Something cool you know.

[Shraggler]

very well...
DNA is built from the same basic molecules in all living things, one of them is phosphorus. arsenic has a similar structure, and because of that the enzymes (proteins that help fasten the processes that happen in the cells, among others) that are in charge of re-creating the DNA can confuse phosphorus with arsenic. the problem is that arsenic has a much lower magnetic level then phosphorus, making the hydrogen bonds that connect the arsenic and the other molecules weaker then they should have been if phosphorus was used.
for this reason, arsenic is considered poison for almost all living creatures...

learned it from the Nasa discovery that was mentioned here a few months ago (ya know, the whole "its gonna be aliens" thing?)

Yes, and nearly every large media outlet misinterpreted NASA's press conference to mean that they "discovered aliens" when really they hadn't so these media folks then called NASA lairs and sensationalists when they said nothing of the sort.

It is still quite the discovery, but most people are too brain-damaged and resistant to intellectual discussion, thought and overall change that it's gotten overlooked and cast aside for another season of American Idol, baby!

OT: America's first "soft" drink was Vernor's Ginger Ale. Got the title "soft" because it didn't contain any alcohol like other elixirs at the time.

Mmm yes, and I still drink it to this day when I've got an upset stomach.


OT: The Sumerians (and later the Babylonians) used a base-60 (or sexagesimal) numbering system in their everyday lives, much like we use a base-10 (or decimal) system today. For those who don't know: Sumer was an ancient civilization located in the Southern/South-East area of the land we know today as Iraq. It is primarily noted for being one of the first "civilizations" and also, perhaps most importantly, as the center for one of the earliest, and arguably the most influential, forms of writing.
The Babylonians (as well as the Sumerians before them to some extent) used base-60 in their mathematics (along with almost everything else as stated above). Because of their massive power and influence, the system migrated, with trade, to other civilizations for hundreds of years. Because of the length of time it was in use, it made lasting impacts on many European, as well as Egyptian, civilizations.
Today, we can see examples of the base-60 system every time we look at a map (or Google Earth), a clock and a protractor as we measure each of these in a base-60 system to this day, in one way or another (e.g. 60 seconds per minute; 360º in a circle; 60 arcminutes per degree).

Another "cool" bit of knowledge: The ancient Egyptians are cited as the originators of the 12-hour system for measuring time. This apparently came from their interpretation of a sundial and the angles that were created by the Sun's rays hitting the dial. This, in turn, was then adopted by the Romans and spread over their Empire. Because of it's successful use in trade, diplomacy and war, the system survived after the Empire fell to the present day.

 

[Conn1496]

I know how to tie my shoes.

I despise tying shoes like normal people. They undo. My way, it DOESN'T... ever... >=D (It's too scared that I'll smack it up for being undone.)

Anyway... Giraffes are one of the few animals born with horns.

 

[NewYork_Comedian]

John Wilkes Booth, the man who shot Abraham Lincoln, was one of the most famous people in the world.

He was an incredibly popular actor, like the Johnny Depp of the 19th century, who was the highest grossing actor at the time. At his highest salary, he was getting over $500,000 in cash per year. In the 1800's.

Makes you think...

 

[Chappy]

Forensics mostly - Prefer Entomology (Study of insects) and the probably less known Palynology (Study of Pollen)

Unless a body has been tampered with or in certain crime circumstances the blowfly will always be attracted to a body first and the time in which a insect is attracted is very linear allowing Entomologists to determine a time since death using the degree of evolution from eggs - fly in comparison with the temperature and the scale of insects to appear after the blowfly. You can also tell if a body has been moved by using Entomology because if the linear time line of insect attraction if this timeline is disturbed say for example Blowfly turn up after anouther type of fly you can assume the body was moved especially if they are found in a place that blowfly should be able to access (outside).

The first recorded use of Entomology and Blowfly in a crime investigation was in China 13th Centuary (1325) when it was discovered in a book 'The washing away of wrongs' wrote by a lawyer called Sung Ts'u recounted a case where a person had been found slashed in a rice field and the weapon was suspected to be a sickle a commonly used tool for rice harvest.

It is said that all the workers were gathered together and told to lay their sickles down and after a while flies started to gather on the sickle of the murderer able to sense the blood and tissue residue even after the sickle was cleaned when the suspect confessed.

There are three types of Pollinating plants, Autogamous ? Self pollinating, Zoogamous ? Animal Pollinated and Anemophilous ? Wind pollinated out of all of these Autogamous is the least useful in a crime scene investigation because it typically does not produce enough pollen for a good sample (100 pollen per Anther), Anemophilious is second best as it can indicate someone has been in a certain area but it can be difficult to use for a direct link between person and object and can produce the largest yield of pollen spore (up to 70,000 for some plants) and Zoogamous is the most effective pollen to use due to its 'touch transfer' method of pollination (think off bees) and can set up a direct link between a suspect and something they touched (potentially a murder weapon)

Heh I've got two assignments full of this stuff so I'm going to stop here before I bore the Escapist to sleep *blush*

 

[adrakonis]

I live under the sea, but the sea is a few miles away.

 

[Ham_authority95]

I know that on monday I will go to school and in 10 seconds I will eat some pizza. *Om nom nom*

 

[General_Potatoes]

The meaning of life is 42.

I knew it.

 

[Lesnik]

Ah, damn. I had something but forgot about it while reading the others...

Did you know that the, uh, meaty part of a banana (not the peel) can be peeled like an orange?
It just comes in three slices instead of two!

