What have you learned today?

Dalisclock

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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? :D
You'd probably get some weird looks for sure. I do have to wonder if nobody tried something like that back in the day but it never caught on. Rome had this wierd dynamic that they were both xenophobic but the empire was also very diverse.

What's interesting is that the Romans had Fast Food. You could apparently find them everywhere and there are preserved examples in Pompeii and Herculaneum


Ignore the French Fries on the title card. The video maker used it for a metaphor and is fully aware the Romans didn't have Potatoes or Fries.
 
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OblongYellow

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You'd probably get some weird looks for sure. I do have to wonder if nobody tried something like that back in the day but it never caught on. Rome had this wierd dynamic that they were both xenophobic but the empire was also very diverse.

What's interesting is that the Romans had Fast Food. You could apparently find them everywhere and there are preserved examples in Pompeii and Herculaneum


Ignore the French Fries on the title card. The video maker used it for a metaphor and is fully aware the Romans didn't have Potatoes or Fries.
For sure! :) Someone probably tried but either decided to keep it within the family only or authorities probably gave them a warning of some sort. It's really interesting that they had fast food back then I should really look into this more :D
 
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XsjadoBlayde

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Nothing is worth anything, the future is only increasing pain and anxiety, and anyone trying to convince you to have kids is implicit in looking to create more suffering, nitrogen is the best gas for breathing and the most noble death you can hope for is being eaten by your own pets.
 

Xprimentyl

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Nothing is worth anything, the future is only increasing pain and anxiety, and anyone trying to convince you to have kids is implicit in looking to create more suffering, nitrogen is the best gas for breathing and the most noble death you can hope for is being eaten by your own pets.
You just learned this today? I hope you're in your late 20s-early 30s, because that's when that realization sets in for a lot of people, when the excuse of youth is stripped away, you face the struggles of adulting and how much they suck with no one to hold to account but yourself... for the rest of your life. That said, stick around and suffer with the rest of us; misery loves company.

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happyninja42

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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…
I feel you. I hate gore/organ stuff. I have little to no stomach for it at all. A surgery hole in a shoulder I probably would be ok with, as I did do some fairly minor first aid at an old job of mine. That mostly just entailed cleaning cuts and bandaging them on people's hands/arms. But if I'm seeing bone, or organs, naah man, I'll pass thanks.
 
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happyninja42

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You just learned this today? I hope you're in your late 20s-early 30s, because that's when that realization sets in for a lot of people, when the excuse of youth is stripped away, you face the struggles of adulting and how much they suck with no one to hold to account but yourself... for the rest of your life. That said, stick around and suffer with the rest of us; misery loves company.

View attachment 4045
Nothing is worth anything, the future is only increasing pain and anxiety, and anyone trying to convince you to have kids is implicit in looking to create more suffering, nitrogen is the best gas for breathing and the most noble death you can hope for is being eaten by your own pets.
I've never really thought it was all pointless. Sure things can suck on a case by case basis, but I mean, this life is all you get, why not enjoy it while you have it? Sure, in a million years, nothing YOU or I do will likely amount to anything of significance. But, so what? Who said life was about leaving an impact? I actually kind of find comfort in my anonymity in existence. I try for a zero temporal footprint if you will, if anything a positive one. Where my various activities in life, at least don't increase negativity for others. That's enough for me. If I can have my passing through this life, make the fewest ripples, I consider it a win. I will be in great company, namely the majority of humanity up to this point.
 

happyninja42

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Pedro Pascal is the new host for Inside the Actor's Studio. Found that out by randomly being recommended his interview with Willem Dafoe. Not sure why this makes me so happy, but it does. He feels like the kind of guy who could carry the show going forward, and make it fun.
 
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OblongYellow

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Today I learned that there's a name for the space between your eyebrows and it's called the GLABELLA
 

Xprimentyl

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Today I learned via my ostensible brother-in-law (an avid music enthusiast, literally a walking Wikipedia of all things musical, particularly when he's drunk and no one wants to hear it) about Steel Panther, a rock band that has built it's entire reputation on immature and graphic subject matter in their lyrics. One song is funny, the second it's like "Okay, I get it," then the third, and your like "I'm not 14 years old; this is stupid." I thought the one song was a gag for shock purposes, but no, it's pretty much all they do. The musicians are talented, like they could legit be a respectable rock band, but when said talented is shouted over by love ballad-esque lyrics graphically referencing anal sex and/or blow jobs from a trailer park whore with STDs, one can't help but wonder who this "music" is for. After a few songs, I asked him to change it to literally anything else, and he thought I was offended. I had to assure him I wasn't; it was just that the obscene, the one-trick pony had overstayed its welcome; a guy can only take so many references to drug-addicted women covered in semen before a Beethoven sonata is in order to re-balance the mental state.
 
