Official Random Fact/Random Thought Thread!

[Ryan]

They can measure a mountain growing 4 mm per year? I'm not calling b.s. but personally I'm skeptical....

 

[Knotorious]

They can measure a mountain growing 4 mm per year? I'm not calling b.s. but personally I'm skeptical....

They have a GPS module installed at the top. It is highly precise and teams go up there every year to retrieve the data from it.

They use various other techniques and data as well. There are instruments installed all over that mountain.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Micro platics are being found in everything, air, water, food, our bodies.

 

[Knotorious]

Micro platics are being found in everything, air, water, food, our bodies.

I know. But it says a lot that they are found in one of the most remote places on the planet.

 

[Knotorious]

Microplastics are able to make their way into pretty much every part of the planet. Even in a cave that has been closed to visitors for 30 years. Most of it remains in the sediment in the cave, with only 1% roughly in the water. That's likely due to its ability to sink over long periods of time.

Microplastics Found In Cave System Closed To Humans For 30 Years

Aquifers give much of the world their drinking water, but we know almost nothing about how many microplastics they contain.

www.iflscience.com

 

[Ryan]

They have a GPS module installed at the top. It is highly precise and teams go up there every year to retrieve the data from it.

They use various other techniques and data as well. There are instruments installed all over that mountain.

They have all that fancy tech but still have to go up and physically retrieve the data?
Is it just an old trail cam they pull a sim card out of?

You don't have to engage my skepticism, I'm just being stupid.

 

[Kaveman]

Dude, they do it with lasers. The world is flat, after all, and the Nazis built a giant tower at the north pole, back in the 30s, so they just climb up, shoot the laser over at everest and measure how far off of perfectly level it is. Simple really.

 

[Ryan]

That, I can get on board with!

 

[Knotorious]

Flat Earth Theory is absolutely asinine. It's mind boggling that there exist people who can be so unbelievably stupid. They actually waste their lives developing new physics and theories about our planet that "support" their flat earth theory and believe in all kinds of conspiracies.

Flat Earthers believe that the earth is stationary and surround by massive blockades of ice.

@Kaveman, I had no idea that a giant sea turtle was keeping our flat earth in position. I guess you don't know what you don't know haha

Here's a modern day Flat Earth map...



Here is a flat Earth map that is legitimate and correctly portrays our planet's features. Some say it's one of the most accurate maps ever...


Obviously, this second map isn't suggesting that the Earth is flat, it's merely portraying geological and oceanic features on two flat discs, which represent hemispherical shapes.

 

[lxskllr]

Is that first image really a flat earth? I think you've stumbled into the little understood conical earth theory. It attempts to reconcile the difference between flat earth, and spherical earth. I find the evidence quite compelling.

 

[Knotorious]

Is that first image really a flat earth? I think you've stumbled into the little understood conical earth theory. It attempts to reconcile the difference between flat earth, and spherical earth. I find the evidence quite compelling.

Snap. You might be right. Didn't notice the cone at the bottom. I really need my f*cking glasses, guys. Two more weeks and they should be ready haha. You might be right, @lxskllr

 

[Knotorious]

Flat earth map. It's basically the same thing, but without the cone at the bottom.

 

[Kaveman]

The pic I posted was Great A'Tuin, the world turtle. Read some Pratchett. Phukin plebs.

 

[SeanKroll]

Are there no southern polar routes by plane?




Shackleton must be turning over in his grave.

 

[Knotorious]

Are there no southern polar routes by plane?




Shackleton must be turning over in his grave.

According to the Flat Earth map, you could fly in any direction and hit Antarctica AKA the South Pole. They believe it's an impenetrable wall of ice.

Relevant Fact: An Oct. 29 Instagram post includes a photo of television adventurer Bear Grylls, accompanied by text saying Antarctica is the "ice wall around this flat Earth." The image received over 500 likes in 10 days.

"The ice walls, which contain the waters are real," wrote the post author. "Many have seen them but few have ever gone past them. When will the ruling powers of this realm allow us to leave our confined space? Are we destined to go beyond or are will physically not able to?"

In the comments, another Instagram user said, "Don't think we'll ever be allowed. That would blow their globe Earth theory, wouldn't it? And the house of cards would tumble."

But the concept of an ice wall around the earth is both fiction and scientifically impossible, experts say.

Antarctica is a continent in the Southern hemisphere. Satellite data shows that it does not extend around the entire Earth. In addition, an ice wall would not be sustainable, Antarctic scientists said.

Fact check: Antarctica is a continent, not an 'ice wall' around a flat Earth

There is both photographic and scientific evidence showing Antarctica is a continent and not an "ice wall."

www.usatoday.com

 

[Knotorious]

Random Fact:

North Korean myths...

According to North Korean myth, Kim Jong Un never uses the toilet because his body is so well calibrated.

Kim Jong Il claimed that he invented the hamburger and that sawdust was filled with nutrients and encouraged his people to eat sawdust during a famine.

