Interesting.... but useless facts... - Page 8

fazstp · 12-23-2008, 02:30 PM

Though not consciously able to see, this blind man can still negotiate obstacles.

Photek · 12-23-2008, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fazstp


	Though not consciously* able to see, this blind man can still negotiate obstacles.*

amazin....

fazstp · 07-14-2009, 03:51 PM

The drone robots in Silent Running were mechanised suits worn by actors who were double amputees.

fazstp · 07-23-2009, 10:37 PM

By combining 3D ultrasounds with 3D printers they can produce a 3D model of an unborn baby.

Picture of the day

Felix_MC · 07-24-2009, 10:00 PM

obama is a mac user

http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/11/...d.as.mac.user/

warragul · 08-03-2009, 06:26 AM

Quote:


	Duckbillplatypuss are poisonous.

The male platypus has venom spurs on the hind legs. Not lethal but avoid if at all possible. Very, very painful from all accounts.
Platypuses lay eggs.
If you threaten a large kangaroo it may attempt to disembowel you. This actually happened to a tourist at Zumsteins in the Grampians National Park some years ago.

warragul · 08-04-2009, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArcticStones


	Not only in Japan... I once spent almost an hour searching for the house of a teacher along a Californian residential road where they had followed this practice.

You have to wonder if this is the influence of the "Nisei" Japanese who live in that state.

NovaScotian · 08-14-2009, 06:31 PM

In Slate today

Quote:


	The average human exhales about 2.3 pounds of carbon dioxide on an average day. (The exact quantity depends on your activity level—a person engaged in vigorous exercise produces up to eight times as much CO2 as his sedentary brethren.) Take this number and multiply by a population of 7 billion people, breathing away for 365.25 days per year, and you get an annual CO2 output of 2.94 billion tons. International carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion for 2008 topped 34.7 billion tons. So the human race breathes out about 8.5 percent as much carbon as we burn.

ArcticStones · 08-14-2009, 06:35 PM

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NovaScotian


	Exhaling is bad for the planet

Perhaps a personal quota system is in order -- inversely proportional to the amount of fossil fuels consumed by the individual in question...

.

tw · 08-14-2009, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArcticStones


	.Perhaps a personal quota system is in order -- inversely proportional to the amount of fossil fuels consumed by the individual in question... .

quotas, schmotas... we could drop the exhaling carbon footprint in half just by gagging tv and radio pundits.

p.s. cut down drastically on noise pollution at the same time...

ArcticStones · 08-15-2009, 02:23 AM

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tw


	we could drop the exhaling carbon footprint in half just by gagging tv and radio pundits. p.s. cut down drastically on noise pollution at the same time...

Thanks! You’ve just drastically improved my plan.
What you’re proposing --- now that’s change I can believe in!

.

allanb · 08-17-2009, 02:51 AM

Ah, the pleasures of googling.

I try to find information about pinging software, and I finish up learning more than I ever wanted to know about how sperm whales catch squid.

Thank you for all that.

NovaScotian · 08-17-2009, 10:38 AM

Ahh, sperm whales... I remember (as an avid useless factoid collector) that sperm whales have a blob of a waxy substance in their head cavities called spermaceti that they use for buoyancy control. Spermaceti undergoes a phase change that changes its density (when warm it's lighter than water, when cold, heavier).

A sperm whale has two nostril passages leading to its lungs, one of which is flattened and passes through the spermaceti organ which also has a rich blood supply, and the other does not. To dive, the whale lets some cold water into the flattened nostril that cools the spermaceti so the whale sinks to hunting depth without expending energy to swim there. Once there, the whale expels just enough water to achieve neutral buoyancy and can wait for squid effortlessly.

When a squid is pinged and caught, the whale expels all the water from its nostril and "blushes" to heat the spermaceti so it floats. The squid cannot adjust its buoyancy fast enough to compensate for the sudden ascent and suffers internal damage that kills it. The whale floats back up and eats the squid.

How's that for a neat energy budget.

ArcticStones · 08-17-2009, 02:38 PM

.
The American Chemical Society has released a study claiming that up to 90 percent of U.S. paper money contains traces of cocaine.

“You’re right officer, I probably couldn’t walk that white line. But I bet I could sniff it.”
.

warragul · 08-17-2009, 08:17 PM

Factoid, eh? Since humanoids are beings who resemble humans, but aren't, does the same apply to factoids?

NovaScotian · 08-17-2009, 08:43 PM

I hope not.

aehurst · 08-17-2009, 08:45 PM

How's this for useless information.

NovaScotian · 08-17-2009, 08:56 PM

Wonderful example!

