What have you learned today?

[Piscian]

Today I learned about Shrink-Wrapped Dinosaur Syndrome

Shrink-Wrapping is the term that's come to be applied to a tendency in paleoart (which until recently was completely the norm) for artists to adhere rigidly and conservatively to the skeletal structure of the animal they're illustrating. In reality though, most animals have a lot of soft tissue covering their bones, not to mention fur and feathers and all kinds of other adornments which wouldn't survive fossilization as well as bones do, so sticking rigidly to bone structure gives us an idea of what extinct animals looked like that is almost certainly wrong.

To illustrate, raptors in the 2000s.

View attachment 3917

vs. raptors today.

View attachment 3918

To clarify, it's not that dinosaurs actually looked exactly like the second picture, rather that we can't actually know for certain what they looked like but we do know they probably didn't look like their skeletons.

My favorite thing about Dinosaurs is Nathan Murphy. He's the most successful paleontologist in the world, having dug up the most complete dinosaur skeleton in existence. He's also a thief and a convicted felon. If you haven't heard of him it's awesome story and should look him up.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Billy Bob Thornton's a brony (his favorite is Fluttershy) and his daughter killed a baby.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Billy Bob Thornton's a brony (his favorite is Fluttershy) and his daughter killed a baby.

It'd be interesting to know if you learned these very disparate facts from the same source. Like how did THAT article read?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

It'd be interesting to know if you learned these very disparate facts from the same source. Like how did THAT article read?

Different citations, same Wikipedia page. Learned on the same day though.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Different citations, same Wikipedia page. Learned on the same day though.

HIs brony-ism is prominent enough to make his Wikipedia page? I always knew he was a... different kinda guy, but that's impressive, that a casual interest might be noteworthy enough to make into the annals of his cliff-noted biography.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

HIs brony-ism is prominent enough to make his Wikipedia page? I always knew he was a... different kinda guy, but that's impressive, that a casual interest might be noteworthy enough to make into the annals of his cliff-noted biography.

Wild stab in the dark: a brony heard of it, got excited about having a celeb in the tribe and edited it in.

Here's Billy Bob rambling about MLP:

“This was amazing because the Mane Six ponies, who are the stars of the show, they go out there because Celestia, who runs Equestria, she will tell Twilight Sparkle she needs to go somewhere, but she doesn’t tell her why. So anyway, suddenly they get captured by them and told that they have to remove their cutie marks and get equal signs. But they said, you know what? No. So Fluttershy, who is my favorite because she kind of talks like Marilyn Monroe, says, ‘Oh, yes.’” (He says this like Marilyn Monroe.) “Fluttershy acts like she wants to become a member, you know? And so they give her the cutie-mark equal-sign stamp and everything. And then she notices something, like it rains, and it washes off Starlight Glimmer’s equal sign, and she’s got her own cutie mark. So she’s like a Jim Jones cult, you know, right?”

 

[Xprimentyl]

Wild stab in the dark: a brony heard of it, got excited about having a celeb in the tribe and edited it in.

Quite likely. I forget sometimes that Wikipedia, while often helpful, is little more than the collective knowledge of undisciplined "scholars."

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I learned not to click on anything marked NSFL.

 

[Xprimentyl]

I learned not to click on anything marked NSFL.

My "best friend" knows I'm really squeamish when it comes to body horror, particularly knees being bent out of place or broken bones, so he thinks it's funny to send me links to seemingly innocuous content, and when I open it, of course it's a gruesome sports injury or something to turn my stomach. One time he sent me video of some guy literally being butchered alive by a Mexican cartel in the desert. I watched for about 4 seconds before realizing what I was watching was real, and dropped my phone face down. I opted to power it down rather than flip it over and have to see the screen again to stop the video. A week of nightmares ensued. Yeah, we had a "friendly chat" about that one. I don't open his links anymore.

 

[Dalisclock]

Apparently you could make a pretty good Hamburger in Ancient Rome using ingredients from the time period and within reasonable means of sourcing stuff from around the empire. You'd have to forgo Tomatoes and Ketchup but you'd totally be able to have a bacon cheesey burger.

Roman Fast Food Joints also existed but I already knew about that.

I do find it wierd that the Sandwich was officially invented like a couple hundred years ago when you'd think "Put stuff between bread chunks" would be a fairly logical invention after you had bread(like a couple thousand years ago) and stuff to put in the bread(like forever ago). I'd love to know just what the holdup on that was. Did people just not like the idea of eating food surrounded by bread back in the old days?

 

[Terminal Blue]

I do find it wierd that the Sandwich was officially invented like a couple hundred years ago when you'd think "Put stuff between bread chunks" would be a fairly logical invention after you had bread(like a couple thousand years ago) and stuff to put in the bread(like forever ago).

I think the main issue with a sandwich is that it's similar to a lot of traditional peasant food but less practical.

Many cultures have independently come up with this concept of getting some meat or filling and wrapping it in bread or pastry so it doesn't leak everywhere. If you're an agrarian peasant, you want some high calorie food you can take out into the fields and eat whenever you feel like it. With something like a pasty/bierock/pie/pirozhki/various cultural versions thereof, all the filling is contained inside the pastry or dough, whereas a sandwich can pretty easily fall apart or leak if you're carrying it around.

 

[Xprimentyl]

...If you're an agrarian peasant, you want some high calorie food you can take out into the fields and eat whenever you feel like it...

Could be wrong, but I think that's where the burrito got its start. Homemakers would wrap various leftovers/food stuffs throughout the abode in a tortilla, and field works could enjoy a cheap and easy meal on the job without the need of a plate or utensils. Now you pay almost $10 for one at Chipotle. Evolution of the culinary arts.

