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4th January 2019, 10:02 AM | #241 |
Penultimate Amazing
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"As long as it is admitted that the law may be diverted from its true purpose -- that it may violate property instead of protecting it -- then everyone will want to participate in making the law, either to protect himself against plunder or to use it for plunder. Political questions will always be prejudicial, dominant, and all-absorbing. There will be fighting at the door of the Legislative Palace, and the struggle within will be no less furious." - Bastiat, The Law |
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4th January 2019, 10:11 AM | #242 |
The Clarity Is Devastating
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If you just drink water with high dissolved mineral content, you can die harder instead.
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"*Except Myriad. Even Cthulhu would give him a pat on the head and an ice cream and send him to the movies while he ended the rest of the world." - Foster Zygote |
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4th January 2019, 10:28 AM | #243 |
Philosopher
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The pedantic nitpick in me wants to point out there are no "scientific facts", because science is a process. There are interesting facts that have been discovered due to that process, but the facts themselves are just facts, not inherently scientific as of themselves.
Then again, the die-hard nerd in me wants to point out that at the altitude the International Space Station orbits, the force of gravity is only about 10% less than it is on the surface of the Earth. If spaceship with people inside were to hover at a fixed point over the earth at the altitude, the people inside would only weigh about 10% less than they would on the surface. It's the "free fall" aspect of being in orbit that makes people in the ISS weightless. Such is the internal conflict of a pedantic nerd. |
4th January 2019, 10:31 AM | #244 | |||
Just the right amount of cowbell
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"In times of war, we need warriors. But this isn't a war." - Phil Plaitt |
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4th January 2019, 10:31 AM | #245 |
Bandaged ice that stampedes inexpensively through a scribbled morning waving necessary ankles
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There is truth and there are lies. - President Joseph R. Biden, January 20th, 2021 |
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4th January 2019, 11:39 AM | #246 |
Now. Do it now.
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"The Conservatives want to keep wogs out and march boldly back to the 1950s when Britain still had an Empire and blacks, women, poofs and Irish knew their place." The Don That's what we've sunk to here. |
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4th January 2019, 01:05 PM | #247 |
Disorder of Kilopi
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"His real name is Count Douchenozzle von Stenchfahrter und Lichtendicks." - Da Joik |
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4th January 2019, 02:24 PM | #248 |
Graduate Poster
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Alas, you've missed the point. A pound of either lead or feathers both weighs and masses more than a pound of gold. Hint: the same is not true of kilograms.
Give up? Feathers and lead are weighed by the avoirdupois scale. 16 ounces of 28 grams per ounce. 454 grams total. Gold (and silver) is weighed by the Troy scale, with 12 ounces of 31 grams per ounce. 373 grams total. So an ounce of gold is heavier than an ounce of lead, but the reverse is true of pounds. Which is just another reason why going metric can make life easier. |
4th January 2019, 02:44 PM | #249 |
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Wikipedia begs to differ. The key is the Aleutian Islands.
Two islands, Semispochnoi and Amatignak, are adjacent in the chain, and occur on each side of the antimeridian. The eastern point of Semispochnoi, at 179 degrees, 46 minutes, 11 or 12 seconds east longitude, is the most "easterly" place on earth occupied by the US. That is, no other US land point has a greater eastern longitude. Likewise, Amatignak at 179 degrees, 8 minutes, 21 seconds west longitude is the most westerly point of the US by the same definition. From Wikipedia:
Quote:
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4th January 2019, 02:52 PM | #250 |
Graduate Poster
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And as for hedgehogs, lest we all be accused of homophobic bias, it is well-known in Pratchett circles that The Hedgehog Cannot Be Buggered At All
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4th January 2019, 03:06 PM | #251 |
Penultimate Amazing
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The problem is of course that the earth is a sphere, but there is a long standing mapping and navigation convention that east and west on this sphere are defined by the prime meridian through Greenwich. It divides the globe into an Eastern and a Western Hemisphere. The Aleutians span both. Maine is in the Western Hemisphere. Therefore it is not outrageous to state that parts of the Aleutians, those in the Eastern Hemisphere, are east of Maine.
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4th January 2019, 03:26 PM | #252 |
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“There is in every village a torch - the teacher; and an extinguisher - the priest.” - Victor Hugo “Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.” - George Carlin |
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4th January 2019, 03:45 PM | #253 |
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One of my favourite scientific facts is imperfection.
Elliptical not circular orbits, spheroidal not spherical planets, spinning and orbital speeds slowing down and so on. I like this because it thumbs it's nose at religious claims of gods making perfect stuff. |
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Thinking is a faith hazard. |
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4th January 2019, 05:39 PM | #254 |
Quester of Doglets
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Gold looks golden to us, because of relativistic effects of the electrons.
Relativistic_quantum_chemistry#Color_of_gold_and_c aesiumWP |
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We would be better, and braver, to engage in enquiry, rather than indulge in the idle fancy, that we already know -- Plato. |
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4th January 2019, 06:16 PM | #255 |
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Vote like you’re poor. A closed mouth gathers no feet" "Ignorance is a renewable resource" P.J.O'Rourke "It's all god's handiwork, there's little quality control applied", Fox26 reporter on Texas granite |
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4th January 2019, 11:01 PM | #256 |
Maledictorian
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The average spider swallows up to eight humans in its sleep each year without noticing.
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“Don’t blame me. I voted for Kodos.” |
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5th January 2019, 06:46 AM | #257 |
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Any sufficiently advanced idea is indistinguishable from idiocy to those who don't actually understanding the concept. |
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5th January 2019, 08:16 AM | #258 |
Penultimate Amazing
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7 out of every 10 posts in this thread are accurate.
