Today I Learned

[Borg]

My problem is that every time I see the word "lawmakers" I read it as "lawn makers" in the split second before my brain recovers and thinks "crap ... did it again!"

That's understandable. Both of them involve the use of a lot of fertilizer.

 

[Hamiltonian]

TIL that a toddlers adult teeth are right bellow their eyes, I can't get that image out of my mind

 

[Oldman too]

TIL, although the title to this looks like a Douglas Adams sequel its really a great piece on high Redshift Quasars.

https://trs.jpl.nasa.gov/bitstream/handle/2014/54549/CL#21-0804.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

 

[jtbell]

Today I learned about the Crayola Experience.

Discover the magic of color with a day of hands-on family fun!

What's next, Play-Doh Park?

 

[Astronuc]

TIL a few things:

A 2013 sniper attack on an electric power substation in Northern California, which caused more than $15 million in damages and destroyed 17 transformers, led Idaho National Laboratory researchers to develop a novel protective solution.

Currently, the U.S. imports about 85% of its high-voltage transformers from other countries. These large, custom-built devices cost $2.5 million to $10 million dollars each. With limited supplies, expensive raw materials and fabrication times of more than a year, the loss of a single piece of equipment could prevent reliable power from being delivered, creating a risk to national security, economic stability and public health.

https://inl.gov/article/armor-techn...-the-power-grid-licensed-by-michigan-company/

 

[kyphysics]

poor dental hygiene can lead to acne

I had 3 - yup 3 - cavities and was recently breaking out in my face. After getting a cleaning and the cavities filled, I'm noticing a cleared up complexion.

The bad bacteria all encrusted/living/multiplying in your mouth from bad dental hygiene can get into your skin tissue as well and lead to breakouts/acne.

My date will thank me for this. Note to self: get dental cleanings more often. This was my first time back since COVID (i.e., it was 2 years since a cleaning).

 

[nsaspook]

The Watermelon War​

 

[Borg]

TIL that Ukraine's postal service announced that it will release a commemorative 'Russian warship, go f#ck yourself' stamp.

https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-to-release-russian-warship-go-fck-yourself-stamp-2022-3

 

[BillTre]

There's a meme for that;

 

[Borg]

Russia has about 11 million people with relatives in Ukraine. Can't wait until letters start showing up in Russia posted with these stamps.

 

[Rive]

Can't wait until letters start showing up in Russia posted with these stamps.

Well, thinking about more collectibles, are you?

 

[Borg]

Well, thinking about more collectibles, are you?

Wow, those are expensive. I scrolled down and finally found one for $10 only to discover that shipping was an additional $170.

 

[jack action]

TIL that in Trading Places, Louis Winthorpe’s (Dan Aykroyd) prison number is the same as Jake Blues’ (John Belushi) prison number in The Blues Brothers as a tribute to Belushi, who had died the year before.

 

[BWV]

Reading 1493, the excellent book on the Columbian Exchange. Natural rubber remains critical for medical and industrial applications. While native to Amazonia, commercial production of rubber trees in the Americas stopped in the 1930s due to a native fungus. Asia today produces most of the world's Rubber in a monoculture that is very susceptible to the blight - a few spores from Brazil crossing the Pacific could lead to a global economic disaster

 

[Hornbein]

Reading 1493, the excellent book on the Columbian Exchange. Natural rubber remains critical for medical and industrial applications. While native to Amazonia, commercial production of rubber trees in the Americas stopped in the 1930s due to a native fungus. Asia today produces most of the world's Rubber in a monoculture that is very susceptible to the blight - a few spores from Brazil crossing the Pacific could lead to a global economic disaster

Blight killed all the banana trees in the Americas in 1900 or so. They recovered by importing bananas from the Cavendish hothouse in the UK. Yep, the same gravitational constant Cavendish family. They are "dwarf bananas" because the tree is smaller even though Cavendish bananas are giant.

Cavendish are my fave bananas even though they don't have much flavor. I don't like the taste of the original bananas, so bland is better.