 

[Xprimentyl]

…I'm really squeamish when it comes to body horror…

Today I learned that I’ve been conscripted as a field medic.

For chemotherapy, my girlfriend had to have a “port” installed. It’s basically a temporary, subdermal implant that the doctors used to access her artery in lieu of a fresh injection each treatment. Well, that port was removed a week and a half ago in an outpatient surgery using local anesthetics. It was not healing correctly, still bleeding and discolored as of today. The surgeon requested she come back in for her to look at it, and indeed there was a problem. She had to reopen the wound and scoop out the congealed blood (fortunately no infection.) I was allowed to stay in the room, but I refused to watch; I was trying desperately to get a decent signal to distract myself on my phone. I overheard the surgeon say my gf would need to re-dress the freshly cleaned wound every day for about 2 weeks, then she called to me and said I needed to watch, because given the location of the wound, my gf likely would need help…

… *gulp*…

I reluctantly stood up to see a gaping hole in my gf’s shoulder, and my mouth started to water and my head started to spin a bit. I grabbed the window sill and edge of the operating table to steady myself as I convinced the surgeon and nurse that I wouldn’t pass out (the nurse was already in the brace position to catch a fainting onlooker; she’s seen this before.) The surgeon then proceeded to stuff about 2 inches of gauze into the cavity with a long medical q-tip; I leaned against the wall as I fought back both fainting and puking. I made it, but by strength of will alone. My gf was laughing while the nurse and surgeon assured me I could do it. Tomorrow’s the first I’ll have to try doing it, and I’m not completely confident I can. Pray for me…

 

[Gordon_4]

Today I learned that I’ve been conscripted as a field medic.

For chemotherapy, my girlfriend had to have a “port” installed. It’s basically a temporary, subdermal implant that the doctors used to access her artery in lieu of a fresh injection each treatment. Well, that port was removed a week and a half ago in an outpatient surgery using local anesthetics. It was not healing correctly, still bleeding and discolored as of today. The surgeon requested she come back in for her to look at it, and indeed there was a problem. She had to reopen the wound and scoop out the congealed blood (fortunately no infection.) I was allowed to stay in the room, but I refused to watch; I was trying desperately to get a decent signal to distract myself on my phone. I overheard the surgeon say my gf would need to re-dress the freshly cleaned wound every day for about 2 weeks, then she called to me and said I needed to watch, because given the location of the wound, my gf likely would need help…

… *gulp*…

I reluctantly stood up to see a gaping hole in my gf’s shoulder, and my mouth started to water and my head started to spin a bit. I grabbed the window sill and edge of the operating table to steady myself as I convinced the surgeon and nurse that I wouldn’t pass out (the nurse was already in the brace position to catch a fainting onlooker; she’s seen this before.) The surgeon then proceeded to stuff about 2 inches of gauze into the cavity with a long medical q-tip; I leaned against the wall as I fought back both fainting and puking. I made it, but by strength of will alone. My gf was laughing while the nurse and surgeon assured me I could do it. Tomorrow’s the first I’ll have to try doing it, and I’m not completely confident I can. Pray for me…

Its terrifying, I imagine. And uh, between you and me and the fence post I've had similar but much more low key version of that done on me. But when you're tasked with it, just take a deep breath. Remember for who, and why you're doing this. That I feel confident will steel your nerves enough to get it done.


On the lighter side of life, I learned that Gandalf the Grey was a most eloquent kicker of asses.

"I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside."

 

[XsjadoBlayde]

That Alec Jones can be relaxing through the appropriate filters

 

[Mister Mumbler]

That the way that gun manufacturers used to measure chamber pressure produced by fired rounds was by squishing solid copper cylinders.

 

[lostinreality]

Troye Sivan's Blue Neighborhood Trilogy.

 

[OblongYellow]

I learned about a new animal called the Maned Wolf. Call me someone who's late to learn this but I always thought it was a hoax having seen pictures of it circle around social media. But today, my friend actually told me that this fox looking creature and its long legs is very much real and existing. :O
https://www.theverge.com/2016/1/31/10868246/animal-review-maned-wolf-nice-stems

 

[OblongYellow]

Apparently you could make a pretty good Hamburger in Ancient Rome using ingredients from the time period and within reasonable means of sourcing stuff from around the empire. You'd have to forgo Tomatoes and Ketchup but you'd totally be able to have a bacon cheesey burger.

Roman Fast Food Joints also existed but I already knew about that.

I do find it wierd that the Sandwich was officially invented like a couple hundred years ago when you'd think "Put stuff between bread chunks" would be a fairly logical invention after you had bread(like a couple thousand years ago) and stuff to put in the bread(like forever ago). I'd love to know just what the holdup on that was. Did people just not like the idea of eating food surrounded by bread back in the old days?

This is good to know! I didn't expect it to be possible to make hamburgers during the time of the Ancient Romans. I didn't even know that bacon was a possibility! Kinda wondering though if a traveler by any chance made a cheesey bacon burger back then, would he be considered a heretic or some sort of bad luck to the empire?

 

[Piscian]

Reading some CBR article on alan moore film reactions.

Today I learned that Alan Moore had to give a 10 hour deposition because Fox got sued for plagiarism over the League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen film script. Can you imagine that? Getting sued over a movie you hated and no part in that trashed the validity of your work and then having to get up and defend yourself for 10 hours?
The claim was so bizarre too. They tried to state that Fox paid him to write a comic based on a stolen script that they then adapted into a movie. He said that was the last straw with him and he wanted his name removed from any previous and future credits for films based on his work. I don't blame him.