Things that are utterly bloody fascinating

Wow we managed to make it into a MN classic, wooooooo

@CriticalAlert what might the ‘Garden of Eden’ & ‘original sin’ & ‘Apple’ mean if used as an allegory for today’s (or tomorrow’s) world? Is ‘life cyclical’? We destroy ourselves & are recreated? The dinosaurs an earlier‘experiment’? How would they have evolved if not wiped out?

if there is life out there, that’s more advanced, it’s not likely to be carbon based. A sort of AI?

I also read about the sky being the blue screen of death…

The lack of proven life elsewhere in universe could point again to a simulation hypothesis.

That's lovely

There's a lovely meme about "you, and everyone you have ever loved, are made of stardust and seawater". I have found that very comforting in bad times.

I find the whole "made of stardust" absolutely fascinating and such a huge comfort. After the very sudden death of a parent, I've found the whole notion of us being part of the universe before and after death such a poignant thing.

I know amazing isn't it. We're basically aliens 😳👽

We are made of stardust. Our bodies are made from a mixture of atoms created at the Big Bang (Hydrogen, mostly) and atoms forged in stars that grew old and exploded, scattering the carbon and other elements across space.

I actually find the UK really fascinating. I love the layers and layers of cultural history. Bill Bryson writes really well about this. For example, I recently found out that Dickens once gave a public reading in a pub in my town during a snowstorm. And exactly 100 years before, Boswell and Dr Johnson spent a night in that same pub!

Thank you for finding that! Yes, that was it! I knew people had tried to make contact but mostly get shot at by arrows so no one has had much success.

I remember Stephen Hawking (another avatar) theorised there were gigantic planets at the edge of the universe, which defeated the current laws of physics. So we need some new science.....

The Apple reference? It could be a pun for us to unpick? The Beatles used Apple for their record label didn't they? There are so many mysterious things on the planet, but they're only 'mysterious' because we don't understand them,...yet.

I can't believe that we are the only life in the universe. When you look at our galaxy for instance, Earth and us is at the edge of one of the spirals, but stars get more closely packed towards the middle. Surely that is where the rich soup of life exists??? I've often thought the life there wants nothing to do with us because we are still so stupid.

There's too much going on outside of this planet. I sometimes see us as amoeba in a pond, totally ignorant and unaware.

Yay thanks @YetAnotherBeckyMumsnet brilliant news. Genuinely think this is the best thread ever.

RE the theory of is being a simulated reality, my friend is convinced the game “the sims” was dropped into our “reality” as a tongue in cheek joke. In the same way that in the sims they have basic versions of their own world as entertainment like computer games and tv shows, that’s our version! I haven’t explained that very well…

rhe apple in Adam and Eve being “apple” is a mind boggling thought 😂🙈

Britinme · Today 11:02

I loved this:

Ha ha, dizzy gorilla!

I think that was this guy, @Trixiefirecracker

www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/03/john-chau-christian-missionary-death-sentinelese

Although it turns out there has been prior contact of a sort:

listverse.com/2020/02/05/10-times-contact-was-made-with-the-last-uncontacted-tribe/

I loved this:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cp0aLO1M_k/?utmmsource=nsedh&utmmedium=email&utmmcampaign=nsedh180323&utmmterm=Newsletter%20NSEDHEditors%20Highlights

The isolated tribes of the Andaman Islands. Became fascinated by these different tribes when I visited some of these islands in the 90s. We were travelling on a bus up middle Andaman when we encountered a tree across the road. All the locals were instantly terrified that it was some kind of ambush by the indigenous tribes. There’s an island called North Sentinel I think we’re the people still live an essentially ‘stone-age’ life style , shun all outside contact and extremely reclusive. I seem to remember there was something in the news about how a young American went over to try and spread the word of god but was killed by the Sentinelese (not too long ago). I find their reclusiveness really fascinating and the way they have preserved their lifestyle so fervently from outside influences.

I wrote a sermon around this once. (St Thomas is our Chruch's patron saint)

Ooh - thank you!

As it happens, I am within reach of York . . .

The link someone posted earlier with the "spaces" in "space" between the planets, etc was incredible.

This one @Emotionalsupportviper ?

joshworth.com/dev/pixelspace/pixelspace_solarsystem.html

I also recommend this very enjoyable cycle ride for anybody within reach of York:

www.york.ac.uk/physics-engineering-technology/outreach/astrocampus/cycle-solar-system/

@SinnerBoy no, I haven't..I'll go look though.😘

There was a series on Indian music a few years ago on BBC4 that touched on this, and sent me down a fascinating google rabbit hole. It's pretty much impossible to prove the 52AD bit, but they use Syriac as their liturgical language - which means the origins are almost certainly 2nd century or earlier.

Yes, it's cheering, all right. Have you seen the Corvid thread? That's a lovely one.

@SinnerBoy you're welcome! I don't know what we'd do if we couldn't have a daily dose of good cheer on WAG

Thanks, Sweetpea!

Christianity is believed to have been introduced in India by Thomas, the apostle in AD 52, long long before the Portuguese or the British arrived.