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Child Item

I bet you didnt know that

Cartouche

As people here work in various jobs / professions they might know things from work or study no one here knows yet. this is what this topic is about.

what do you know that we have never heard of?

Eg: you don't need to be great at maths to be an architect

this is obvious to me but everyone says to me "i wanted to be an architect but i was bad at math,i can barely add"

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Permabear

This post has been deleted.

IvyTheTerrible

By the by, if you are interested in words and the English language, The Allusionist is an engaging short podcast on the subject.

sunny2004

Fourier wrote: »

Roughly 7% of the human genetic code is made up of viruses that managed to successfully bond with our DNA and are now permanently part of us.

That explains some of the people I know

Fourier

Roughly 7% of the human genetic code is made up of viruses that managed to successfully bond with our DNA and are now permanently part of us.

IvyTheTerrible

Candie wrote: »

But I really wanted it to be true

Between drag and Japanese Jesus, I should probably start a thread about interesting things that aren't true and confine myself to that!

Oh I know, so did I, it's more interesting!
Your facts are great 99% of the time!

[Deleted User]

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Most of "some old word is actually an acronym" are apocryphal and have no basis is etymological history, so take them with a pinch of salt.

cdeb wrote: »

Yep. Wiki says the term "drag" appeared in print "as early as 1870", which means it's highly unlikely to be Shakespearean, given that was 250+ years earlier

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_(clothing)

But I really wanted it to be true

Between drag and Japanese Jesus, I should probably start a thread about interesting things that aren't true and confine myself to that!

Capt'n Midnight

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Most of "some old word is actually an acronym" are apocryphal and have no basis is etymological history, so take them with a pinch of salt.

Backronym stands for ...

Capt'n Midnight

Acronyms for their own sake can be scary

Look at the BRICKS countries
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/archive/building-better.html
There was an influential report and later on the countries formed a group.

Nigeria should have been included but the N didn't fit the acronym.
So missed out on lots of investment and news items

But hey, catchy name.

New Home

According to etymonline.com,

"drag (n.)
c. 1300, "dragnet," perhaps from a Scandinavian source (compare Swedish dragg "grapnel") or from Old English dræge "dragnet," related to dragan "to draw" (see drag (v.)).

Sense of "annoying, boring person or thing" is 1813, perhaps from the notion of something that must be dragged as an impediment. Sense of "women's clothing worn by a man" is said to be 1870 theater slang, from the sensation of long skirts trailing on the floor (another guess is Yiddish trogn "to wear," from German tragen); drag queen is from 1941"

I preferred the Shakespearian theory, though.

cdeb

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Most of "some old word is actually an acronym" are apocryphal and have no basis is etymological history, so take them with a pinch of salt.

Yep. Wiki says the term "drag" appeared in print "as early as 1870", which means it's highly unlikely to be Shakespearean, given that was 250+ years earlier

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_(clothing)

Greybottle

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Most of "some old word is actually an acronym" are apocryphal and have no basis is etymological history, so take them with a pinch of salt.

Which reminds me that salt comes from the very very old acronym for 'Stuff Adds Lotsa Taste'. *

*May or may not be true.

IvyTheTerrible

Candie wrote: »

A friend told me earlier that the word drag - as in drag artist - comes from Shakespearian direction, when the leading lady would be played by a boy or young man since acting was considered a rather racy profession for a young lady to enter, little better than prostitution.

The chap would be given his lines and the direction to be dressed as a girl - or in drag.

It's probably only news to me, but I'm surprised it's not something that was mentioned by any English teacher I had over the years.

Most of "some old word is actually an acronym" are apocryphal and have no basis is etymological history, so take them with a pinch of salt.

server down

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Actually thinking about it , the Ice Age would have ended at the point where the ice stopped increasing. Which would have been when sun light started warming it.

So the ice age ended at 4:21 am on July the 19th 9,704 BC

I bet you didn’t know that the last ice age hasn’t in fact ended.

Mountainsandh

Lorelli! wrote: »

Carol Hersee or BBC Test Card girl is the most aired face in British television history appearing for several hours a day every day for over 30 years.

Speaking of which, the China girls were the ladies who posed for the first frames of a film reel. Their image would be used by the lab technician to calibrate colours when developing the film.
Because they weren't intended to be seen by the public, some of these ladies look grumpy, they're not really posing as for a magazine shoot. They often wear bright colours (sometimes the same outfit with Kodak) or pose beside colours. Some are familiar faces (ie actresses), some are unknown.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-forgotten-china-girls-hidden-at-the-beginning-of-old-films

Just the video if you don't have time for the article. https://youtu.be/-nVBDX3P5TY

foxy farmer

A pair of binoculars can be used as a primitive microscope by reversing it and looking through one objective lens (the big one) and getting the item to be viewed close to the eyepiece lens. The field of view is small but the detail can be amazing. Better than a magnifying glass.

Capt'n Midnight

Back in the day the tax on alcohol made drink very expensive.

So people took to imbibing ether instead.

Also as this wasn't alcohol you weren't breaking the pledge.

