I bet you didnt know that

KevRossi · 15-11-2018 6:11pm

And Zablon Simitov is the last Jew in Afghanistan. Some excellent articles on him online about he tries to survive there.

He was arrested, robbed, beaten and tortured by the Taliban but later had to use them to mediate in a dispute with the 2nd last Jew in Afghanistan.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zablon_Simintov

https://www.thejewniverse.com/2017/this-man-is-afghanistan-last-jew/

Loads more stuff about him online, including his failed Kebab business and the play that was written about him. Meeting him was on my 'to-do' list when I had planned to go there a couple of years ago.

SimonTemplar · 15-11-2018 11:22pm

That Camp Fire that's burning in California at the moment is so big that if it was burning in Dublin, it would cover from Swords to Dundrum , and from the coast to Celbridge.

mzungu · 16-11-2018 12:35am

The Romans used pigs as a weapon during warfare (appearing about 240BC). War pigs are pigs reported to have been used mostly as a countermeasure against war elephants.

Pigs were useful as a tool of war because of their ability to terrify elephants. The concept was to cover the pig in tar and a flammable substance and, when lured close enough to the advancing or defending enemy the pigs would then be lit on fire.

Pliny the Elder wrote that “elephants are scared by the smallest squeal of the hog,” nd this is backed up Aelian, who confirms that in 275 BC the Romans exploited squealing pigs as a counter-measure against the war elephants of Pyrrhus. The hope was that pigs would run uncontrollably into the ranks of the opposing force, causing a certain level of confusion.

Incendiary pigs or flaming pigs were not used as a military weapon only by the Romans. Historical accounts of incendiary pigs were recorded by the military writer Polyaenus and by Aelian. Both writers reported that Antigonus II Gonatas siege of Megara in 266 BC was broken when the Megarians doused some pigs with a combustible pitch, crude oil or resin, set them alight, and drove them towards the enemy’s massed war elephants. The elephants bolted in terror from the flaming, squealing pigs, often killing great numbers of their own soldiers by trampling them to death.

It is thought that this was overcome by elephant trainers raised the young with pigs so as to neutralise their use in battle.

Fourier · 16-11-2018 12:44am

Hector Savage wrote: »

@Fourier great posts!!!

No problem, I emailed somebody involved in the Cheshire Cat experiments, he sent this back, I think it's a nice way of thinking of it, the [] are just to reflect that I edited it to make it flow:

[it's like] tossing a bowling ball into your apartment and hearing the man next door shout in pain

mikhail · 16-11-2018 12:53am

mzungu wrote: »

The Romans used pigs as a weapon during warfare (appearing about 240BC).

That reminds me of the old story of the dogs the Russians strapped bombs to and trained to run under tanks. The story goes that the experiment ended when they realised they'd trained the dogs to run under Russian tanks, which smelt of diesel rather than petrol like the German tanks.

The details here are as funny as they are sad: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-tank_dog#Deployment_by_the_Soviet_Union

Evade · 16-11-2018 2:11am

That's nothing the Americans tried to train pigeons to be kamikaze pilots.

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

Gwildor · 16-11-2018 3:17am

Electric/ electron (elektron) is the old Greek word for Amber. (fossilised tree sap)

Also, the word 'canter', as in, to move at a canter, is actually short for Canterbury Trot.

I like words.

valoren · 16-11-2018 9:48am

We've all watched the WW2 documentaries using footage and audio of Hitler the orator, either making zealous speeches at rallies or making commands in his capacity as Fuhrer.

Have you ever heard Hitler speak normally? I came across a youtube clip of him speaking with Finnish Statesman Carl Mannerheim privately and off-guard regarding Russian tank production numbers. The documentaries convey footage of Hitler as the "ein reich, ein volk, ein fuhrer" dictator but listening to audio which humanizes him as just a man is actually far more unsettling. As one comment states "He sounds just like me. A Bavarian/Austrian hiding his accent"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLkADpdKL0k

ohnonotgmail · 16-11-2018 10:15am

mzungu wrote: »

The Romans used pigs as a weapon during warfare (appearing about 240BC). War pigs are pigs reported to have been used mostly as a countermeasure against war elephants.

Pigs were useful as a tool of war because of their ability to terrify elephants. The concept was to cover the pig in tar and a flammable substance and, when lured close enough to the advancing or defending enemy the pigs would then be lit on fire.

