I bet you didn't know that this thread would have a part 2

Capt'n Midnight

Wibbs wrote: »

The moon dust was a bit of a problem. It's very fine and it got everywhere and caused some astronauts lung irritation.

Mars would be the same. It's further from the Sun so even at equator on a clear day it would be dull. In a dust storm it would be quite dark.

Seasonal affective disorder would be a thing.

New Home

And you'd need a larger can of WD40, anyway.

Vita nova

Espresso coffee is not related to the term express as in fast but rather to the Italian for pressed-out coffee. Hot water is forced under high pressure through ground coffee beans to produce an espresso.

Although in English, express is sometimes used to mean press out, I always assumed it was related to fast.

sbsquarepants

Ipso wrote: »

Likewise shellfish is considerd an abomination, desert regions back in the day weren’t known for their refrigeration.

Surprisingly enough, refrigeration was a thing as far back as 2,500 years ago in Persia. They built these huge mud construction conical towers called Yakchals, connected up to under ground aquafers.
Their shape funnelled air downwards over the walls of the tower and as it descended it was chilled by the evaporation of the water from the mud, it eventually pooled in an underground store (some of which were quite enormous - think 5000 cubic metres) resulting in temperatures inside being comparable to a modern day fridge, even in the height of the Persian summer. Year round ice was even possible in some cases.
Some of the structures are still standing after hundreds of years. In fact the word Yakchal today just means fridge in that part of the world kind of like hoover means vacuum cleaner here.

New Home

That looks a bit like the base of the Tower of Babel.

Meanwhile, in present-day Iran it's legal to sell your kidney. The walls of the streets around the hospitals are graffiti'd with the blood types and telephone numbers of people willing to sell a kidney to escape crushing poverty. There is a thriving market in the organs of children (mainly girls) sold in private transactions by their own parents.

The government hails the success of the Organ Gifting Act and credits it with eradicating the waiting list within two years of its passing in 1997. The government offers incentives to 'donate' including the equivalent of about $1,000 and a years free medical insurance that's limited to issues arising from the surgery, and the donors family is expected to either stump up a similar amount or more, or one of the transplant 'charities' will make a further 'donation' on their behalf. The charities sometimes act as brokers for people looking to buy or sell. The sky is the limit when it comes to private transactions for the wealthy, and the vast population of poor people who's desperation is ripe for exploitation.

Unsurprisingly, the WHO and Amnesty Int are vehemently opposed to the practice of incentivized donating, pointing to the many abuses of a system that already exploits desperately poor people simply by working as it's intended to.

Capt'n Midnight

New Home wrote: »

That looks a bit like the base of the Tower of Babel.

More like the bottle tower or the wonderful barn.

368100

Vita nova wrote: »

Espresso coffee is not related to the term express as in fast but rather to the Italian for pressed-out coffee. Hot water is forced under high pressure through ground coffee beans to produce an espresso.

Although in English, express is sometimes used to mean press out, I always assumed it was related to fast.

Expressing milk?

Vita nova

368100 wrote: »

Expressing milk?

Indeed, that's espresso for babies.

New Home

Chancer3001

Surely that above cant be real

Realt Dearg Sec

Chancer3001 wrote: »

Surely that above cant be real

The image shows up with sources on this page. I'll leave others to decide its reliability.

https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh25-4/299-306.htm

New Home

The last one looks like a rendition of an MRI, or a PET, or something like that, but yes, it does become as shrunk as that, unfortunately.

Alzheimer's:
https://www.google.com/search?q=alzheimer%27s+brain&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj8hNrj67bgAhUSzqQKHXhrBNMQ_AUIDigB&biw=1366&bih=645


Alcoholism:
At different stages:

Other images:

mzungu

In 1784 Great Britain imposed a tax on bricks to pay for the war in America. The increased change posed problems for cash strapped manufacturers and house buyers alike. To mitigate this, manufacturers made larger bricks as a way to curb the worst excesses of the tax tax. One outcomes of this is that buildings can be dated based on the brick size.

Bricks after 1784 tax:


Bricks now:

pleas advice

Candie wrote: »

When my Russian friend talked about using WD40, I thought it was some kind of supplement.

Like T-3 oil

New Home

In 1995 Dolly Parton started a charity called "The Imagination Library" in memory of her father. The purpose of this charity is to post books to children from birth to five years of age, in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland and Australia, completely free of charge. Each child gets one book a month.

https://imaginationlibrary.com/

As of the last count, the number of books donated amounted to 115,144,128.

Inspired by her father’s inability to read and write Dolly started her Imagination Library in 1995 for the children within her home county. Today, her program spans four countries and mails over 1 million free books each month to children around the world.

“When I was growing up in the hills of East Tennessee, I knew my dreams would come true. I know there are children in your community with their own dreams. They dream of becoming a doctor or an inventor or a minister. Who knows, maybe there is a little girl whose dream is to be a writer and singer.

The seeds of these dreams are often found in books and the seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world.”

In 1995, Dolly Parton launched an exciting new effort, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, to benefit the children of her home county in East Tennessee, USA. Dolly’s vision was to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families by providing them with the gift of a specially selected book each month.