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XsjadoBlayde

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Today I learned via my ostensible brother-in-law (an avid music enthusiast, literally a walking Wikipedia of all things musical, particularly when he's drunk and no one wants to hear it) about Steel Panther, a rock band that has built it's entire reputation on immature and graphic subject matter in their lyrics. One song is funny, the second it's like "Okay, I get it," then the third, and your like "I'm not 14 years old; this is stupid." I thought the one song was a gag for shock purposes, but no, it's pretty much all they do. The musicians are talented, like they could legit be a respectable rock band, but when said talented is shouted over by love ballad-esque lyrics graphically referencing anal sex and/or blow jobs from a trailer park whore with STDs, one can't help but wonder who this "music" is for. After a few songs, I asked him to change it to literally anything else, and he thought I was offended. I had to assure him I wasn't; it was just that the obscene, the one-trick pony had overstayed its welcome; a guy can only take so many references to drug-addicted women covered in semen before a Beethoven sonata is in order to re-balance the mental state.
Had a friend who was into the same band and I couldn't agree more with your assessment. The joke just about lasts one song, generously speaking, and after that it's like "no, yeah ok I get it, no more please" but they still keep going! It seems to appeal to people with a one-tracked mind chasing nostalgia. And it's not even offensive, more like an annoying like a child who won't stop repeating the same dumb penis joke long after everyone else made their excuses to get away from them. At least actual offense would be an emotion other than tired numbness.
 
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Xprimentyl

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Had a friend who was into the same band and I couldn't agree more with your assessment. The joke just about lasts one song, generously speaking, and after that it's like "no, yeah ok I get it, no more please" but they still keep going! It seems to appeal to people with a one-tracked mind chasing nostalgia. And it's not even offensive, more like an annoying like a child who won't stop repeating the same dumb penis joke long after everyone else made their excuses to get away from them. At least actual offense would be an emotion other than tired numbness.
EXACTLY. I would love to meet the record executive who heard their first raunchy demo and was like "yeah, the world needs entire albums of this."

To his credit, my girlfriend's brother actually is extremely well versed in music; you'd be hard pressed to ask him about any music produced between the '70s and late 2000s that he doesn't have encyclopedic knowledge of. He appreciates Steel Panther for their instrumentation, but when he's trying to get me to appreciate that aspect while the lead singer is actively trying to be as disgusting as possible, he might as well be whispering to me in an active wind tunnel... filled with semen, vaginal secretions and used hypodermic needles.
 
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Johnny Novgorod

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Anna Torv, Wendy from Mindhunter, is Rupert Murdoch's niece.

Until they co-opted indoor plumbing from Muggles, JK's witches and wizards would shit on the floor and then magic it away.
 
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Xprimentyl

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Until they co-opted indoor plumbing from Muggles, JK's witches and wizards would shit on the floor and then magic it away.
Source? Because having perfecting the arcane arts before basic plumbing feels a bit like going into space before inventing the bicycle...
 

laggyteabag

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Has J. K. Rowling weighed in on this?
She wrote it - it is in the 6th paragraph

 

laggyteabag

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I live in the UK, and I work with someone to moved here from South Africa.

During one of our conversations, he said that one of the things that took him the longest to get used to, is how in the UK, distance is measured in time, whereas back in South Africa, distance is measured by... well, distance.

As in, if someone were to ask "How far is [town] from here?", I would say "40 minutes", whereas he would say "25 miles".

Obviously both approaches have their contextual issues, but I just find it weird how I never really considered the other approach.
 

Xprimentyl

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I live in the UK, and I work with someone to moved here from South Africa.

During one of our conversations, he said that one of the things that took him the longest to get used to, is how in the UK, distance is measured in time, whereas back in South Africa, distance is measured by... well, distance.

As in, if someone were to ask "How far is [town] from here?", I would say "40 minutes", whereas he would say "25 miles".

Obviously both approaches have their contextual issues, but I just find it weird how I never really considered the other approach.
Measuring distance in time is particularly prevalent in larger cities. Home in Ohio, we always dealt in miles, but since moving to Texas (DFW,) everyone measures in time because traffic makes physical distance a moot point, i.e.: a place could be 5 miles away which doesn't sound far, but if that 5 miles takes 20 minutes to traverse, it's a different conversation. Basically, people want to know how long they're going to be driving as opposed to how far they're going.