Pliny the Elder wrote that “elephants are scared by the smallest squeal of the hog,” nd this is backed up Aelian, who confirms that in 275 BC the Romans exploited squealing pigs as a counter-measure against the war elephants of Pyrrhus. The hope was that pigs would run uncontrollably into the ranks of the opposing force, causing a certain level of confusion.

Incendiary pigs or flaming pigs were not used as a military weapon only by the Romans. Historical accounts of incendiary pigs were recorded by the military writer Polyaenus and by Aelian. Both writers reported that Antigonus II Gonatas siege of Megara in 266 BC was broken when the Megarians doused some pigs with a combustible pitch, crude oil or resin, set them alight, and drove them towards the enemy’s massed war elephants. The elephants bolted in terror from the flaming, squealing pigs, often killing great numbers of their own soldiers by trampling them to death.

It is thought that this was overcome by elephant trainers raised the young with pigs so as to neutralise their use in battle.

I'd said the battlefield smelled lovely afterwards.

reap-a-rat · 16-11-2018 2:10pm

valoren wrote: »

We've all watched the WW2 documentaries using footage and audio of Hitler the orator, either making zealous speeches at rallies or making commands in his capacity as Fuhrer.

Have you ever heard Hitler speak normally? I came across a youtube clip of him speaking with Finnish Statesman Carl Mannerheim privately and off-guard regarding Russian tank production numbers. The documentaries convey footage of Hitler as the "ein reich, ein volk, ein fuhrer" dictator but listening to audio which humanizes him as just a man is actually far more unsettling. As one comment states "He sounds just like me. A Bavarian/Austrian hiding his accent"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLkADpdKL0k

If you've seen Downfall, you will have seen the interview clips with Traudl Junge, who was one of Hitler's secretaries. You can actually see the full interview, Blind Spot is what the DVD is called. I watched it as part of research I did for my extended essay in LC history back in the day and it was absolutely riveting. One of the things that always stuck with me though is how she claims that they (the secretaries or general workers) had no clue of what was going on. They didn't know of all the bad stuff at all. She said, in fact, that Hitler was really nice and actually quite fatherly to her (she would have been pretty young and fresh).

The whole interview is brilliant and it just gives you a different perspective on what life was like for those close to Hitler, who weren't involved in government/army. I thought it was brilliant anyway.

Capt'n Midnight · 16-11-2018 10:05pm

Evade wrote: »

That's nothing the Americans tried to train pigeons to be kamikaze pilots.

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

Blue Peacock was a chicken powered atomic bomb.

It weighed 7 tons.

mzungu · 17-11-2018 12:45am

Holding in sneezes can be bad for you.

According to a recent study, a man in the UK injured himself by holding in a big one by blocking his nose and mouth. This got him two weeks in hospital for his troubles. Doctors saw swelling in his neck and when they examined the soft tissue they heard popping and crackling. These were air bubbles getting into his muscles and deep into his tissue. Scans confirmed the problem. The tests showed actual streaks of air in the retropharyngeal region and extensive surgical emphysema in the neck anterior to the trachea. In other words, by trying to hold in his sneeze, he actually blew a small hole in his throat.

When you sneeze, it's your body's protective reflex to get rid of an irritant that has gotten into your nose. With a sneeze, a significant amount of air pressure builds up in the lungs and forces its way through the nasal cavity to get rid of that irritant. A sneeze can propel mucous droplets at a rate of 100 miles an hour. If you hold a sneeze back, that pressurised air will need to go somewhere. In this case, it injured the tissue in the man's throat. In past cases, doctors have also seen a stifled sneeze cause sinus problems, middle and inner ear damage, ear infections and a ruptured ear drum. It may also lead to pseudomediastinum (air trapped in the chest between both lungs) and even rupture of a cerebral aneurysm (ballooning blood vessel in the brain).

gozunda · 17-11-2018 2:00am

Gwildor wrote: »

Electric/ electron (elektron) is the old Greek word for Amber. (fossilised tree sap)

Also, the word 'canter', as in, to move at a canter, is actually short for Canterbury Trot.
I like words.

In horse riding though the Trot and Canter are two distinct gaits or speeds of movement.

The Trot is a two-beat diagonal gait of the horse where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time with a moment of suspension between each beat. It has a wide variation in possible speeds, but averages about 13 kilometres per hour (8.1 mph). A very slow trot is sometimes referred to as a jog.

