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Original poster

Things that are utterly bloody fascinating

770 replies

ElizabethBest · 06/03/2023 14:24

Let's hear it please - I love a good wikipedia rabbit hole. I'll start - The Willard Suitcases. Over 400 suitcases of possessions were found in an attic at the Willard Insane Asylum belong to patients who had died whilst inpatients so never left. The New York State Museum started a project to document the cases and their contents, and you can learn all about it and see the cases on their website.

OP posts:
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15
CriticalAlert · 18/03/2023 18:15

Peverellshire · 17/03/2023 15:48

@CriticalAlert interesting! A prototype or ‘abandoned game’ does/might make sense…

I was reading about the recent ‘planet’ discoveries on the edge of the universe..furthest we’ve ever seen with the new telescope thingy? And they are the ‘wrong size’ or something? Anomalous with what ‘is known’?

I even read that the garden of Eden/Adam & Eve, ‘apple’ is actually a ref in reality to ‘Apple’ tech! :) Some sort of allegorical pun/joke?’l!

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.

Trixiefirecracker · 18/03/2023 19:35

Puzzledandpissedoff · 18/03/2023 13:25

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.

JoonT · 18/03/2023 20:08

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!

CuriousMama · 18/03/2023 20:51

JoonT · 18/03/2023 20:08

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!

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

Crunchymum · 18/03/2023 20:58

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.

SqueakyDinosaur · 18/03/2023 21:43

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.

CuriousMama · 18/03/2023 22:08

SqueakyDinosaur · 18/03/2023 21:43

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.

That's lovely

Peverellshire · 19/03/2023 00:47

@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.

cassiatwenty · 26/03/2023 15:04

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

Ineke · 27/03/2023 03:48

@Sweetpea1532, What is the WAG gang and the Happy Café Group please?

Sweetpea1532 · 27/03/2023 04:01

@Ineke
I'd forgotten I'd mentioned those.
They are two fun threads started by fun, positive people like@ElizabethBest . WAG stands for word association game. Very easy to play...We've gotten to know each other a bit over the months..it's very fun and not at all strident and competitive.
I don't know how to do links, but you can do a search by the OP 'Annekipankitoo' ...the thread going on now is called Wagbunny. Come join us!
The Happy Place Cafe is another fun thread started by 'ssach' during the pandemic and ssach decided to bring it back...it's a thread about the OPs virtual cafe where people can go virtually and order whatever they like with no concern for calories. Hope to see you there! There's lots of free tables!

Sweetpea1532 · 27/03/2023 04:08

@Ineke
I MADE A MISTAKE ABOUT THE OP FOR THE HAPPY PLACE CAFE!!!! I'm sorry! I decided to attach a photo that has the info on both threads...as you can see the OP for HPC is NOT ssach but , sashh... my dyslexia is showing Confused
The different categories can be seen on each thread...

Things that are utterly bloody fascinating
ElsieWelsie · 31/03/2023 21:44

Peverellshire · 19/03/2023 00:47

@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.

I read in my dc's reading book that some scientists believe that one of Saturn's moons could support life and it has lakes and mountains. Also have you ever seen how cute tardigrades are just waddling around under microscopes. It feels like someone's messing around with us.

Trixiefirecracker · 31/03/2023 23:03

Moss Piglets ❤️

Ineke · 01/04/2023 02:50

@Sweetpea1532, many thanks for the info, will take a look.

Sweetpea1532 · 01/04/2023 07:11

@Ineke Hope to see you there!

Peverellshire · 01/04/2023 08:30

ElsieWelsie · 31/03/2023 21:44

I read in my dc's reading book that some scientists believe that one of Saturn's moons could support life and it has lakes and mountains. Also have you ever seen how cute tardigrades are just waddling around under microscopes. It feels like someone's messing around with us.

Show quote history

Interesting, are we a massive ‘Wordle’ game how many guesses before ‘time’s up’? Hey, say AI…

Peverellshire · 01/04/2023 08:35

Sent too soon…AI say ‘how long until they twig, how dumb are they’.

SqueakyDinosaur · 01/04/2023 11:21

I've just gone and looked at tardigrades waddling around and they are adorable!

Thanks, I think, to a PP on here, I am now hopelessly addicted to the Rabbit Hole Detectives podcast. Great recommendation, and I'm surprised how normal and personable Charles Spencer seems.

Ourladycheesusedatum · 01/04/2023 12:31

feellikeanalien · 07/03/2023 11:09

Something I saw for the first time at the weekend and was absolutely blown away. A murmuration of starlings. The sky was black and the birds were just going round and round in a massive flock.

I googled it when we got home and there are whole websites dedicated to it. I find birds generally really fascinating

www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/spot-a-starling-murmuration-this-winter.html#:~:text=At%20sunset%2C%20huge%20groups%20of,group%20of%20starlings%20in%20flight.www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/spot-a-starling-murmuration-this-winter.html#:~:text=At%20sunset%2C%20huge%20groups%20of,group%20of%20starlings%20in%20flight.

Here is a murmuration resting on a ship on their journey. Fascinating.

Bird Migration on Merchant Ships

https://youtu.be/TRFyIsX8pq4

Emotionalsupportviper · 02/04/2023 13:42

Ourladycheesusedatum · 01/04/2023 12:31

Here is a murmuration resting on a ship on their journey. Fascinating.

Show quote history

This is wonderful!

It would be worth getting press-ganged to see this in real life!

Emotionalsupportviper · 02/04/2023 18:41

I did wonder about that cheesus - I bought they'd mislabelled the herons. (Though there weren't thousands . . . )

Ourladycheesusedatum · 02/04/2023 19:47

Emotionalsupportviper · 02/04/2023 18:41

I did wonder about that cheesus - I bought they'd mislabelled the herons. (Though there weren't thousands . . . )

I will just blame menopause again, or early onset dementia, not quite sure. But either video is pretty good. Got the links from tom Scott a youtuber who sends out emails each week. His YouTube channel is pretty good too, some very interesting items and some not so cracking. If you go look for him he has a video of a musical Road (makes music as you drive over it) that went wrong and he explains how it went wrong.

Emotionalsupportviper · 03/04/2023 08:11

A "musical road", you say?

Thank you - I like weird stuff (as I think we all do on here, by the looks of things . . . )