Random Facts Thread.
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nivek
As Above So Below
nivek
As Above So Below
nivek
As Above So Below
wwkirk
Divine
A very risky move with around three quarters death rate. Some from freezing as opposed to falling.
nivek
As Above So Below
Meet the man who was shot in the head with an iron rod - and SURVIVED: Scientists reconstruct the face of Phineas Gage as it was moments after freak accident 175 years ago
A gruesome accident that revolutionised our understanding of the brain has been brought to life by science, using the skull of the man who survived it. Phineas Gage was clearing the way for a new rail line in the US state of Vermont on September 13, 1848, when an accidental explosion turned his life upside down. An iron rod was blasted up into his head, through his skull, and out the other side, before landing some 80ft away 'smeared with blood and brain'. A big part of Gage's left frontal lobe had been destroyed, but he lived for 12 more years, and his case became part of medical folklore. Now we can see his face at the moment of impact, after his skull was used to complete a forensic reconstruction of his features.
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wwkirk
Divine
Duke Ellington was a hustler (in a good way).
When Ellington first started out in Washington DC, he only knew a handful of songs, but thought would be fun to lead a band. So he put the biggest ad of anyone in the Yellow Pages phone book and pretty soon was being hired constantly. He had as many as five different bands playing on a particular night and would perform his two or three songs with one band, take a bow then go to the next gig and play in that, whilst the other bands would continue without him. So essentially he played the same two or three songs four or five times each night.
[Source: email from Jazz Fuel]
When Ellington first started out in Washington DC, he only knew a handful of songs, but thought would be fun to lead a band. So he put the biggest ad of anyone in the Yellow Pages phone book and pretty soon was being hired constantly. He had as many as five different bands playing on a particular night and would perform his two or three songs with one band, take a bow then go to the next gig and play in that, whilst the other bands would continue without him. So essentially he played the same two or three songs four or five times each night.
[Source: email from Jazz Fuel]
wwkirk
Divine
Just learned about another Labeled Generation, this time an older one.
Biden belongs to the so-called Silent Generation.
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
Pity he isn't even more silent sometimes, and that's no malarkey
nivek
As Above So Below
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
The 6 Most Intriguing Things We Learned about Pet Cats and Dogs This Year
The 6 Most Intriguing Things We Learned about Pet Cats and Dogs This Year
Latest News
Scientific American
ANIMALS
Westend61/Getty Images
Lori Youmshajekian | December 22, 2023
Any pet parent has seen some odd behaviors from their furry companion—from sniffing butts and tilting heads to delivering unwanted, lifeless “gifts.” Every year scientists inch closer to explaining these mannerisms by finding evolutionary or genetic underpinnings to our favorite animals’ quirks. Here’s what the research told us about cats and dogs in 2023.
Musher Gunnar Kasson and his dog Balto are seen in close-up at the unveiling of a statue to honor Balto. Kasson led a dog team that saved many lives in Nome, Alaska, when he arrived there with diphtheria antitoxin. Balto was the leader of the dogs. Credit: Bettmann/Getty Images
The 6 Most Intriguing Things We Learned about Pet Cats and Dogs This Year
Latest News
Scientific American
ANIMALS
Westend61/Getty Images
The 6 Most Intriguing Things We Learned about Pet Cats and Dogs This Year
In 2023 we learned that cats really are choosing to ignore humans and that—despite dogs getting all the glory when it comes to retrieving prowess—cats want to play fetch, tooLori Youmshajekian | December 22, 2023
Any pet parent has seen some odd behaviors from their furry companion—from sniffing butts and tilting heads to delivering unwanted, lifeless “gifts.” Every year scientists inch closer to explaining these mannerisms by finding evolutionary or genetic underpinnings to our favorite animals’ quirks. Here’s what the research told us about cats and dogs in 2023.