The canter is a controlled, three-beat gait that usually is a bit faster than the average trot (but slower than the gallop). The average speed of a canter is 16–27 km/h (10–17 mph), depending on the length of the stride of the horse.

BaZmO* · 17-11-2018 12:11pm

Never understood why people would want to hold in a sneeze. A big loud ATCHOOOO!! is one of life’s little pleasures.

Back on topic of the thread.....the Lithuanian word for Hello is Ačiū, which is pronounced “atchooo”

“You look well”
“Ačiū”
“Bless you”
“Thank you”
“You’re welcome“

dxhound2005 · 17-11-2018 12:51pm

In World War 2 Japan carried out a surprise air attack on Darwin in Australia, dropping more bombs than it did on Pearl Harbour. The number killed was much lower in Darwin, about 250. The Japanese also bombed Australia on about 100 other occasions.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-16/japan-shinzo-abe-darwin-bombing-scott-morrison-prime-minister/10506538

Cleopatra_ · 17-11-2018 12:57pm

I only discovered a few years ago that Germany bombed the Republic of Ireland several times during World War Two. Most of the bombs were around Dublin and one near North Strand killed 28 people. There is still some uncertainty as to why Germany bombed the Republic. Some speculate it was to do with navigational errors as there was a blitz on Belfast around that time. Others suspect it was because DeValera protested to the German government about the Belfast blitz and told them that it was our people they were bombing, so maybe it was a warning to stay out of the war. Others speculate it could have been because Ireland was supplying the UK with cattle and also because Ireland was taking in a lot of refugees from the Belfast blitz. I'm just surprised it's not discussed more. Or maybe it is and I hadn't noticed? In fact I used to live at the KCR in Dublin with my German partner where one of the bombs were dropped!

Edited to say that another reason put forward was because the Republic provided fire and rescue services to Northern Ireland during the Belfast blitz.

VW 1 · 17-11-2018 1:08pm

Cleopatra_ wrote: »

I only discovered a few years ago that Germany bombed the Republic of Ireland several times during World War Two. Most of the bombs were around Dublin and one near North Strand killed 28 people. There is still some uncertainty as to why Germany bombed the Republic. Some speculate it was to do with navigational errors as there was a blitz on Belfast around that time. Others suspect it was because DeValera protested to the German government about the Belfast blitz and told them that it was our people they were bombing, so maybe it was a warning to stay out of the war. Others speculate it could have been because Ireland was supplying the UK with cattle and also because Ireland was taking in a lot of refugees from the Belfast blitz. I'm just surprised it's not discussed more. Or maybe it is and I hadn't noticed? In fact I used to live at the KCR in Dublin with my German partner where one of the bombs were dropped!

Edited to say that another reason put forward was because the Republic provided fire and rescue services to Northern Ireland during the Belfast blitz.

There were also bombs dropped on the town of Campile, Co. Wexford.

Big Nasty · 17-11-2018 3:10pm

Story I heard was when word came through of planes heading their direction in the UK they headed for the bunkers and shut off the lights. Germans flew over the UK and first lit up land they saw was the Irish coast hence bombing in Dublin, Wexford, etc.

Carry · 17-11-2018 3:13pm

Cleopatra_ wrote: »

I only discovered a few years ago that Germany bombed the Republic of Ireland several times during World War Two. Most of the bombs were around Dublin and one near North Strand killed 28 people. There is still some uncertainty as to why Germany bombed the Republic. Some speculate it was to do with navigational errors as there was a blitz on Belfast around that time. Others suspect it was because DeValera protested to the German government about the Belfast blitz and told them that it was our people they were bombing, so maybe it was a warning to stay out of the war. Others speculate it could have been because Ireland was supplying the UK with cattle and also because Ireland was taking in a lot of refugees from the Belfast blitz. I'm just surprised it's not discussed more. Or maybe it is and I hadn't noticed? In fact I used to live at the KCR in Dublin with my German partner where one of the bombs were dropped!

Edited to say that another reason put forward was because the Republic provided fire and rescue services to Northern Ireland during the Belfast blitz.

Historians agree by now that the pilots got it wrong and confused Dublin with Belfast. They were inexperienced and young, and the technical equipment was poor. And they were probably too stupid to know the difference - "somewhere left of England, must be Belfast, oh look, a city with all the lights blazing, let's bomb it" :rolleyes:
Dublin by the way, or any other Irish town and city, didn't bother with a blackout, they thought they were safe.

py2006 · 17-11-2018 6:42pm

Did the Germans ever acknowledge the error or comment at all on the bombings in Ireland?

