Interesting.... but useless facts... - Page 6

Anti · 05-21-2008, 05:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Photek


	Michael Stipe from REM is the godfather of Kurt Cobain's kid... apparently... that interesting but useless fact was for Anti... the proud new owner of 2 REM albums.

How did I miss this?

I'm going to look into this. It caught me by surprise.

fazstp · 05-26-2008, 06:46 PM

I think I'm going to be sick.

The Worm, the Spider and the Coffee Cup

At least I'm not a spider, but nothing like a good parasite story to turn my stomach.

Felix_MC · 05-26-2008, 07:01 PM

Speaking of parasites

fazstp · 05-27-2008, 02:15 AM

It's bizarre the way parasites can affect the behaviour of the host in order to complete the parasite's life cycle. Like the Toxoplasma gondii of Felix's link causing the rats to lose their fear of cats in order to get them eaten so as to infect a cat. Or a worm ( that I can't remember the name of ) that burrows into the legs of the human host and causes a burning sensation to get the host to put their legs into water when the worm is ready to lay it's eggs back in the water.

Found it: Guinea Worm

fazstp · 05-28-2008, 04:21 PM

Chimerism

Twin embryos can fuse in the womb and grow into a single person with mixed DNA. One case of chimerism came to light when a mother of three required a kidney transplant. Her family was tested to see if there was a suitable donor and she was told that she was not the biological mother of two of her children even though they were conceived naturally. When they did further testing they found that while their DNA didn't match the DNA in her blood, it did match tissue from some of her organs. She was a tetragametic chimera, made up of a mix of two non-identical twins. One of her children was conceived from an egg of the twin whose DNA dominated her blood and the other two from eggs of the other twin.

fazstp · 06-02-2008, 02:58 AM

A fossilised embryo was found in a 380 million year old fish making it the world's oldest known vertebrate that gave birth to live young.

Materpiscis attenboroughi was named after Sir David Attenborough.

Two useless facts for the price of one.

fazstp · 06-03-2008, 08:56 PM

Here's another example of parasitic manipulation of host behaviour.

Zombie caterpillars controlled by voodoo wasps

fazstp · 08-06-2008, 07:49 PM

Genghis Khan has an estimated 16 million descendants.

Irish warlord Niall of the Nine Hostages may be ancestor to 1 in 12 Irishmen (an estimated 2-3 million men).

Source: Medieval Irish warlord boasts three million descendants

fazstp · 08-17-2008, 10:35 PM

An interesting example of flow on effects.

A drug (diclofenac) given to cattle poisoned vultures in India who fed on the carcasses of the cattle. The crash in numbers of vultures meant that carcasses normally scavenged by vultures were now available to wild dogs. This resulted in a surge in wild dog numbers and a resulting surge in bites from dogs infected with rabies.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewScientist


	Rabies tragedy follows loss of India's vultures They calculate that the decline of vultures made way for at least 5.5 million extra feral dogs in India between 1992 and 2006. During this period, these extra dogs would have been responsible for at least 38.5 million bites. National surveys show that in India 123 people die of rabies per 100,000 dog bites, suggesting that a minimum of 47,300 people have died as a result of the vulture die-off (Ecological Economics, DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.04.020). Taking account of the cost of treating bite victims and dealing with the extra deaths, the researchers calculate that the use of diclofenac has indirectly cost India $34 billion.

fazstp · 08-17-2008, 11:59 PM

A fully grown adult pygmy chameleon is about an inch long. (Don't quote me on this. I've seen conflicting reports. One site suggested an adult was 1-1.5 cm, another suggested an adult female was 4 inches. I guess it's possible the male is a lot smaller but I didn't come across anything definitive. Let's just say they're pretty small

)

fazstp · 08-18-2008, 04:58 PM

I love these things: Self-Animating Images: Illusory Motion Using Repeated Asymmetric Patterns

Photek · 08-18-2008, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fazstp


	I love these things: Self-Animating Images: Illusory Motion Using Repeated Asymmetric Patterns

aggghhh.... I am having a flash back

fazstp · 08-18-2008, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Photek


	aggghhh.... I am having a flash back

I would have loved wallpaper like this when I was younger.

This could be Anti's new desktop

sterytyper · 08-19-2008, 02:28 AM

oh crap i think im blind! thats a great picture if i was on drugs..like tylenol ya know.

the worlds smallest hamburger was made two years ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cIljPrJe08

Anti · 08-19-2008, 02:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fazstp


	I would have loved wallpaper like this when I was younger. This could be Anti's new desktop

I see what you did there.

fazstp · 08-19-2008, 03:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anti


	I see what you did there.