Felix_MC · 08-17-2009, 11:05 PM

semi nsfw? i think.. haha
http://www.boss-killer.com/drupal-sh...II.preview.jpg

fazstp · 08-19-2009, 06:01 PM

Listed under possible side effects for Cilicaine (Phenoxymethylpenicillin) is "Black hairy tongue".

12-23-2008, 02:30 PM	#141
fazstp MVP Join Date: May 2004 Location: Melbourne, AUS Posts: 1,576	Though not consciously able to see, this blind man can still negotiate obstacles. __________________ Inspire you of think the elephant dint Inspire you of think the elephant dint

07-14-2009, 03:51 PM	#143
fazstp MVP Join Date: May 2004 Location: Melbourne, AUS Posts: 1,576	The drone robots in Silent Running were mechanised suits worn by actors who were double amputees. __________________ Inspire you of think the elephant dint Inspire you of think the elephant dint

07-23-2009, 10:37 PM	#144
fazstp MVP Join Date: May 2004 Location: Melbourne, AUS Posts: 1,576	By combining 3D ultrasounds with 3D printers they can produce a 3D model of an unborn baby. Picture of the day __________________ Inspire you of think the elephant dint Inspire you of think the elephant dint

07-24-2009, 10:00 PM	#145
Felix_MC All Star Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 891	obama is a mac user http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/11/...d.as.mac.user/ __________________ FelixMC.com MileaLabs Twitter Forrst

08-17-2009, 10:38 AM	#153
NovaScotian League Commissioner Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Halifax, Canada Posts: 5,156	Sperm Whale Buoyancy Ahh, sperm whales... I remember (as an avid useless factoid collector) that sperm whales have a blob of a waxy substance in their head cavities called spermaceti that they use for buoyancy control. Spermaceti undergoes a phase change that changes its density (when warm it's lighter than water, when cold, heavier). A sperm whale has two nostril passages leading to its lungs, one of which is flattened and passes through the spermaceti organ which also has a rich blood supply, and the other does not. To dive, the whale lets some cold water into the flattened nostril that cools the spermaceti so the whale sinks to hunting depth without expending energy to swim there. Once there, the whale expels just enough water to achieve neutral buoyancy and can wait for squid effortlessly. When a squid is pinged and caught, the whale expels all the water from its nostril and "blushes" to heat the spermaceti so it floats. The squid cannot adjust its buoyancy fast enough to compensate for the sudden ascent and suffers internal damage that kills it. The whale floats back up and eats the squid. How's that for a neat energy budget. __________________ 17" MBP, OS X; 27" iMac, both OS X 10.10.x (latest)

08-17-2009, 02:51 AM	#152
allanb Triple-A Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Aquitaine, France Posts: 176	Ah, the pleasures of googling. I try to find information about pinging software, and I finish up learning more than I ever wanted to know about how sperm whales catch squid. Thank you for all that.

08-17-2009, 02:38 PM	#154
ArcticStones Moderator Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Norway Posts: 3,152	. The American Chemical Society has released a study claiming that up to 90 percent of U.S. paper money contains traces of cocaine. “You’re right officer, I probably couldn’t walk that white line. But I bet I could sniff it.” . __________________ . "You say this gadget of yours is for ordinary people. What on earth would ordinary people want with computers?" HP executive to Steve Wozniak

08-17-2009, 08:17 PM	#155
warragul All Star Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 869	Factoid, eh? Since humanoids are beings who resemble humans, but aren't, does the same apply to factoids? __________________ warragul - The Real World is a Special Case.

08-17-2009, 08:43 PM	#156
NovaScotian League Commissioner Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Halifax, Canada Posts: 5,156	I hope not. __________________ 17" MBP, OS X; 27" iMac, both OS X 10.10.x (latest)

08-17-2009, 08:45 PM	#157
aehurst MVP Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Sherwood, Arkansas, USA Posts: 1,320	How's this for useless information. Attached Thumbnails __________________ iMac, 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB

08-17-2009, 08:56 PM	#158
NovaScotian League Commissioner Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Halifax, Canada Posts: 5,156	Wonderful example! __________________ 17" MBP, OS X; 27" iMac, both OS X 10.10.x (latest)

08-17-2009, 11:05 PM	#159
Felix_MC All Star Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 891	semi nsfw? i think.. haha http://www.boss-killer.com/drupal-sh...II.preview.jpg __________________ FelixMC.com MileaLabs Twitter Forrst

08-19-2009, 06:01 PM	#160
fazstp MVP Join Date: May 2004 Location: Melbourne, AUS Posts: 1,576	Listed under possible side effects for Cilicaine (Phenoxymethylpenicillin) is "Black hairy tongue". __________________ Inspire you of think the elephant dint Inspire you of think the elephant dint