Cleopatra_ · 17-11-2018 7:31pm

py2006 wrote: »

Did the Germans ever acknowledge the error or comment at all on the bombings in Ireland?

They did and they also paid reparations of about 300,000 pounds.

joeguevara · 17-11-2018 7:31pm

py2006 wrote: »

Did the Germans ever acknowledge the error or comment at all on the bombings in Ireland?

Didn’t they give compensation which ended up being used for the Ballymun towerblocks.

New Home · 17-11-2018 9:35pm

The pinky swear originally meant that whoever broke the promise/pact would get his/her pinky finger cut off.

New Home · 17-11-2018 9:39pm

(The caption read "Well, that descalated quickly!" :pac:)

mzungu · 17-11-2018 10:39pm

Ambrose Everett Burnside was an American soldier and Civil War General. His unique facial hair style led to the term, “sideburns.”

17-11-2018 10:44pm

mzungu wrote: »

Ambrose Everett Burnside was an American soldier and Civil War General. His unique facial hair style led to the term, “sideburns.”

CinemaGuy45 · 17-11-2018 10:45pm

If you could not fart you would actually explode.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 17-11-2018 10:54pm

mzungu wrote: »

Ambrose Everett Burnside was an American soldier and Civil War General. His unique facial hair style led to the term, “sideburns.”

]

He was also the first president of the NRA.

NewbridgeIR · 18-11-2018 1:36pm

Channel 4 launched on 2 November 1982.
In the south east of Ireland, we got S4C instead.
That launched one day beforehand - on 1 November.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa6aQpkyzeY

18-11-2018 3:54pm

One of the most celebrated surgeons and respected scientists of the 1700's, John Hunter, is still celebrated today for his myriad achievements and contributions to science. He was the younger bother of famous anatomist, William Hunter, and both brothers watched as three siblings died from illness in early childhood, leading to their interest in medical science. John Hunter made outstanding contributions to the study of infection and inflammation, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in the later years of his very colorful life.

William Hunter was a respected teacher, and collaborated with many of the top physicians of the time who would refer unusual cases to him for study, and endeavour to persuade the more interesting terminal patients to bequeath their corpses for further study. When John came to study under Williams supervision, they under some suspicion for being involved in the deaths of pregnant women - the main focus of their work at the time, but no proof has ever been found.

John came to London to study medicine, and as well as studying with his brother he began training at Londons Chelsea hospital where he helped supply the hospital with corpses through a network of contacts in the graveyards of London. He joined the army at one point and changed how gunshot wounds were treated by refusing to follow the common practice of the time - wounds would be enlarged to ensure all gunpowder was removed, thus leaving them more open to infection, but Hunters theories of infection were adopted after he insisted wounds were not be dilated and subsequent infection and amputation rates fell.

He also worked with a dentist who was exploring the world of dental implants. Wealthy people were trying out the teeth of the dead which would be placed in their gums after having their own teeth extracted, but with little success. What they did discover was that teeth freshly harvested had a greater chance of 'taking' than those of the long dead,and more so if they were about the right size as the lost tooth. Some of those transplanted teeth lasted years. The same principles have been established to be true of all transplant surgery. His work in the field of sexual infections was less successful. The treatments he expounded were adopted widely and took decades to be established as, at best, useless.

As his fame grew Hunter became rather vain, and stories of his disregard for his patients in the face of his conflicting wishes were well known. Obsessed with a private collection he was amassing in his home, he decided that the nasal polyps of composer Joseph Haydn were worthy of inclusion and invited the composer to visit, and had two heavies tie him to a chair while he tried to steal the polyps. He didn't succeed, but it didn't put him off.

An 'Irish Giant' called Charles O'Brien who came in at over seven and a half feet tall flatly refused to donate his body for study after death and made elaborate plans to prevent Hunter from getting his hands on his corpse, but on hearing of his imminent demise Hunter had him tailed and bribed everyone from the gravedigger to the undertaker to get his way. In the end, the funeral procession was hijacked and O'Briens corpse never even made it to the cemetery. O'Briens bones are still on display in the Hunterian Museum, at the London College of Surgeons. There is a large bust of him on display outside St Georges Hospital, where he served as a house surgeon.

Sadly the two brothers fell out and William died before they reconciled. It's said John never recovered from the loss of his brother.

I bet you didnt know that

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