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The thread of learning something new every day

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  • BonesB Offline
    BonesB Offline
    Bones
    wrote on last edited by
    #541

    FB_IMG_1611647368456.jpg

    1 Reply Last reply
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  • boobooB Do not disturb
    boobooB Do not disturb
    booboo
    wrote on last edited by booboo
    #542

    The octothorpe...

    ... is this symbol: #

    Apparently the abbreviation for the Latin words for pound weight, libra pondo, or lb (that's also something I learned today) got more and more stylised and became #.

    Thus being called "the pound symbol" sometimes.

    AT&T added it to it's phone keyboard because ... ummm ... they could ... and then it needed a name which some peeps and Bell Labs took upon themselves to make up and invented "octotherp", which became "Octothorpe".

    More detail here: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/64280/where-does-hashtag-aka-octothorpe-come#:~:text=Also called a hash or,” libra pondo%2C as lb.&text=They called it the “octotherp,which eventually became the octothorpe.

    And this is a shebang: #!

    And the tweet that took me down this rabbit hole:

    KruseK 1 Reply Last reply
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  • KruseK Offline
    KruseK Offline
    Kruse
    replied to booboo on last edited by
    #543

    @booboo said in The thread of learning something new every day:

    The octothorpe...

    ... is this symbol: #

    Apparently the abbreviation for the Latin words for pound weight, libra pondo, or lb (that's also something I learned today) got more and more stylised and became #.

    Thus being called "the pound symbol" sometimes.

    AT&T added it to it's phone keyboard because ... ummm ... they could ... and then it needed a name which some peeps and Bell Labs took upon themselves to make up and invented "octotherp", which became "Octothorpe".

    More detail here: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/64280/where-does-hashtag-aka-octothorpe-come#:~:text=Also called a hash or,” libra pondo%2C as lb.&text=They called it the “octotherp,which eventually became the octothorpe.

    And this is a shebang: #!

    And the tweet that took me down this rabbit hole:

    Yeah - us nerds know the shebang. First line of every shell script... just good practice.
    I suspect we called it that, because we're never going to experience another " she - bang ".
    Fuck, that joke's a stretch.
    A root. Nerds never get a root.

    BonesB 1 Reply Last reply
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  • BonesB Offline
    BonesB Offline
    Bones
    replied to Kruse on last edited by
    #544

    @Kruse ahhh so that explains why whenever I get given an admin login at a client it has an exclamation and is a "bang" account.

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  • boobooB Do not disturb
    boobooB Do not disturb
    booboo
    wrote on last edited by
    #545

    Re "Octothorpe".

    I get this weird image of a cross between Sponge Bob Square Pants and a Strayan Olympian

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  • taniwharugbyT Offline
    taniwharugbyT Offline
    taniwharugby
    wrote on last edited by
    #546

    Today I learned that Kevlar was discovered after trying to create lighter materials for tyres anticipating gas shortages.

    NepiaN 1 Reply Last reply
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  • NepiaN Offline
    NepiaN Offline
    Nepia
    replied to taniwharugby on last edited by Nepia
    #547

    @taniwharugby said in The thread of learning something new every day:

    Today I learned that Kevlar was discovered after trying to create lighter materials for tyres anticipating gas shortages.

    So the Arabs in the 70s caused the Americans to develop kevlar which they then wore when they invaded in the 2000s.

    1 Reply Last reply
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  • BonesB Offline
    BonesB Offline
    Bones
    wrote on last edited by
    #548

    Fuck right off.

