I bet you didnt know that

b318isp

mzungu wrote: »

The Blackbird was capable of speeds reaching 2,200mph (3,540kph) while its futuristic shape and black paint full of radar-absorbing iron made it virtually undetectable.

It also expanded by up to 11" in supersonic cruise due to heat. A consequence of this was that the plane would weep fuel on the ground and in subsonic flight - requiring it use a special fuel - JP7 (Triethylborane) - which had low volatility. See pic below of the trails.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JP-7

Skylinehead

mzungu wrote: »

The Blackbird was capable of speeds reaching 2,200mph (3,540kph) while its futuristic shape and black paint full of radar-absorbing iron made it virtually undetectable.

The stealth bit isn't really true, while it did have a reduced radar cross-section of about 10 square meters, Soviet radar technology was easily able to detect it.

The problem for the Soviets was actually doing something about it, if a missile was launched, the Blackbird would accelerate to the aforemented speed and simply outrun the threat.

Ten of Swords

The technology behind the Blackbird was a partial spin-off if the U2 spy plane which was developed and tested under great secrecy at Groom Lake Airforce Base - also known as Area 51

The Russians have their own area 51 though it is far less well known, it is called Kapustin Yar and became operational in 1946. It housed many german rocket scientists captured during WW2. The base is still in active use today.

Skylinehead

Madagascar, that massive island off the coast of Africa, was only settled by people around 350AD. The mad thing is, it wasn't settled from Africa - rather by people arriving from Borneo, across the Indian Ocean!

Similarly, New Zealand was uninhabited until about 1350.

DrumSteve

New Home wrote: »

Prince wrote "Manic Monday", too, which was one of The Bangles' greatest successes.

He only wrote it for them so he could get jiggy with Suzannah Hoffs.

Big Nasty

Ten of Swords wrote: »

The technology behind the Blackbird was a partial spin-off if the U2 spy plane which was developed and tested under great secrecy at Groom Lake Airforce Base - also known as Area 51

The Russians have their own area 51 though it is far less well known, it is called Kapustin Yar and became operational in 1946. It housed many german rocket scientists captured during WW2. The base is still in active use today.

I remember reading something in a book years ago (could have been fictional) about an enormous Russian training ground for spies that was basically a number of entire towns, I.e. American, English, French towns with everything authentic and only the designated language spoken.

Amazing if true.

Realt Dearg Sec

Nixonbot wrote: »

Similarly, New Zealand was uninhabited until about 1350.

When I read that I flat out didn't believe you. Had to go looking it up. Amazing.

Ten of Swords

Big Nasty wrote: »

I remember reading something in a book years ago (could have been fictional) about an enormous Russian training ground for spies that was basically a number of entire towns, I.e. American, English, French towns with everything authentic and only the designated language spoken.

Amazing if true.

It is true, nobody knows how many such towns were purpose built but the most well known one was Vinnytsia in what is now Ukraine. In 1959 a spy school was established there and a mock up American town was constructed, the CIA learned of it's existence in 1960.

quickbeam

Nixonbot wrote: »

Similarly, New Zealand was uninhabited until about 1350.

I also believe that there are no native NZ mammals, except bats who flew there. Any mammals now there were introduced by humans.

Chancer3001

surely we cant know that about NEw Zealand tho.

Maybe we just havent found the fossils/bones yet

mikhail

Chancer3001 wrote: »

surely we cant know that about NEw Zealand tho.

Maybe we just havent found the fossils/bones yet

There are and were a handful of native mammals there, though the only live ones seem to be bats and sea-going mammals.

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

But certainly, there were very few prior to the arrival of the Maori and other Pacific Islanders some 700 years ago.

mikhail

Ten of Swords wrote: »

The technology behind the Blackbird was a partial spin-off if the U2 spy plane which was developed and tested under great secrecy at Groom Lake Airforce Base - also known as Area 51

The Russians have their own area 51 though it is far less well known, it is called Kapustin Yar and became operational in 1946. It housed many german rocket scientists captured during WW2. The base is still in active use today.

It is a rule of the internet that I must now post the great Blackbird speed check story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AyHH9G9et0

DrumSteve wrote: »

He only wrote it for them so he could get jiggy with Suzannah Hoffs.

Worse has been done for less.

ohnonotgmail

Ten of Swords wrote: »

It is true, nobody knows how many such towns were purpose built but the most well known one was Vinnytsia in what is now Ukraine. In 1959 a spy school was established there and a mock up American town was constructed, the CIA learned of it's existence in 1960.