EDIT: Try not to mush the banana doing it, though!

Note: First impressions involving bananas are real crowd killers. In the good way.

 

[Mr. Fancy Pants]

The pokemon Cubone was originally going to be called Orphan to reference the fact that it's mother is dead, but this was changed because that would probably upset a fair few little kids.

 

[Mr. Fancy Pants]

OT: A common misconception is that the cheetah is the fastest animal in the world. In fact, that title belongs to the Peregrine Falcon, which can reach speeds in excess of 200 mph (320 km/h) in a dive.

Am I the only one that thinks that shouldn't count? I can hit 200 kph in a dive, but that doesn't mean I'm faster than a cheetah. Just seems weird is all.

Fires can be put out by explosions

If you drop a penny from the top of the empire state building, the wind will blow it onto ledges below, although even if it did not do this the penny's terminal velocity is not high enough to kill you

While technically true, it's actually because the penny's mass is insufficient to any damage, not really it's speed. It's mass that packs the wallop.

 

[Kevonovitch]

quite a few martial arts teach you to kill w/o you even realising it, even the balance and defensive arts.

go figure, but it's cool XD

 

[Dimitriov]

OT: A common misconception is that the cheetah is the fastest animal in the world. In fact, that title belongs to the Peregrine Falcon, which can reach speeds in excess of 200 mph (320 km/h) in a dive.

Am I the only one that thinks that shouldn't count? I can hit 200 kph in a dive, but that doesn't mean I'm faster than a cheetah. Just seems weird is all.

Fires can be put out by explosions

If you drop a penny from the top of the empire state building, the wind will blow it onto ledges below, although even if it did not do this the penny's terminal velocity is not high enough to kill you

While technically true, it's actually because the penny's mass is insufficient to any damage, not really it's speed. It's mass that packs the wallop.

Tell that to bullets.

Force equals mass times acceleration. Both are key factors.

 

[Wes1180]

OT: A common misconception is that the cheetah is the fastest animal in the world. In fact, that title belongs to the Peregrine Falcon, which can reach speeds in excess of 200 mph (320 km/h) in a dive.

Am I the only one that thinks that shouldn't count? I can hit 200 kph in a dive, but that doesn't mean I'm faster than a cheetah. Just seems weird is all.

Fires can be put out by explosions

If you drop a penny from the top of the empire state building, the wind will blow it onto ledges below, although even if it did not do this the penny's terminal velocity is not high enough to kill you

While technically true, it's actually because the penny's mass is insufficient to any damage, not really it's speed. It's mass that packs the wallop.

Well the mass affects the terminal velocity, so we're both right

 

[Mr. Fancy Pants]

OT: A common misconception is that the cheetah is the fastest animal in the world. In fact, that title belongs to the Peregrine Falcon, which can reach speeds in excess of 200 mph (320 km/h) in a dive.

Am I the only one that thinks that shouldn't count? I can hit 200 kph in a dive, but that doesn't mean I'm faster than a cheetah. Just seems weird is all.

Fires can be put out by explosions

If you drop a penny from the top of the empire state building, the wind will blow it onto ledges below, although even if it did not do this the penny's terminal velocity is not high enough to kill you

While technically true, it's actually because the penny's mass is insufficient to any damage, not really it's speed. It's mass that packs the wallop.

Well the mass affects the terminal velocity, so we're both right

Indeed we are, then why did I post that? I have no idea. It's pizza time, I believe.

 

[Dimitriov]

Mass does not really affect terminal velocity the pull of gravity is 32' per second per second on all objects.

Density plays some role due to the fluid properties of the atmosphere but not mass directly.

 

[Mr. Fancy Pants]

Mass does not really affect terminal velocity the pull of gravity is 32' per second per second on all objects.

Density plays some role due to the fluid properties of the atmosphere but not mass directly.

Density equals mass per unit volume. Density (both of the fluid and fluid-borne object) is the main factor at play.

 

[Dimitriov]

Mass does not really affect terminal velocity the pull of gravity is 32' per second per second on all objects.

Density plays some role due to the fluid properties of the atmosphere but not mass directly.

Density equals mass per unit volume. Density (both of the fluid and fluid-borne object) is the main factor at play.

Absolutely. I just meant that mass is not directly responsible for a difference in terminal velocity. A Blimp is far more massive than a pebble but a pebble falls a lot faster. I was just being anal and pointing out that mass as a factor on its own is not relevant.

Also I used it as a reason to post a cool fact that was on topic: the pull of gravity on Earth.

Also also this is surprisingly fun.

 

[Ladette]

There are between 200 and 400 billion stars in the Milkey Way. Feel insignificant yet?

 

[Mr. Fancy Pants]

Mass does not really affect terminal velocity the pull of gravity is 32' per second per second on all objects.

Density plays some role due to the fluid properties of the atmosphere but not mass directly.

Density equals mass per unit volume. Density (both of the fluid and fluid-borne object) is the main factor at play.

Absolutely. I just meant that mass is not directly responsible for a difference in terminal velocity. A Blimp is far more massive than a pebble but a pebble falls a lot faster. I was just being anal and pointing out that mass as a factor on its own is not relevant.

Also I used it as a reason to post a cool fact that was on topic: the pull of gravity on Earth.

Also also this is surprisingly fun.

Indeed you are correct on all fronts. I haven't talked to anyone about physics for a long time and I've missed it dearly. We shall be chums from this day forth.

 

[retterkl]

Killer whales are a species of dolphin.