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"... when people thought the Earth was flat, they were wrong. When people thought the Earth was spherical they were wrong. But if you think that thinking the Earth is spherical is just as wrong as thinking the Earth is flat, then your view is wronger than both of them put together." Isaac Asimov |
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5th January 2019, 08:24 AM | #259 |
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"If everyone in the room says water is wet and I say it's dry that makes me smart because at least I'm thinking for myself!" - The Proudly Wrong. |
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5th January 2019, 09:39 AM | #260 |
Master Poster
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"... when you dig my grave, could you make it shallow so that I can feel the rain" - DMB |
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5th January 2019, 09:45 AM | #261 |
Penultimate Amazing
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Any sufficiently advanced idea is indistinguishable from idiocy to those who don't actually understanding the concept. |
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6th January 2019, 02:02 AM | #262 |
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6th January 2019, 02:13 AM | #263 |
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Don't get me started on how arbitrarily illogical humans historically are as far as mapping the earth is concerned.
Well, until Hajime Narukawa that is.
Quote:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-...01-638x479.gif http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-...02-638x479.gif http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-...04-638x479.gif |
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8th January 2019, 01:00 AM | #264 |
Illuminator
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Just drive. |
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8th January 2019, 01:06 AM | #265 |
Penultimate Amazing
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Events that are spacelike separated don't have an absolute ordering in time. In one reference frame A happens before B and in another B happens before A.
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"... when people thought the Earth was flat, they were wrong. When people thought the Earth was spherical they were wrong. But if you think that thinking the Earth is spherical is just as wrong as thinking the Earth is flat, then your view is wronger than both of them put together." Isaac Asimov |
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8th January 2019, 03:29 AM | #266 |
No longer the 1
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As human right is always something given, it always in reality reduces to the right which men give, "concede," to each other. If the right to existence is conceded to new-born children, then they have the right; if it is not conceded to them, as was the case among the Spartans and ancient Romans, then they do not have it. For only society can give or concede it to them; they themselves cannot take it, or give it to themselves. |
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8th January 2019, 03:33 AM | #267 |
No longer the 1
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As human right is always something given, it always in reality reduces to the right which men give, "concede," to each other. If the right to existence is conceded to new-born children, then they have the right; if it is not conceded to them, as was the case among the Spartans and ancient Romans, then they do not have it. For only society can give or concede it to them; they themselves cannot take it, or give it to themselves. |
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8th January 2019, 03:36 AM | #268 |
No longer the 1
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As human right is always something given, it always in reality reduces to the right which men give, "concede," to each other. If the right to existence is conceded to new-born children, then they have the right; if it is not conceded to them, as was the case among the Spartans and ancient Romans, then they do not have it. For only society can give or concede it to them; they themselves cannot take it, or give it to themselves. |
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8th January 2019, 03:37 AM | #269 |
No longer the 1
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As human right is always something given, it always in reality reduces to the right which men give, "concede," to each other. If the right to existence is conceded to new-born children, then they have the right; if it is not conceded to them, as was the case among the Spartans and ancient Romans, then they do not have it. For only society can give or concede it to them; they themselves cannot take it, or give it to themselves. |
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8th January 2019, 09:41 AM | #270 |
Philosopher
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I used to think I was happy. then I met Magrat. |
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8th January 2019, 01:19 PM | #271 |
Philosopher
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Thinking is a faith hazard. |
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8th January 2019, 01:52 PM | #272 |
Penultimate Amazing
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Caption from and old New Yorker cartoon - Why am I shouting? Because I'm wrong!" |
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8th January 2019, 02:16 PM | #273 |
Philosopher
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I'll go you one further and say that there are only two species of vertebrates at all that have blue pigment in their cells. They are two very similar species of Mandarin Dragonet fish, one of which I have living in my home aquarium.
From Wikipedia (here):
Quote:
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So, if he's doing it by divine means, I can only tell him this: 'Mr. Geller, you're doing it the hard way.' --James Randi |
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8th January 2019, 03:34 PM | #274 |
Bandaged ice that stampedes inexpensively through a scribbled morning waving necessary ankles
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There is truth and there are lies. - President Joseph R. Biden, January 20th, 2021 |
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8th January 2019, 04:36 PM | #275 |
Data Ghost
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Things I learned recently:
Adult dragonflies can fly backwards, up, down, sideways and even upside down. Dragonfly nymphs (which are aquatic) breathe through gills in their rectums. |
8th January 2019, 04:54 PM | #276 |
Muse
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8th January 2019, 04:55 PM | #277 |
Muse
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Octopus have nine brains.
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8th January 2019, 05:05 PM | #278 |
Observer of Phenomena
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Here's something that I learned yesterday that I didn't know.
The rakali is an Australian native rodent. They are endemic to my home town. I've even seen them. I assumed that they were rats. |
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So take that quantum equation and recalculate the wave by a factor of hoopty doo! The answer is not my problem, it's yours. Three Word Story Wisdom |
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8th January 2019, 05:47 PM | #279 |
Penultimate Amazing
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That is interesting, I didn’t realize Australia even had any native rodents. Any idea how their ancestors originally came to Australia?
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"... when people thought the Earth was flat, they were wrong. When people thought the Earth was spherical they were wrong. But if you think that thinking the Earth is spherical is just as wrong as thinking the Earth is flat, then your view is wronger than both of them put together." Isaac Asimov |
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8th January 2019, 06:13 PM | #280 |
Observer of Phenomena
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So take that quantum equation and recalculate the wave by a factor of hoopty doo! The answer is not my problem, it's yours. Three Word Story Wisdom |
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