Today I learned...

[muckshifter]

TIL: I wanna do Beer Can Chicken on the BBQ.


https://www.weberbbq.co.uk/recipe/beer-can-chicken/

... do you drink the beer first, or after ?

 

[Taffycat]

Today I learned that Norway is considering giving a mountain to Finland as a 100th birthday present...

Top marks to them for originality.

 

[Urmas]

Today I learned that Norway is considering giving a mountain to Finland as a 100th birthday present...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...move-mountain-halti-halditsohkka-highest-peak

Sounds good, eh @Urmas

No matter what the outcome will be, it is a heartwarming gesture from elder brother — Norway gained independence in 1905.

 

[V_R]

... do you drink the beer first, or after ?

Well you need to empty the can by about half before you urmm, insert it into the bird. I certainly not going to be drinking the beer thats been up the chicken!

 

[Urmas]

I certainly not going to be drinking the beer thats been up the chicken!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak

 

[exmoor]

When buying an ISO container of tractor parts on Ebay, some parts may or may not be broken junk!
I did not buy, the farmer friend who did is now looking for a good scrap yard!

At least we got to visit Southampton & have some Fish n Chips!!

 

[Becky]

Well you need to empty the can by about half before you urmm, insert it into the bird. I'm certainly not going to be drinking the beer thats been up the chicken!

 

[nivrip]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak

Thanks for that, Urmas. I always thought that coffee tasted s**t.

 

[EvanDavis]

Today I learned I can use ShadowPlay within GeForce Experience to record my game play

 

[nivrip]

Today I learned that during the French Revolution decimal time was introduced for a while.

The day was divided into 10 decimal hours, each decimal hour into 100 decimal minutes and each decimal minute into 100 decimal seconds. Therefore, it became simpler to interpret a timestamp and to perform conversions. For instance, 1:23:00 is 1 decimal hour and 23 decimal minutes, or 1.23 hours, or 123 minutes.

It didn't last as it proved unpopular and people were unfamiliar with switching systems of time, and there were few practical reasons for non-mathematicians to change how they told time. After 17 months it was scrapped.

Here's a clock with both old and new times displayed.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Today I learned that...

Below Constanța county close to the Black Sea and the Bulgarian border, lies a cave that has remained isolated for 5.5 million years.

Despite a complete absence of light and a poisonous atmosphere, the cave is crawling with life. There are unique spiders, scorpions, woodlice and centipedes, many never before seen by humans, and all of them owe their lives to a strange floating mat of bacteria.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk

Fascinating, I enjoyed reading that.

 

[nivrip]

Today I learned that the Gershwin song Summertime has been covered 33,000 times by others.

 

[Becky]

Today I learned that the most distant point from the centre of the Earth isn't the summit of Mount Everest, it is the top of Chimborazo which is a volcano in Ecuador. The reason for this is that the rotation of the Earth means it's a slightly squashed sphere that is widest around the equator. Chimborazo is very near the equator

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimborazo

 

[nivrip]

Today I learned that the Titanic was quite small compared with modern day cruise liners.

Here's a comparison pic.

2,224 passengers on board when it hit the iceberg. A recently built liner can take over 6,700.

 

[Urmas]

Today I learned that the Titanic was quite small compared with modern day cruise liners.

About the same size as "a mere shuttle ferry" like this:

The production of the new LNG powered fast ferry Megastar started in Meyer Turku Yard in Finland on 4th of August 2015, on 9th of February 2016 the keel of Megastar was laid and the construction process in the dry dock began. According to the plans, her delivery takes place in the beginning of 2017. Megastar will be 212 meters long, can accommodate altogether 2800 passengers and will start operating on Tallinn-Helsinki route under the brand Tallink Shuttle.

The new environmentally friendly ship uses LNG as fuel and she will comply with the new and stricter emission regulations for the ECA areas including the Baltic Sea. The ship, with a gross tonnage of 49 000 and service speed of 27 knots, will bring significant improvement in energy efficiency as well as new innovative solutions to the service on board. Megastar will be a symbol for new era in the fast ferry services on the Baltic Sea.

SHAPED TO BE PERFECT
for your two-hour journey between Helsinki and Tallinn

 

[Becky]

Today I learned that the Titanic was quite small compared with modern day cruise liners.

That photo is quite illuminating!

I read a few years back that an Australian billionaire was planning on building Titanic II - a copy of the original (although presumably more seaworthy). Nothing has happened as of yet though...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_II

 

[nivrip]

Today I learned that you can still buy something for 10p.

I needed a small replacement spring, about 2cm long, for a door restrainer so I went to the village hardware shop. I fully expected that I would have to buy a pack of six, five of which would never be used, which would cost about a fiver. I was amazed that they sold them loose, from a box that had all sizes, and that it cost only 10p.

It felt very strange handing over 10p. Still, it might help keep someone in a job.

 

[Becky]

Today I learned that China has developed a bus that straddles traffic!

http://jalopnik.com/everything-that-makes-chinas-new-traffic-straddling-bus-1784768447

 

[exmoor]

Humanity sometimes forgets or forgives those that fall off lifes path.
Sometimes it is more being human to forgive.
Life is too short to bear grudges or to hold on to ill feelings to others.

 

[Taffycat]

Today I learned...

That only bumblebees are capable of buzz pollination. This occurs when the bee grabs the flower and produces a high-pitched buzz. This releases pollen that would otherwise stay trapped inside.
Source: Bumblebee Conservation Trust (.pdf factsheet)