"Learn something new every day"
- Thread starter Jesus
- Start date
Quarto
Unknown Enemy
Since this is a thread about learning new things, I figure I might show off just how pedantic I can be, by pointing out that the correct phrase to use here is I really couldn't care less. As in, I care so little that it would not be possible for me to care any less. When you say I really could care less, you're effectively saying that you do in fact care a lotMaj.Striker said:
.Happy Camper
Spaceman
I'd have to agree with that for the most part, except that I think a lot of the Gothenburg death metal is really great.LeHah said:
As for slipknot coming from Iowa, I know, I used to be such a big fan I knew all of their birthdays at one point - until I moved on to better things. I was just giving examples of bands that fit into that particular sub-genre.
And now for my next fact:
(drum rolls)
A crocodile cannot stick out it's tounge.
Wow. That Croc one is weird.
Anyways, I learned that because each new generation is larger than the last because of the rate of how humans reproduce, there will always be more humans alive then there are dead. Weird to think about, but it makes sense. Unless of course, a nuclear war kills off half the planet, which people have said for years is likely...
Anyways, I learned that because each new generation is larger than the last because of the rate of how humans reproduce, there will always be more humans alive then there are dead. Weird to think about, but it makes sense. Unless of course, a nuclear war kills off half the planet, which people have said for years is likely...
Happy Camper
Spaceman
So much for the saying "you learn something new everyday".d3r3k said:
Today I learned that "Hello" is a word invented by alexander graham bell, as a greeting when using a telephone. It was invented because it sounded good on a crackly phone line, and it was a neutral greeting - not good or bad.
ChrisReid
Super Soaker Collector / Administrator
Happy Camper said:
I've said before, don't be posting weird urban legends, myths and made-up stuff. The word has origins in Old French and Latin, and variants of the word are present in multiple languages similar to English. "first recorded 1588. Perhaps from holla! "stop, cease." Popularity as a greeting coincides with use of the telephone, where it won out over Alexander Graham Bell's suggestion, 'ahoy'."
Indoril Nerevar
Spaceman
Ahoy is actually the Chechnian word for 'hello.'
Happy Camper
Spaceman
That's just what I was told, and that it is supposed to be true. As far as I'm aware, it's not an urban legend, myth or something made up, but there we go.ChrisReid said:
Today I learned that my sister's friend's dad does the sound effects for the new doctor who series.
Maj.Striker
Swabbie
Banned
Yeah, I didn't google it but I assume the word "hello" came from a combination of English with the French "Allo." 
Quarto, you are, of course, quite correct in your questioning of my improper English. However I could argue the point that, in fact, I really do care little for the genre of music but that I could care even less.
Nevertheless, you were quite correct, I did intend to say: "I couldn't care less."
Quarto, you are, of course, quite correct in your questioning of my improper English. However I could argue the point that, in fact, I really do care little for the genre of music but that I could care even less.
Nevertheless, you were quite correct, I did intend to say: "I couldn't care less."
Maj.Striker
Swabbie
Banned
Indoril Nerevar said:
What does Chips mean then in Chechnian? (sp?)
Happy Camper
Spaceman
Today I learned that it takes the same amount of electricity to power a small town for 1 hour as it does to produce 1 tonne of aluminium.
I could tell you why the british pronounce it aluminium and the americans aluminum, but ot would probably be dissmissed as a "myth".
I could tell you why the british pronounce it aluminium and the americans aluminum, but ot would probably be dissmissed as a "myth".
ChrisReid
Super Soaker Collector / Administrator
Dyret said:
Posts like this are going to get people banned and threads closed. You've got to realize what gets a chuckle in your middle school classroom won't get the same response here. And Kris might take it personally.
Happy Camper said:
Yeah, if you don't understand the process we spelled out earlier in the thread, best not to try.
TC
SubCrid
Jesus said:
That's... not true. For there to be more humans alive than dead, and assuming perfect 50/50 gender split throughout history and that everyone reproduces before death, every couple would need to have four children throughout human history.
Assuming 25 year generations, and all that perfect stuff above, you'd need an average population growth rate (births - deaths) of 2.7% per annum. Right now, we're at something around 1.1%. When you take wars, illness, injury, child mortality, and all kinds of other things into account, I can't see how your assertion could be true.
It's also stupid to think that even if there were more humans alive now than dead, this would always remain true. Birth rates aren't constants. Fully industrialized countries have a much lower birth rate and population growth than developing nations, for instance. Europe is now, I believe, projected to begin experiencing negative population growth. As developing countries improve, population growth there will likely follow a similar pattern.
There's also the issue of limited resources. Population growth always levels off as resources become saturated. A model where more people are alive than dead requires each generation to be twice the size of the last. This isn't sustainable on this planet in the near future, let alone indefinitely.
edited because I thought harder