And it didn't give you hangovers.

Trick one was to burp ASAP. You see ether boils at a very low temperature and the pressure builds up something fierce in the warmth of your stomach.

Trick two was not to burp facing an open flame. :eek:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-compass-pleasure/201106/the-irish-ether-drinking-craze-0
https://www.herald.ie/entertainment/drink-the-rise-and-fall-of-ether-27890549.html

Capt'n Midnight

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

"Then finally 11,703 years before 2000 AD the climate flipped back into a warmer mode where it has remained ever since."

Personally I like to imagine it would have ended during the warmest part of the day.

So the ice age ended some time around 3pm on July the 19th 9,704 BC

No Dougal, they can't be that precise about the ice age!

Actually thinking about it , the Ice Age would have ended at the point where the ice stopped increasing. Which would have been when sun light started warming it.

So the ice age ended at 4:21 am on July the 19th 9,704 BC

368100

sbsquarepants wrote: »

He was a handsome divil alright.

But I always did have a thing for redheads, and hooky noses strangely enough - not a full on gonzo now, just a slight sexy one, you know like Gillian Anderson or Alf:D:D

Alf and gillian......sure they could be brother and sister :-)

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Candie wrote: »

A friend told me earlier that the word drag - as in drag artist - comes from Shakespearian direction, when the leading lady would be played by a boy or young man since acting was considered a rather racy profession for a young lady to enter, little better than prostitution.

The chap would be given his lines and the direction to be dressed as a girl - or in drag.

It's probably only news to me, but I'm surprised it's not something that was mentioned by any English teacher I had over the years.

The actual stage instruction was 'Dressed Resembling A Girl' which is closer the mark.

Lorelli!

Bandana boy wrote: »

the cast of friends must have well passed that record out by now its always feckin on

maybe they're in with a shout!

70,000 hours so almost 8 full years

[Deleted User]

A friend told me earlier that the word drag - as in drag artist - comes from Shakespearian direction, when the leading lady would be played by a boy or young man since acting was considered a rather racy profession for a young lady to enter, little better than prostitution.

The chap would be given his lines and the direction to be dressed as a girl - or in drag.

It's probably only news to me, but I'm surprised it's not something that was mentioned by any English teacher I had over the years.

Bandana boy

Lorelli! wrote: »

Carol Hersee or BBC Test Card girl is the most aired face in British television history appearing for several hours a day every day for over 30 years.

https://www.google.ie/search?client=ms-android-h3g-ie&biw=320&bih=222&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=Dg0PWseUGaSOgAbx5LbAAQ&q=carole+hersee&oq=carol+hersee&gs_l=mobile-gws-img.1.0.0i13k1l4.6033.7737.0.8784.5.5.0.0.0.0.192.740.1j4.5.0....0...1.1j4.64.mobile-gws-img..0.4.647...41j0i24k1j0i8i30k1j0i10i24k1.0.qMasBukk-78#imgrc=lvgJqvyiV1g1qM:

the cast of friends must have well passed that record out by now its always feckin on

Fourier

fergiesfolly wrote: »

Lads, read the first few pages of this thread.
That's the kind of interesting fact we're looking for.
The last few pages here reminds me of the time I tried to read Ulysses. Me heads melting.
Maybe a new thread for all the space/time stuff.

For those interested, ye could open a thread in Physics and Chemistry and I'd be happy to continue.
Cheers.

sbsquarepants

368100 wrote: »

I'm not as good looking as him

He was a handsome divil alright.

But I always did have a thing for redheads, and hooky noses strangely enough - not a full on gonzo now, just a slight sexy one, you know like Gillian Anderson or Alf:D:D

Lorelli!

Carol Hersee or BBC Test Card girl is the most aired face in British television history appearing for several hours a day every day for over 30 years.

https://www.google.ie/search?client=ms-android-h3g-ie&biw=320&bih=222&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=Dg0PWseUGaSOgAbx5LbAAQ&q=carole+hersee&oq=carol+hersee&gs_l=mobile-gws-img.1.0.0i13k1l4.6033.7737.0.8784.5.5.0.0.0.0.192.740.1j4.5.0....0...1.1j4.64.mobile-gws-img..0.4.647...41j0i24k1j0i8i30k1j0i10i24k1.0.qMasBukk-78#imgrc=lvgJqvyiV1g1qM:

368100

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Are you the real ALF?:D

I used to love your show!

I'm not as good looking as him

sbsquarepants

368100 wrote: »

I'm a Ginge .....

Are you the real ALF?:D

I used to love your show!

Junkyard Tom

A fully equipped spacesuit is really a one-person spacecraft.

www.nasa.gov

New Home

The word "CLUE" goes back to the 1590s. It was a spelling variant of "clew", i.e. "a ball of thread or yarn", which made reference to the one Ariadne gave Theseus to use as a guide out of the Labyrinth in Knossos.

Mountainsandh

On this topic, I remember reading about some spacesuits found in a second hand shop.
Found the story there https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/spacesuits-thrift-store