For decades North Koreans believed the Japanese stole time from them back during their 1919 occupation. Kim Jong Un finally righted this injustice and set North Korea's clocks back by half an hour on August 15, 2015.

According to his official biography, Kim Jong Il's birth atop a sacred mountain saw a new star created and winter turn to spring. However records kept by the country's Soviet allies show he was born in a Siberian village in 1941.

Kim Jong Il shot 38 under, including 11 holes-in-one, at the 7,700-yard championship course at Pyongyang in the VERY FIRST golf round of his life, according to North Korean state media.

Kim Jong Il outwardly hated westerners, but inwardly loved American movies and said his favorite movie was Scarface!

What a bunch of oppressive ass hats. You can't make this shit up.

 

[Kaveman]

Just posted this elsewhere, seems like a good time and place to drop it again.
I fully encourage folks to explore the DPRK from Google. Try finding a car on the road outside of Pyongyang.

 

[Mick!]

What’s your point?

 

[Kaveman]

My point is that anytime North Korea is brought up as a serious threat, you should question how and why and who, it would benefit from the world fearing a paper tiger.

 

[Mick!]

Don’t they test missiles and have nuclear capability?

 

[Knotorious]

My point is that anytime North Korea is brought up as a serious threat, you should question how and why and who, it would benefit from the world fearing a paper tiger.

I was just sharing some funny, ridiculous myths that most North Koreans actually believe about their leader, not making any kind of statement about their military prowess.

But now that the conversation has gone in that direction, I think it would be foolish to not take the DPRK seriously on their threats to someday attack the US with nuclear weapons. They may not have the ability to do so right now, but it's only a matter of time. Sanctions against the North Koreans have been surprisingly ineffective. They are extremely resourceful and have cozied up to all of the US's enemies for illicit cargo and conduct huge amounts of money laundering out of Morocco.

Now that Russia has been buying literal TONS of weapons from them, North Korea has had a massive, recent cash infusion, which they will obviously put towards their weapons programs and not towards their nationwide poverty/starvation problem. My other main concern is that their safeguards against premature or accidental launches of missiles may not be up to code compared to most other nations with similar or identical technology. I'd hate for their carelessness during a test to end up causing destruction to one of its neighbors. This could lead to, potentially, the next big war throughout the world. They have already been reckless by, as @Mick! pointed out, firing missiles over Japan.

Also, let us not forget that North Korea has the largest active military on the planet by a long shot and that it is believed they have dug tunnels deep beneath the DMZ separating it and South Korea, where it is prepared to send a flood of weapons and military personnel into the heart of South Korea should conflict ensue. They also have an enormous weapons surplus that is so enormous that they have been able to, again, sell metric tons of weapons to Russia and have it not even put in a dent. Yes, most of these weapons are outdated, but still very, very capable of inflicting serious damage on its neighbor.

 

[Kaveman]

Measure even the supposed capabilities of north Korea against the known capabilities of their many rivals. There is no contest.

Those many tons of shells sold to Russia seem to have a distressing tendency to blow up the guns firing them...

The largest standing military by numbers. Let's weigh everybody. A population that is perpetually underfed, doesn't produce world class soldiers.

There's a whole series of videos of DPRK defectors being shown American recruitment commercials and such and flipping out over the mis match in capabilities, from equipment to soldiers.

Here, I found one. This channel did quite a few. Most folks were quite fascinated after Ms. Parks got famous.

 

[Knotorious]

Measure even the supposed capabilities of north Korea against the known capabilities of their many rivals. There is no contest.

Those many tons of shells sold to Russia seem to have a distressing tendency to blow up the guns firing them...

The largest standing military by numbers. Let's weigh everybody. A population that is perpetually underfed, doesn't produce world class soldiers.

There's a whole series of videos of DPRK defectors being shown American recruitment commercials and such and flipping out over the mis match in capabilities, from equipment to soldiers.

Here, I found one. This channel did quite a few. Most folks were quite fascinated after Ms. Parks got famous.

My point isn't that I believe North Korea would win whatever conflict they may begin. My point is that they could and likely would do a lot of damage before getting subdued. Even one friendly life lost in any conflict is one life too many. It would obviously be way more than that, though.

 

[Kaveman]

My point isn't that I belive North Korea would win whatever conflict they may begin. My point is that they could and likely would do a lot of damage before getting subdued. Even one friendly life lost in any conflict is one life too many.

No argument with that at all.

 

[Knotorious]

Random Fact: Polyester is a great material for fabrics because it's durable and long lasting. This is likely a major reason why polyester makes up over 50% of the total fiber market and over 80% of the synthetic fiber market. It also means that most of us in some point in our lives enjoy wearing plastic and that garments made of polyester take 20-200 years to decompose.

Random Fact: Are killer whales even whales? Orcas, or killer whales, are the largest of the dolphins and one of the world's most powerful predators. They feast on marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, and even whales, employing teeth that can be four inches (ten centimeters) long.