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TIL Thread

Archie Moses said:
TIL about the Drake Equation which estimates the odds of existing E.T.

https://www.space.com/25219-drake-equation.html
Click to expand...

It's an interesting equation, and in my opinion valuable to think about... however, as the Wikipedia article on it notes it has such a wide range of possible answers that it's probably useless.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_equation: "a low estimate [yields] N = 9.1 × 10^−11... On the other hand [using] higher values that have been proposed [yields] N = 15,600,000."

(where N represents the number of E.T. civilizations in our galaxy with which communication might be possible)
 
TIL that Telluride, CO is named after - To Hell You Ride and is the home of the first bank Butch Cassidy robbed before joining his gang the Wild Bunch.
 
but seriously,
TIL about word/idiom origins:
The term "running amok" originated from a practice of native Pacific Islanders, where an individual would launch a sudden, typically unexplained episode of mass assault, going crazy with machetes, running around and killing/maiming anyone/anything within sight

There is something called a "cargo cult" that I don't really understand but it's also something that had become somewhat common among residents of the more isolated (and undeveloped) Pacific Islands that originated during the British colonial period in the late 1800's and grew further around WWII when the islands were occupied and provisioned to provide staging areas for Allied forces - - the indigenous people, who can't explain the sudden "wealth" of goods that are present on their islands develop a type of cult-worship of the leader of the occupying forces. It's a sort of belief that certain ritualistic behaviors will cause more wealth to come to their island.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult
 
moevillini said:
but seriously,
TIL about word/idiom origins:
The term "running amok" originated from a practice of native Pacific Islanders, where an individual would launch a sudden, typically unexplained episode of mass assault, going crazy with machetes, running around and killing/maiming anyone/anything within sight

There is something called a "cargo cult" that I don't really understand but it's also something that had become somewhat common among residents of the more isolated (and undeveloped) Pacific Islands that originated during the British colonial period in the late 1800's and grew further around WWII when the islands were occupied and provisioned to provide staging areas for Allied forces - - the indigenous people, who can't explain the sudden "wealth" of goods that are present on their islands develop a type of cult-worship of the leader of the occupying forces. It's a sort of belief that certain ritualistic behaviors will cause more wealth to come to their island.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult
Click to expand...

Odd people Islanders, can be absolutely lovely one moment, vicious the next. I have family in NZ that are half Italian half Maori, lovely folk. Samoans, Tongans and Papuans that I know on the other hand all have a tendency toward sporadic if not frequent violence.
 
Rubashov said:
Odd people Islanders, can be absolutely lovely one moment, vicious the next. I have family in NZ that are half Italian half Maori, lovely folk. Samoans, Tongans and Papuans that I know on the other hand all have a tendency toward sporadic if not frequent violence.
Click to expand...
It might surprise you to know there is a very substantial Tongan population in the Salt Lake Valley.
 
I look up and read about several things per day, and I can't think of a single thing to put in this thread - in one brain cell and out another.

Edit: Oh yeah - Bradford Pear trees smell like rotting fish and semen (not my description). But they are pretty. That's what I've learned this morning.
 
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TIL

That Dish Network thinks its fort knox. I switched everything else for my move but they are asking all sorts of questions as I try to take over the account in my ex's name lol.

Relax guys, it's just satellite TV.
 
TIL that our old, out-of-touch congressmen are as useless at understanding Facebook as my mother. But at least her questions are somewhat relevant. Some of these guys, including Utah's favorite dinosaur, Orrin Hatch, asked Mark Zuckerberg embarrassingly uninformed questions. Don't they have younger staff members who can stop them from making fools of themselves?

Sent from my HTC6535LVW using JazzFanz mobile app
 
Today I learned that the ELO rating system is actually named after a guy named "Elo", rather than being an acronym as I had always supposed. And I suppose I should pronounce it "ello" instead of "ee el oh" like I always have.
 
colton said:
Today I learned that the ELO rating system is actually named after a guy named "Elo", rather than being an acronym as I had always supposed. And I suppose I should pronounce it "ello" instead of "ee el oh" like I always have.
Click to expand...

If I had ever had a reason to use the ELO rating system, I would have made the same assumption.
 
JazzGal said:
If I had ever had a reason to use the ELO rating system, I would have made the same assumption.
Click to expand...

:)

It's the rating system used for chess and table tennis, among other things. And I've seen people use it for ranking NBA teams as well.
 
JazzGal said:
I look up and read about several things per day, and I can't think of a single thing to put in this thread - in one brain cell and out another.

Edit: Oh yeah - Bradford Pear trees smell like rotting fish and semen (not my description). But they are pretty. That's what I've learned this morning.
Click to expand...

I learned (recently, though not exactly today) that Bradford Pear trees are becoming like weeds and taking over the streetscape as they are very invasive and they are no longer recommended in many areas.
 
Today I learned that vodka is distilled basically as moonshine and then watered down to create drinkability.

Tomorrow I will learn if the justice system follows the law or if we go to jail.
 
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