Cats Are Perfect (No, a Cat Didn’t Write This)
Whether they’re house cats, lions or anything in between, cats have nailed their evolutionary niche—and that makes them “perfect,” according to evolutionary biologist Anjali Goswami. The cat family exhibits very little variation between species—for example, a lion and a tiger have nearly identically shaped skulls, and different-sized members of the cat family are bigger or smaller in a proportionally consistent way. That lack of diversity means they’ve reached their evolutionary “peak” and don’t really need any adaptive variation. “They don’t change anything else because they’re just right otherwise,” Goswami says. “They’re not jacks-of-all-trades; they’re masters of one.”Teaching an Old Dog New Words
Dogs are generally known for their smarts, but if you compare, say, bulldogs and border collies, one breed can certainly seem dopier than the other. Beyond learning to roll over or play dead, our canine pals’ “genius” can be measured through their grasp of language. Dogs have been human companions for thousands of years and seem to be able to learn many of our language cues. This year new research found that a few gifted pooches can identify more than 100 different objects (mostly toys) by name—though this was far above the norm. Among the contenders in the “Genius Dog Challenge,” the majority knew 20 or more words when first tested by researchers—but many dogs can’t manage to learn any words at all.Fetch, Kitty Kitty
Most of us know that dogs love nothing more than retrieving balls, sticks and Frisbees for their owners—but now science says this is a feline phenomenon, too. Cat owners have reported fetching behavior in their pets for years; some domestic cats bring an item that their owner has dropped and wait for it to be thrown. This behavior often begins when the pets are kittens. Cats do seem to get bored with this game more easily than their canine counterparts, though. And it’s not entirely clear why cats engage in this behavior—a meow-stery for science to continue to explore.Your Cat Can Hear You—It Just Chooses Not To
Cats have a reputation for not listening to people, but new research shows that cats actually do know when their owner is trying to talk to them. Scientists found that cats reacted to their owner speaking to them in cat-directed speech—a high-pitched voice similar to baby talk—but ignored their owner when this person was speaking to a stranger. So Mittens hears you call; sometimes she just chooses not to listen.
Dogs Used to Be Fitter
Modern dogs have much less genetic diversity than their ancestors. Thanks to selective breeding—almost always for cosmetic traits—dogs of the same breed look strikingly similar generation after generation. Researchers this year explored how dog genetics have changed over time by tapping into the genome of Balto, the famous sled dog that braved a treacherous, 500-mile-plus journey to deliver life-saving medicine across Alaska in 1925. They found that the Siberian husky had much greater genetic diversity than modern dogs, and this may have made him healthier and better suited to survival in the Arctic.Cat’s Labyrinth
Dogs are famous for their super-sensitive nose (and for trying to sniff everything on their walks, to the consternation of many a dog owner), but it turns out that cats’ sense of smell is nothing to sneeze at. New research shows a cat’s nasal passage is a complex network of turbinates—channels that are lined with smell sensors and arranged in tight coils. Like a gas chromatograph—a sensitive laboratory machine that separates chemicals based on their solubility—these channels efficiently separate smells. Purr-haps that’s just more evidence of cats’ purr-fection? (Okay, we’ll stop now.)
nivek
As Above So Below
nivek
As Above So Below
nivek
As Above So Below
nivek
As Above So Below
wwkirk
Divine
But why?
Shadowprophet
Truthiness
I wondered about this as well so I just asked chatgpt. This is what it said. Warning, it's very anticlimactic.
There are no bridges over the Amazon River primarily due to its vast size, environmental concerns, and the challenges of building in the remote and often inaccessible rainforest region. The Amazon is one of the world's largest and most complex river systems, making bridge construction extremely difficult and expensive. Additionally, the river's course changes frequently, with a wide floodplain and a dense rainforest environment, complicating any construction efforts.Environmental concerns also play a significant role. The Amazon rainforest is a vital ecological area, home to an unparalleled diversity of wildlife and plant species. Building bridges over the river could disrupt delicate ecosystems and contribute to deforestation and habitat destruction.Furthermore, the areas along the Amazon River are sparsely populated, with limited infrastructure. This reduces the immediate need.
wwkirk
Divine
Thanks. I don't regard the info as anticlimactic; they're the kind of details I was hoping to hear.
nivek
As Above So Below