What is the newest installment of 'Random Thoughts' on Physics Forums?

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Discussion Overview

The thread discusses various random thoughts and observations, touching on topics such as media programming, personal anecdotes, language use, and mathematical curiosities. The scope includes informal commentary, humor, and reflections on everyday experiences.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express frustration with the quality of documentaries on channels like the History Channel and National Geographic, suggesting a decline in factual programming.
  • There is a humorous anecdote about discovering a polythene bag obstructing a kitchen extractor fan, leading to a discussion about the clarity of installation manuals.
  • Participants share thoughts on the nature of prime numbers, particularly regarding the status of the number 2 and its implications for mathematical proofs.
  • There are reflections on language use and the reactions to grammatical errors made by native speakers, with some participants sharing their personal responses to such situations.
  • One participant humorously suggests that if 2 were not considered prime, it would complicate the understanding of prime factors in even numbers.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

The discussion contains multiple competing views, particularly regarding the status of the number 2 as a prime and the quality of media programming. No consensus is reached on these topics.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying degrees of skepticism and humor, with some comments reflecting personal experiences and subjective opinions rather than objective analysis.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in informal discussions about media, language, and mathematics may find this thread engaging.

  • #6,511
Keith_McClary said:
Wow, is that a cake of some sort? Let them eat cake then!
 
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  • #6,512
Along the lines of these word games, I remember when I was in a drugstore and someone asked a staff member for batteries. Staff asked D's ( D batteries) and customer replied : "No, dose", you know, deese and dose.
 
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  • #6,513
WWGD said:
Along the lines of these word games, I remember when I was in a drugstore and someone asked a staff member for batteries. Staff asked D's ( D batteries) and customer replied : "No, dose", you know, deese and dose.
If you're not British, you may not have heard of a very famous British comedy sketch in which a man apparently asks a storekeeper for "four candles", when he actually wants "fork handles". The sketch continues with many more misunderstandings. The sketch is famous enough to have its own Wikipedia article: Four Candles.

 
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  • #6,514
Pic of the day!

1604011716878.png
 
  • #6,515
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  • #6,516
etotheipi said:
1,2-dimethylcyclopropene?
I had so successfully forgotten that horrible test in organic chemistry with its maze of 1,5,3,9,2-dihexanyloctanlbenzo... then you came along. :mad:
 
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  • #6,517
DrGreg said:
If you're not British, you may not have heard of a very famous British comedy sketch in which a man apparently asks a storekeeper for "four candles", when he actually wants "fork handles". The sketch continues with many more misunderstandings. The sketch is famous enough to have its own Wikipedia article: Four Candles.


I was an adjunct and at one point I had 3 students who went by : Billy, Bill Lee and Bill E. " No, I am not Billy, I am Bill E...". Fun semester.
 
  • #6,518
  • #6,519
Cyclopropenylidene.
 
  • #6,520
I actually slapped a fly. It had been buzzing, came my way, I tried to make it go away and I hit it and it flew away. Wonder what it felt comparatively, i.e., what the analogue would be for a human: being led away by a hurricane?
 
  • #6,521
Do vegans get flu shots?
 
  • #6,522
fresh_42 said:
Do vegans get flu shots?
Closest I know, Markle got one. But she's a megan, but maybe not a vegan.
 
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  • #6,523
Hot dogs are called frankfurters because they originated in Frankfurt. Hamburgers because they originated in Hamburg.

Cheeseburgers originated in...Cheeseburg?
 
  • #6,524
WWGD said:
Hot dogs are called frankfurters because they originated in Frankfurt. Hamburgers because they originated in Hamburg.

Cheeseburgers originated in...Cheeseburg?
You have forgotten Wieners. And it was the ship which originated in Hamburg, not the then dried beef. Btw., do you know where they fish those square fish the use for Fishburgers?
 
  • #6,525
fresh_42 said:
You have forgotten Wieners. And it was the ship which originated in Hamburg, not the then dried beef. Btw., do you know where they fish those square fish the use for Fishburgers?
Squarefishburg?
 
  • #6,526
fresh_42 said:
Btw., do you know where they fish those square fish the use for Fishburgers?
Right-angelfish, you mean? Dunno, but maybe BillTre does.
 
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  • #6,527
Ibix said:
Right-angelfish, you mean? Dunno, but maybe BillTre does.
I saw a pic of Bill once here and he didn't look like a fish to me.
Now let's figure out where the boneless chicken patties come from. I mean, how can a chicken without bones even move?
 
  • #6,528
WWGD said:
Now let's figure out where the boneless chicken patties come from. I mean, how can a chicken without bones even move?
Well, my patties actually did not move.
 
  • #6,529
Reminds me of an old joke.

McDonalds had been sued for fish poisoning.
McDonalds won.
They could prove beyond any doubts and seamlessly that their product never contained any fish.
 
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  • #6,530
fresh_42 said:
Well, my patties actually did not move.
I've been trying to remove that image from my mind for the last few hours ;).
 
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  • #6,531
I wonder how to deal with "Studies Bias" where people in different sides of an issue quote studies to support their respective points. It has ended throughout in rabbit holes and deadlock. Like someone described it " Too many priests and too few heathens".
 
  • #6,532
Wonder how many ways you can spell a sentence using the terms " Khaddafi" and " Beijing". I've seen each spelled in like 10 different ways: Khadaffi, Gadafi, Ghadaffi ; Peking, Beijing, Peiping,.. N
 
  • #6,533
WWGD said:
Wonder how many ways you can spell a sentence using the terms " Khaddafi" and " Beijing". I've seen each spelled in like 10 different ways: Khadaffi, Gadafi, Ghadaffi ; Peking, Beijing, Peiping,.. N
There is a thread titled "High-field Hall effect" and I read "High-heel fall effect".
 
  • #6,534
fresh_42 said:
There is a thread titled "High-field Hall effect" and I read "High-heel fall effect".
Ghaddafi/Kaddafi wrote it in Peiping/Beijing.
 
  • #6,535
fresh_42 said:
There is a thread titled "High-field Hall effect" and I read "High-heel fall effect".
I used to think " Hahn Decomposition" was " Hanhdy" composition. Parsing is hard often.
 
  • #6,536
And then the mandatory: " I want Lamb o ver Rice". Over rice or over ice?
 
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  • #6,537
WWGD said:
Over rice or over ice?
That's why the expression "on the rocks" was invented.
 
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  • #6,538
Does a Physicist describe their day as in:
" I left the house at 8 a.m., with an initial velocity of 15 m/h"?
 
  • #6,539
Keith_McClary said:
That's why the expression "on the rocks" was invented.
Lamb on the rocks it is!
 
  • #6,540
Keith_McClary said:
That's why the expression "on the rocks" was invented.
Nope. On the rocks wys originally meant literally. Kids were sent to fetch cool rocks from the nearby creek to cool the Whiskey at times when ice wasn't available. But don't do this with a Scotch!
 

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