LostinBlanch

Fair play to her for that. She certainly hasn’t forgotten where she comes from and helps people out.

She also owns Dollywood, a theme park resort which is one of the largest employers in Tennessee.

Still not a huge fan of her music though.

sunnysoutheast

On phone so didn't want to quote pictures but are those pictures of the brains from "open a second bottle of wine on Friday evening" alcoholics or "drink Meths under a bridge" alcoholics?

New Home

I think they are from "One more sip and you're dead. Oops, you're dead" alcoholics.

Ipso

Might also explain the complete and utter scutter you hear from local pub "regulars".

Carry

Ipso wrote: »

Might also explain the complete and utter scutter you hear from local pub "regulars".

Well, we all talk more or less shíte when drunk. It's not for nothing called "uninhibited". But that doesn't mean that the brain is shrinking yet. It's just temporary, normally at least.

The problem is that the brain not only shrinks from the age of 25 (though only marginally in normal circumstances) but it shrinks in fearsome speed when you are an alcoholic or another drug abuser. Or have Alzheimers.

It's called cerebral atrophy. I don't have the science at hand right now but I do know alcoholics and even recovering alcoholics who are decidedly out of it, meaning their brains function less and less. Previously intelligent people slowly turn into unreliable idiots who only repeat what they can remember from previous behaviour or regress into simple world views.

It's frightening and brings it home when you look at the pictures New Home posted.

GrumpyMe

LostinBlanch wrote: »

Fair play to her for that. She certainly hasn’t forgotten where she comes from and helps people out.

She also owns Dollywood, a theme park resort which is one of the largest employers in Tennessee.

Still not a huge fan of her music though.

That makes another two things she has going for her!:o

New Home

GrumpyMe wrote: »

That makes another two things she has going for her!:o

Besides her voice and her acting skills, right?

GrumpyMe

On Dec 26, 1882 patent# 269766 was taken out by J A Williams for an "animal trap". Recommended for burrowing animals it was also recommended for use in connection with doors and windows...
More like "booby trap"!

Capt'n Midnight

"Well ya see, Norm, it's like this... A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members.

"In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first.

In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers."

McMurphy

A dog extracts more information from smelling a pile of excrement than a human does from reading the Irish independent.

New Home

Johnny Dogs wrote: »

A dog extracts more information from smelling a pile of excrement than a human does from reading the Irish independent.

Interesting point, considering your username.

mzungu

You might have heard the story that Van Halen stipulated in their performance contracts that a bowl of M&M's, with all of the brown M&M's removed, was to be placed in their dressing room. This is, in fact, 100% true. But there was method to their madness. It was meant to be a test to see if more important safety and quality specifications were attended to as well.

Carry

The chemistry of love:

When freshly in love, people usually aren’t hungry much, hardly eat and lose weight. The reason ist the hormone phenylethylamine that’s being released when two people get together romantically (it leads to concentration disorders, as well). The loss of appetite doesn’t last long, though. When they are happily settled they gain weight. In longer relationships happy partners weigh on average more than singles, in harmonious partnerships more than in troubled partnerships.

During the loved-up phase the body is furthermore regulated by the hormones testosterone and estrogen. These are, together with adrenaline, mainly released under stress situations which influence the gastro-intestinal-tract. Amorous couples know this as having “butterflies in the tummy” (and no appetite).

For falling in love in the first place, we can blame the neurotransmitter dopamine which creates a condition also know as “delusional disorder”, meaning loved-up couples are love-blind, seeing the partner as perfect and beautiful (beer contains an ingredient, hordenin, that has the same effect as dopamin - just saying).
This however lasts only on average for 6 weeks until the often bitter awakening.

Endorphine is another neurotransmitter that creates a sense of happiness, similar to dopamine. Amorous couples are so happy that they are enough for each other and hence neglect their previous friends. When they get physical all the time, not only in bed, but touch each other, walking hand in hand and the like, oxytocin is activated, the famous hormone that creates bonding. Keeping a distance or living apart is hence no good idea if you want a lasting relationship.

The instant chemistry (attraction) between two people is just that. It’s all about the genes that create immunity against illnesses. Molecules on the surface on cells emanate a certain scent that is identified as body odour.
Every human has their own specific natural scent, so when two people meet they usually “smell” if they are compatible or not (supposedly even when doused in perfume).
Studies show that the more different the genetic setups are, the better they match. Complete strangers match better than relatives or otherweise very similar genetic setups. Their offspring is on average more intelligent and healthier (the mongrel effect).

But there is apparantly a kind of optimum in strangeness. Too much diversity (in immunity genes) between two sexual partners could create autoaggressive t-cells which could lead to autoimmune deseases.

If you are not in love you can easily get happy hormones by i. e. running (releases endorphines), have a leisurely walk during daylight (releases serotonines), give all the people you like hugs (releases oxytocin; alternatively oxytocin is available as medication), have a laugh and a good gossip (endorphines), eat lots of dark chocolate (serotonines; my favourite) or food with chillis and black pepper (serotonines) and porridge and bananas (serotonines).
With these alternatives who needs love anyway?

While I appreciate the information, I know of another explanation for the whole love thing that I much prefer.

Magic.