 

[jack action]

I'm officially quitting on human nature:

https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/toyota-considers-ev-with-simulated-manual.html​

How it would work​

Toyota's stick-shift EV would feature a pair of driving modes, one with a "traditional" shiftless EV driving experience and another utilizing a physical clutch pedal and shifter. The patents describe tactile feedback in each element, down to vibrations in the clutch pedal when it's "slipping" as the clutch pedal is released. Toyota's team noted that in the "manual" driving mode, the power output would be modulated to mimic an internal-combustion engine. The documents describe this as an effort to address the concerns of drivers who want the "driving feel" a manual transmission offers.

What a waste of time, energy, and resources when there are so many more important problems to solve.

 

[Oldman too]

I'm officially quitting on human nature:

https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/toyota-considers-ev-with-simulated-manual.html​

What a waste of time, energy, and resources when there are so many more important problems to solve.

I'm curious how well the "tactile feedback" will simulate a hard launch when the "Clutch is dropped".
Wait, never mind, I'll stick with a real manual. (TY )

 

[fresh_42]

There is nothing worse than an automatic in a mountain landscape, or on snow.

 

[Oldman too]

There is nothing worse than an automatic in a mountain landscape, or on snow.

I can't find an exception to that statement.

 

[BWV]

I'm officially quitting on human nature:

https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/toyota-considers-ev-with-simulated-manual.html​

What a waste of time, energy, and resources when there are so many more important problems to solve.

Reminds me one prototype of the Model T which featured a 6" gap in the windshield. This allowed the driver to crack specially made whip on the hood. A pressure plate attached to the throttle would then make the car speed up by a small amount

 

[DaveE]

I'm curious how well the "tactical feedback" will simulate a hard launch when the "Clutch is dropped".
Wait, never mind, I'll stick with a real manual.

Yea, I wonder if it will just turn off if you "stall" the engine and make you push the on button again? You know, like a real 20th century car.

Maybe they should just give you one of these to entertain yourself after you tell it "take me to the airport".

 

[pinball1970]

They switching the LHC on again?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61149387

nothing on CERN site

 

[Oldman too]

It seems they have begun the restart, I guess it's not just flipping a switch. I read that dark matter is a priority in the upcoming runs.
https://home.cern/news/news/cern/gradual-and-safe-restart-plan-cerns-site-activities
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/22/world/hadron-collider-relaunch-scli-intl-scn/index.html

 

[strangerep]

I read that dark matter is a priority in the upcoming [LHC] runs.

I wish I could place a substantial bet that they don't find any (dark matter).

 

[Oldman too]

I wish I could place a substantial bet that they don't find any (dark matter).

I checked with the Vegas bookies, nobodies giving odds yet. If you find someone to take that substantial bet, I'd like a piece of the action.

 

[Tom.G]

I wish I could place a substantial bet that they don't find any (dark matter).

Try the folks in Las Vegas, word is that you can find Someone to take any bet.

If that doesn't work there is always Macau.

Last resort, your local bookie.

 

[Hornbein]

That BBC report is dripping with hype. Well if that's what you got to do then that's what you do.

 

[mfb]

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/lhc-starts-up-in-2022.1014564/

 

[strangerep]

Try the folks in Las Vegas, word is that you can find Someone to take any bet.

Finding someone to take the bet is probably easy. Finding someone who will also pay up when they lose is trickier. (Weaseling out, or murdering you if you're too insistent about it.)

 

[pinball1970]

That BBC report is dripping with hype. Well if that's what you got to do then that's what you do.

Even the Guardian has jumped on the bandwagon.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/apr/21/large-hadron-collider-restart-fifth-force-nature

 

[pinball1970]

I wish I could place a substantial bet that they don't find any (dark matter).

I could not find anything on CERN site it was not meant as a joke. If you click news there was something about Brazil!
Anyway it is going ahead so we have Webb AND the LHC looking at the very large and the very small this year which is exciting.

 

[pinball1970]

That BBC report is dripping with hype. Well if that's what you got to do then that's what you do.

Yeah they gave it 4 minutes!

 

[fresh_42]

TIL that our major brand of tampons was a German invention (1947) made by an engineer and a lawyer. I couldn't find any information on whether they have been the first ones globally, or just here.

 

[Ibix]

TIL that pride does not go before a fall. It goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).

 

[BillTre]

Happy DNA day!

On the day, April 25, in 1953 (the year I was born!), an article describing the structure of DNA was published in Nature (the journal).

Revel in the greater awareness that has come from this discovery.