girls that for unknown reasons want to make love to me?!

 

[Swamp Thing]

TIL that lead ingots from Roman Empire shipwrecks are so free from atomic age background radiation that they have been used to make radiation shields for cutting edge particle physics experiments, including experiments that may ultimately contribute to resolving some big cosmological questions.

 

[Ibix]

TIL what @haruspex's name means - literally "gut watcher", the roman priest whose job it was to read entrails.
Wikipedia

 

[haruspex]

TIL what @haruspex's name means - literally "gut watcher", the roman priest whose job it was to read entrails.
Wikipedia

… from years of divining the past by poring over the carnage of crashed software.

 

[Hornbein]

TIL from Wikipedia that

Ronald Reagan met Nancy Davis after she contacted him in his capacity as the SAG president about her name appearing on a communist blacklist in Hollywood; she had been mistaken for another Nancy Davis. They married in March 1952.

 

[sbrothy]

... that frogs actually swallow their food using their eyes. Appearantly it's called eye retraction. Every time I think I wont get any more suprises something like this pops up:

Can Frogs Swallow Using Their Eyeballs?

Frogs use their eyes to push food down while swallowing..

EDIT: Added:

Contribution of eye retraction to swallowing performance in the northern leopard frog, (Journal of Experimental Biology)

From summary (sounds pretty serious and cumbersome):

"[...] We used behavioral observations, cineradiography, electromyography and nerve transection experiments to evaluate the contribution of eye retraction to swallowing in the northern leopard frog [...]"


EDIT2:

Sometimes I wonder who pay for these kind of experiments. Then I realize it's probably basic education. I mean I figure it's either part of learning to work together and/or write papers. Maybe sometimes students who have to learn some kind of complex piece of machinery (like in the egg-paper from MIT). And then of course there's the occasional April 1. fun.