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bhu
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« on: June 14, 2009, 08:01:00 AM » |
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A thread in which we, the participants (and hopefully we are legion) post the odd trivia, factoids, news stories, or just plain weird shit we find in newspapers, the web, and various books. To begin here are the names of a few odd books actually somehow published:
Warfare in the Enemy's Rear, by O. Heilbrunn (1963)
Selected Themes of Spanish Literature: Of Beards, Shoes, Cucumbers, and Leprosy by John R, Burt (1982)
The Romance of Proctology, by Charles Elton Blanchard (1938)
How to Become a Scizophrenic, by John Modrow (1992)
Teach Yourself Alcoholism, by Meier Glatt (1975)
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bhu
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« Reply #1 on: June 14, 2009, 08:15:21 PM » |
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A hummingbird weighs less than a penny.
Can we confirm this one somehow?
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BowenSilverclaw
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« Reply #2 on: June 15, 2009, 01:35:38 AM » |
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What I've been able to find online on a couple of hummingbird fan pages is that the ruby-throated hummingbird weighs about 3-4g (a nickel weighs about 5g), and that hummingbirds may nearly double mass prior to migration by putting on extra fat. Just a quick search though  |
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"Weakness? Come test thy mettle against me, hairless ape, and we shall know who is weak!" You caught a fish. It was awesome.  |
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veekie
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« Reply #3 on: June 15, 2009, 10:28:17 AM » |
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You could try netting one and then weighing it to be sure I guess.
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The mind transcends the body. It's also a little cold because of that. Please get it a blanket. I wish I could read your mind, I can barely read mine. "Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. At 2:15, it begins rolling up characters."
"Just what do you think the moon up in the sky is? Everyone sees that big, round shiny thing and thinks there must be something round up there, right? That's just silly. The truth is much more awesome than that. You can almost never see the real Moon, and its appearance is death to humans. You can only see the Moon when it's reflected in things. And the things it reflects in, like water or glass, can all be broken, right? Since the moon you see in the sky is just being reflected in the heavens, if you tear open the heavens it's easy to break it~"
-Ibuki Suika, on overkill
To sumbolaion diakoneto moi, basilisk ouranionon.
Epigenentheto, apoleia keraune hos timeis pteirei.
Hekatonkatis kai khiliakis astrapsato.
Khiliarkhou Astrape!
There is no higher price than 'free'. "I won't die. I've been ordered not to die." |
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skydragonknight
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« Reply #4 on: June 16, 2009, 12:56:19 AM » |
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A hummingbird weighs less than a penny.
Can we confirm this one somehow?
African or European? |
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It always seems like the barrels around here have something in them.
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BowenSilverclaw
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« Reply #5 on: June 16, 2009, 04:09:42 AM » |
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A hummingbird weighs less than a penny.
Can we confirm this one somehow?
African or European? That's swallows  Also, see my previous post. Maybe a search for the ruby-throated hummingbird will get you some more info |
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"Weakness? Come test thy mettle against me, hairless ape, and we shall know who is weak!" You caught a fish. It was awesome. |
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bhu
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« Reply #6 on: June 16, 2009, 06:25:21 AM » |
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Animal Factoids Ive seen recently:
The worlds longest earthworms-found only in a small corner of Australia-can grow to as long as 12 feet and as thick as a soda can.
Ancient Romans trained elephants to perform on a tightrope.
Pot bellied Sloths sleep 20 hours a day and are in danger of extinction because mating takes too much energy.
Is anyone else skeptical?
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BowenSilverclaw
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« Reply #7 on: June 16, 2009, 06:43:48 AM » |
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Is anyone else skeptical?
Very |
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"Weakness? Come test thy mettle against me, hairless ape, and we shall know who is weak!" You caught a fish. It was awesome. |
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bhu
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« Reply #8 on: June 16, 2009, 08:27:24 AM » |
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yay! I'm not alone!
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Generic_PC
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« Reply #9 on: June 16, 2009, 09:31:54 AM » |
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Very few species are evolutionary dead-ends who kill themselves in any manner, enough to go extinct. I do not believe sloths are one of them.
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Witty sayings? Nah, not right now. Currently playing Dwarf Fortress and League of Legends. I really recommend League of Legends. |
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BowenSilverclaw
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« Reply #10 on: June 16, 2009, 10:11:37 AM » |
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Besides, they don't sleep nearly as long as people seem to think.
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"Weakness? Come test thy mettle against me, hairless ape, and we shall know who is weak!" You caught a fish. It was awesome. |
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veekie
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« Reply #11 on: June 17, 2009, 12:59:27 PM » |
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The mind transcends the body. It's also a little cold because of that. Please get it a blanket. I wish I could read your mind, I can barely read mine. "Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. At 2:15, it begins rolling up characters."
"Just what do you think the moon up in the sky is? Everyone sees that big, round shiny thing and thinks there must be something round up there, right? That's just silly. The truth is much more awesome than that. You can almost never see the real Moon, and its appearance is death to humans. You can only see the Moon when it's reflected in things. And the things it reflects in, like water or glass, can all be broken, right? Since the moon you see in the sky is just being reflected in the heavens, if you tear open the heavens it's easy to break it~"
-Ibuki Suika, on overkill
To sumbolaion diakoneto moi, basilisk ouranionon.
Epigenentheto, apoleia keraune hos timeis pteirei.
Hekatonkatis kai khiliakis astrapsato.
Khiliarkhou Astrape!
There is no higher price than 'free'. "I won't die. I've been ordered not to die." |
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Chemus
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« Reply #13 on: June 18, 2009, 05:55:44 PM » |
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About the hummingbird weight, the bumblebee hummingbird which lives in South America (amazon basin) IIRC Cuba (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_Hummingbird), should fit the bill. Unless that's the ruby-throated hummingbird that Bowen was talking about. It weighs only 1.8 grams.edits in green |
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« Last Edit: June 18, 2009, 05:59:46 PM by Chemus »
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Agita
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« Reply #14 on: June 18, 2009, 06:02:31 PM » |
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Who else was uncomfortably reminded of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds by this? |
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bhu
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« Reply #15 on: June 19, 2009, 04:54:33 AM » |
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Who else was uncomfortably reminded of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds by this? Man those would make one hell of an exit wound... |
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veekie
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« Reply #16 on: June 19, 2009, 07:01:28 AM » |
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamehameha_butterflyWhen I saw this page, I thought of this:  Bhu, feeling up to statting one of these? Probably a relative of the Quantum Weather Butterfly. Only more interested in direct energy applications....
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The mind transcends the body. It's also a little cold because of that. Please get it a blanket. I wish I could read your mind, I can barely read mine. "Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. At 2:15, it begins rolling up characters."
"Just what do you think the moon up in the sky is? Everyone sees that big, round shiny thing and thinks there must be something round up there, right? That's just silly. The truth is much more awesome than that. You can almost never see the real Moon, and its appearance is death to humans. You can only see the Moon when it's reflected in things. And the things it reflects in, like water or glass, can all be broken, right? Since the moon you see in the sky is just being reflected in the heavens, if you tear open the heavens it's easy to break it~"
-Ibuki Suika, on overkill
To sumbolaion diakoneto moi, basilisk ouranionon.
Epigenentheto, apoleia keraune hos timeis pteirei.
Hekatonkatis kai khiliakis astrapsato.
Khiliarkhou Astrape!
There is no higher price than 'free'. "I won't die. I've been ordered not to die." |
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bhu
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« Reply #17 on: June 19, 2009, 10:05:33 AM » |
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It has...potential...  |
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bhu
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« Reply #18 on: June 19, 2009, 08:51:39 PM » |
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