Didn't take them long

mzungu

Our bones are unbelievably strong. In fact, ounce for ounce, our bones are stronger than steel. If you had a bar of steel a comparable size it would weigh nearly five times as much!

Esel

mzungu wrote: »

Our bones are unbelievably strong. In fact, bounce for bounce, our bones are stronger than steel. If you had a bar of steel a comparable size it would weigh nearly five times as much!

FYP there, Tigger.

sbsquarepants

DrumSteve wrote: »

He only wrote it for them so he could get jiggy with Suzannah Hoffs.

So you're saying if I send her a little ditty I'm in with a chance?:D

New Home

She might see you in a different light. :pac:

liamoreilly

...Did you know, 0f the previous 8240 posts up until mine, only 341 have been repeated, and only 73 of these have been repeated 3 or more times...There have been just under 1100 different posters to this thread, and now one poster more thanks to me...

Capt'n Midnight

Nixonbot wrote: »

The stealth bit isn't really true, while it did have a reduced radar cross-section of about 10 square meters, Soviet radar technology was easily able to detect it.

The problem for the Soviets was actually doing something about it, if a missile was launched, the Blackbird would accelerate to the aforemented speed and simply outrun the threat.

The Americans knew this and AFAIK the Blackbird never crossed Russian territory instead doing side scans.

China and other countries were crossed.

Capt'n Midnight

Chancer3001 wrote: »

surely we cant know that about NEw Zealand tho.

Maybe we just havent found the fossils/bones yet

Giant insects filling the niche of mice ?

Top predators and herbivores are large birds ?

Lots of species wiped out when mammals arrived.


Of course like Madagascar all the big birds were killed off around the time humans arrived. Just like lots of large terrestrial animals died when humans arrived elsewhere.

Franz Von Peppercorn

liamoreilly wrote: »

...Did you know, 0f the previous 8240 posts up until mine, only 341 have been repeated, and only 73 of these have been repeated 3 or more times...There have been just under 1100 different posters to this thread, and now one poster more thanks to me...

Do you mean repeated as in the same thing has been posted again without reference to other posts, or just quotes?

If the former then how did you work it out.

Franz Von Peppercorn

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Giant insects filling the niche of mice ?

Top predators and herbivores are large birds ?

Lots of species wiped out when mammals arrived.


Of course like Madagascar all the big birds were killed off around the time humans arrived. Just like lots of large terrestrial animals died when humans arrived elsewhere.

Large animals who just didn’t have time to adapt evolutionary strategy to fear humans or defend against them. It generally took about a millennium in Australia and the Americas for humans to elimate the large beasts.

Mammoths survived with human populations far longer, in fact the juries out on what caused the extinction. Of course mammoths were hunted by Neanderthal and even homo erectus so they probably developed a fear of humans in general over millions of years.

gozunda

Abraham Lincoln (16th President of the United States) at the age of 21 was the unofficial wrestling champion of his county in 1830.  He was an accomplished wrestler and is honored in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater.

There is only one recorded instance of him losing in during his wrestling years which spaned 12 years, according to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (NWHOF)

mikhail

gozunda wrote: »

Abraham Lincoln (16th President of the United States) at the age if 21 was the wrestling champion of his county in 1830.  He was also an accomplished wrestler and is honored in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater.

There is only one recorded instance of him losing in during his wrestling years which spaned 12 years, according to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (NWHOF)

Greco-roman wrestling, rather than the flying circus of WWE, I presume?

Water John

He's got hold of the wrong man.

Fourier

mikhail wrote: »

Greco-roman wrestling, rather than the flying circus of WWE, I presume?

It was confirmed earlier in the thread that he defeated Vince McMahon in a ten hour cage fight using his signature move "The Gettysburg Compress".

py2006

The cast of Friends make $20 million a year from syndication revenue. The show finished in 2004.

MikeyTaylor

I didn't know this but the rising Australian singer Dean Lewis who sings "It'll Be Alright" is actually in his early 30s! For some reason I thought he was a lot younger.

mzungu

You have more synaptic connections in your brain then there are stars in the Milky Way Galaxy.

Astronomers estimate that there are more than 200 billion stars present in the Milky Way Galaxy. But neuroscientists estimate the number of synaptic connections in the average 3-year-old is close to 1 quadrillion. After that, a refining process occurs, leaving the average adult with about half that many, or roughly 500 trillion synapses.

ohnonotgmail

py2006 wrote: »

The cast of Friends make $20 million a year from syndication revenue. The show finished in 2004.

The show seinfeld has earned more than $3BN in syndication since it finished. Jerry Seinfeld is worth around $900M, practically all of it from the show.