You learn something new everyday.

iamstop

Loafing Oaf wrote: »

Anyway, my learning: Friday the 13th is regarded as an unlucky date as that was the date on which the king of France swooped on the Knights Templar.

I heard it was because there were 13 people at the last supper. Jesus plus his eleven mates and a traitor.

We all know a bit about radiocarbon dating. The historians use it to date biological items of interest. Usually something has to be at least a few thousand years old for this method to have any use.

Well I just learned that the huge amount of testing of nuclear weapons last century created a huge spike in the normal atmospheric levels of C14 and now people are using this blip to date things from fake paintings to fat cells.

Seems like they call it Bomb Carbon.

https://www.radiocarbon.com/carbon-dating-bomb-carbon.htm - Quick version

http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/unexpected-lessons-learned-mid-century-atomic-bomb-explosions/ - Longer version

the purple tin

The reason they came up with the transporter on Star Trek was so they would never have to show the Enterprise landing on planets. They didn't have a massive budget and they thought that would cost too much with building props and what have you.

Kylta

Loafing Oaf wrote: »

So why did it become okay for Britain to fall in line with the rest of the world in 1990, I wonder? Was 'knickers' no longer a dirty word?

Anyway, my learning: Friday the 13th is regarded as an unlucky date as that was the date on which the king of France swooped on the Knights Templar.

Has it also got something.to do with the day the day grandmasters arse got barbecued

the purple tin

Britain finally paid off its war debt to the US and Canada in 2006.
They started paying yearly instalments in 1950.
The lenders almost doubled their money with the interest.

Capt'n Midnight

the purple tin wrote: »

Britain finally paid off its war debt to the US and Canada in 2006.
They started paying yearly instalments in 1950.
The lenders almost doubled their money with the interest.

In 1949 Sterling dropped from from $4.02 to $2.80, triggered by one of the terms of the loan with a corresponding increase in the amount of Sterling needed to pay back the loan.

iamstop

Apparently the origins of the modern chainsaw come from medical devises!

The origins of the modern chainsaw are debated. The first chainsaw was designed by German orthopaedist Bernhard Heine in 1830. He called it the osteotome, from the Greek osteo (bone) and tome or tomi (cut); literally, the bonecutter.

This chainsaw, as well as many that followed, were used for medical purposes. They resembled the modern chainsaw in design but were smaller and required manual turning of a handle to move the blade that carried the cutting teeth.

https://www.husqvarna.com/au/forest/product-focus/history-of-the-chainsaw-celebrating-60-years

the purple tin

the purple tin wrote: »

Britain finally paid off its war debt to the US and Canada in 2006.
They started paying yearly instalments in 1950.
The lenders almost doubled their money with the interest.

50 years to double your money means the APR was just 1.4%. Cheap enough loan for a country wrecked economically to the point where the IMF were in.

the purple tin

Deleted User wrote: »

50 years to double your money means the APR was just 1.4%. Cheap enough loan for a country wrecked economically to the point where the IMF were in.

They were supposed to pay it off in 50 annual instalments but there were 6 years were they couldn't pay. They were penalised extra for that.
$4.3 billion the US loan, huge money in the 40s.

Kylta

I've learnt contrary to popular belief I'm not insane

iamstop

Kylta wrote: »

I've learnt contrary to popular belief I'm not insane

Source?

Kylta

iamstop wrote: »

Source?

Why me of course

the purple tin

Flea from RHCP was in Back To The Future 2 and 3.
He played Needles.

iamstop

the purple tin wrote: »

Flea from RHCP was in Back To The Future 2 and 3.
He played Needles.

George Clinton produced their album Freaky Styley

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

Loafing Oaf

The Great Barrington Declaration gets its name from the town of Great Barrington where it was drafted. When I first heard of it I thought "The rest of us will be the judges of how 'great' you are, thank you very much."

iamstop

Slime molds have memory!

https://www.popsci.com/story/science/slime-mold-scientist-video/

topper75

iamstop wrote: »

Slime molds have memory!

https://www.popsci.com/story/science/slime-mold-scientist-video/

I learned that a while back but it is no easier to process today. Absolutely nuts altogether.

iamstop

topper75 wrote: »

I learned that a while back but it is no easier to process today. Absolutely nuts altogether.

I knew they could work out complex route to find food resources etc but the memory part was new to me. Mad altogether. Makes you wonder how bizarre alien life could be.

Kylta

Kylta wrote: »

I learn that your still struggling with the bomb making kit you got for last christmas, I think they change the parts on you. Keep trying you'll eventually get there.

Might be a good time to rewatch the start of lethal weapon 3

Graces7

topper75 wrote: »

I thought it was to do with a blowout before giving up meat for Lenten period to come? Wikipedia seems to think so too.

The two are totally compatible! In fact they are complimentary" Biggest excuse/reason there was for a carnival. NB also.. Lent is at the time when before fridges etc meat was no longer really available, and eggs and milk ie butter were also at their lowest seasonal ebb.

When I lived self sufficiency that was a great factor in diet.

sbsquarepants

iamstop wrote: »

Slime molds have memory!

https://www.popsci.com/story/science/slime-mold-scientist-video/

They also have 700 odd sexes, which seems a lot until you hear that some fungi have over 30,000!

iamstop

There is a place in North Labrador called Dildo. And it is home to Dildo Brewing Company!

https://canoe.com/life/food/dildo-brewery-dodges-raunchy-beer-names

Rows Grower

iamstop wrote: »

There is a place in North Labrador called Dildo. And it is home to Dildo Brewing Company!

https://canoe.com/life/food/dildo-brewery-dodges-raunchy-beer-names

There's a place in Donegal called Muff, and it's home to the Muff Liquor company.

iamstop

Rows Grower wrote: »

There's a place in Donegal called Muff, and it's home to the Muff Liquor company.

Haha, that's genius. I'd heard of the diving club there but this is next level.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

The most northern point in Brazil is closer to every other country in the Americas (Including Canada, Chile and Argentina) than it is to the most southern point.

Loafing Oaf

I learned that 20/20 vision just means normal vision. You can make out from 20 feet what the average person can make out from 20 feet. Saying should really be "hindsight is 20/10 vision"...

iamstop

Dublin has very nearly the same latitude as Edmonton in Canada.

Edmonton averages -16C in Jan where as in Dublin the average is +2C.

You can thank the gulf stream for that.

sbsquarepants

I read somewhere before that Dublin is further north than any point in the 48 contiguous US states.


It's one of those things i meant to actually fact check...but then i thought, why would an internet stranger lie to me, so i didn't!:D

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

sbsquarepants wrote: »

I read somewhere before that Dublin is further north than any point in the 48 contiguous US states.


It's one of those things i meant to actually fact check...but then i thought, why would an internet stranger lie to me, so i didn't!:D

That's definitely true. Ireland is further north than the places where the vast majority of Canadians live.

iamstop

Every time I'd see DCIM on my phone I kinda wondered what it stood for. Until now.

I looked it up. Pretty obvious now but it stand for

'Digital Camera IMage'.

You're welcome.

In 1940, Britain offered a United Ireland if we joined World War II.