I wasn't trying to imply that you're a tripper, just that it might appeal to your love of busy desktop images. (Honest

)

Anti · 08-19-2008, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fazstp


	I wasn't trying to imply that you're a tripper, just that it might appeal to your love of busy desktop images. (Honest )

I was kidding. ^_^

kel101 · 08-19-2008, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Photek


	aggghhh.... I am having a flash back

the acid again?

fazstp · 08-28-2008, 10:12 PM

Now this thing is pretty freakin' weird: Japanese Goblin Shark

NovaScotian · 08-29-2008, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fazstp


	Now this thing is pretty freakin' weird: Japanese Goblin Shark

Saw that yesterday -- how do you like the projecting jaw?

05-26-2008, 06:46 PM	#102
fazstp MVP Join Date: May 2004 Location: Melbourne, AUS Posts: 1,576	I think I'm going to be sick. The Worm, the Spider and the Coffee Cup At least I'm not a spider, but nothing like a good parasite story to turn my stomach. __________________ Inspire you of think the elephant dint Inspire you of think the elephant dint

05-26-2008, 07:01 PM	#103
Felix_MC All Star Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 891	Speaking of parasites __________________ FelixMC.com MileaLabs Twitter Forrst

05-27-2008, 02:15 AM	#104
fazstp MVP Join Date: May 2004 Location: Melbourne, AUS Posts: 1,576	It's bizarre the way parasites can affect the behaviour of the host in order to complete the parasite's life cycle. Like the Toxoplasma gondii of Felix's link causing the rats to lose their fear of cats in order to get them eaten so as to infect a cat. Or a worm ( that I can't remember the name of ) that burrows into the legs of the human host and causes a burning sensation to get the host to put their legs into water when the worm is ready to lay it's eggs back in the water. Found it: Guinea Worm __________________ Inspire you of think the elephant dint Inspire you of think the elephant dint Last edited by fazstp; 05-27-2008 at 03:54 PM.

05-28-2008, 04:21 PM	#105
fazstp MVP Join Date: May 2004 Location: Melbourne, AUS Posts: 1,576	Chimerism Twin embryos can fuse in the womb and grow into a single person with mixed DNA. One case of chimerism came to light when a mother of three required a kidney transplant. Her family was tested to see if there was a suitable donor and she was told that she was not the biological mother of two of her children even though they were conceived naturally. When they did further testing they found that while their DNA didn't match the DNA in her blood, it did match tissue from some of her organs. She was a tetragametic chimera, made up of a mix of two non-identical twins. One of her children was conceived from an egg of the twin whose DNA dominated her blood and the other two from eggs of the other twin. __________________ Inspire you of think the elephant dint Inspire you of think the elephant dint

06-02-2008, 02:58 AM	#106
fazstp MVP Join Date: May 2004 Location: Melbourne, AUS Posts: 1,576	A fossilised embryo was found in a 380 million year old fish making it the world's oldest known vertebrate that gave birth to live young. Materpiscis attenboroughi was named after Sir David Attenborough. Two useless facts for the price of one. __________________ Inspire you of think the elephant dint Inspire you of think the elephant dint

06-03-2008, 08:56 PM	#107
fazstp MVP Join Date: May 2004 Location: Melbourne, AUS Posts: 1,576	Here's another example of parasitic manipulation of host behaviour. Zombie caterpillars controlled by voodoo wasps __________________ Inspire you of think the elephant dint Inspire you of think the elephant dint

08-06-2008, 07:49 PM	#108
fazstp MVP Join Date: May 2004 Location: Melbourne, AUS Posts: 1,576	Genghis Khan has an estimated 16 million descendants. Irish warlord Niall of the Nine Hostages may be ancestor to 1 in 12 Irishmen (an estimated 2-3 million men). Source: Medieval Irish warlord boasts three million descendants __________________ Inspire you of think the elephant dint Inspire you of think the elephant dint

08-17-2008, 11:59 PM	#110
fazstp MVP Join Date: May 2004 Location: Melbourne, AUS Posts: 1,576	A fully grown adult pygmy chameleon is about an inch long. (Don't quote me on this. I've seen conflicting reports. One site suggested an adult was 1-1.5 cm, another suggested an adult female was 4 inches. I guess it's possible the male is a lot smaller but I didn't come across anything definitive. Let's just say they're pretty small ) __________________ Inspire you of think the elephant dint Inspire you of think the elephant dint Last edited by fazstp; 08-18-2008 at 05:06 PM.

08-18-2008, 04:58 PM	#111
fazstp MVP Join Date: May 2004 Location: Melbourne, AUS Posts: 1,576	I love these things: Self-Animating Images: Illusory Motion Using Repeated Asymmetric Patterns __________________ Inspire you of think the elephant dint Inspire you of think the elephant dint

08-19-2008, 02:28 AM	#114
sterytyper Triple-A Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 73	oh crap i think im blind! thats a great picture if i was on drugs..like tylenol ya know. the worlds smallest hamburger was made two years ago http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cIljPrJe08

08-28-2008, 10:12 PM	#119
fazstp MVP Join Date: May 2004 Location: Melbourne, AUS Posts: 1,576	Now this thing is pretty freakin' weird: Japanese Goblin Shark __________________ Inspire you of think the elephant dint Inspire you of think the elephant dint