    M 1 Reply Last reply
    3
  • M Offline
    M Offline
    Machpants
    replied to Bones on last edited by
    #549

    @bones doesn't look very energy efficient

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • TimT Away
    TimT Away
    Tim
    wrote on last edited by
    #550

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • WairauW Offline
    WairauW Offline
    Wairau
    wrote on last edited by
    #551

    https://www.fieldandstream.com/story/outdoor-gear/have-new-crossbows-gone-too-far/
    alt text

    nzzpN 1 Reply Last reply
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  • nzzpN Online
    nzzpN Online
    nzzp
    replied to Wairau on last edited by
    #552

    @wairau thanks, that's a fascinating read

    WairauW 1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • WairauW Offline
    WairauW Offline
    Wairau
    replied to nzzp on last edited by
    #553

    @nzzp I posted something about a German and a crossbow yonks ago, incredible stuff, this is the guy after a quick googel...https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a24661/joerg-sprave-full-auto-slingshot-crossbow/

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  • taniwharugbyT Offline
    taniwharugbyT Offline
    taniwharugby
    wrote on last edited by taniwharugby
    #554

    been on a school camp with Miss TR the past few days, and one place we went, was Rupekapeka, a place I had visited several times before, however this time, we had a guide (Albert Cash is his name if the opportunity ever arises)

    He was fantastic, his ancestors fought the in the final battle, and his re-telling of the story that he said had been passed through the generations was superb! THe context he gave it and the surrounding hills and tribes, fantastic (were several other classes that went there today, and there were 2 guides and those who had the same one as us thought he was awesome too)

    He also said he has heard the stories from other Maori (on both sides of the battle) and they all have thier own flavour as they have been re-told over the years.

    Picked up plenty of new bits from him too.

    Also went to Waitangi today and saw the new Te Rau Aroha Museum (opened last year) that focuses mainly on the Māori commitment to the armed forces and Maori Battalion in WW2, was also good.

    Having a guide adds so much to the visits!

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  • SnowyS Offline
    SnowyS Offline
    Snowy
    wrote on last edited by Snowy
    #555

    Was going to put this in the "Memes" thread but would likely get told off by @R-L (again) - maybe that could be a good thing... hmmm.

    Anyway:

    "Richard Dawkins turned 80 this week! Dawkins is famous for many things, not least of which is coining the term meme to represent the cultural equivalent of a gene. He argued that Darwinian principles could be extended beyond biological organisms: just like the strongest genes become widespread, so too do the strongest memes become widespread."

    Always liked Dawkins stuff. Did not know that the "meme" was his term.

    Like this description of him:
    " Richard Dawkins FRS FRSL (born 26 March 1941)[24] is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, atheist thinker, and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was the University of Oxford's Professor for Public Understanding of Science from 1995 until 2008."

    Professor for public understanding of science - good luck with that. Love it.

    1 Reply Last reply
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  • BonesB Offline
    BonesB Offline
    Bones
    wrote on last edited by
    #556

    FB_IMG_1617264074299.jpg

    Once you start clapping, you never stop. The time inbetween claps just becomes longer.

    M 1 Reply Last reply
    1
  • M Offline
    M Offline
    Machpants
    replied to Bones on last edited by
    #557

    @bones said in The thread of learning something new every day:

    FB_IMG_1617264074299.jpg

    Once you start clapping, you never stop. The time inbetween claps just becomes longer.

    Until you're dead, obviously

    BonesB 1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • BonesB Offline
    BonesB Offline
    Bones
    replied to Machpants on last edited by
    #558

    @machpants said in The thread of learning something new every day:

    @bones said in The thread of learning something new every day:

    FB_IMG_1617264074299.jpg

    Once you start clapping, you never stop. The time inbetween claps just becomes longer.

    Until you're dead, obviously

    alt text

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • taniwharugbyT Offline
    taniwharugbyT Offline
    taniwharugby
    wrote on last edited by
    #559

    I found out about a festival in Mali, where the townsfolk get water form the river and make a big old pile of mud, and then repair the cracks on the Great Mosque of Djenne, which is made of mud.

    alt text

    antipodeanA 1 Reply Last reply
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  • antipodeanA Offline
    antipodeanA Offline
    antipodean
    replied to taniwharugby on last edited by
    #560

    @taniwharugby working bees are now called festivals. Something to keep in mind for the local club. 🤣

    taniwharugbyT 1 Reply Last reply
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