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Interesting stuff

...on serious topics that don't fit anywhere else at present.
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Alan C.
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Re: Interesting stuff

#41 Post by Alan C. » January 19th, 2011, 6:30 pm

Latest post of the previous page:

I'm learning more geography in this thread than I learned in 4 years at "Richmond secondary modern" :smile:
Abstinence Makes the Church Grow Fondlers.

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Dave B
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Re: Interesting stuff

#42 Post by Dave B » January 19th, 2011, 6:32 pm

Nick wrote:
Dave B wrote:How about Canada?
Er, was not islands part of the qualification, Nick?
Ahhh....
:pointlaugh: Ooops
"Look forward; yesterday was a lesson, if you did not learn from it you wasted it."
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animist
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Re: Interesting stuff

#43 Post by animist » January 19th, 2011, 7:03 pm

Alan C. wrote:I'm learning more geography in this thread than I learned in 4 years at "Richmond secondary modern" :smile:
where the **** is that?

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Ken H
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Re: Interesting stuff

#44 Post by Ken H » January 19th, 2011, 8:44 pm

Another island with one international border: St. Martin / St. Maartin (French / Dutch)

If they were to combine the two would they call it St. Maaartin? :smile:
This is one of the great social functions of science - to free people of superstition. - Steven Weinberg

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animist
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Re: Interesting stuff

#45 Post by animist » January 19th, 2011, 8:57 pm

Timor is independent/Indonesia, I think. Cyprus divided after the 1974 Turkish invasion. Tierra del Fuego is split between Chile and Argentina.

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Alan C.
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Re: Interesting stuff

#46 Post by Alan C. » January 19th, 2011, 9:16 pm

animist wrote:
Alan C. wrote:I'm learning more geography in this thread than I learned in 4 years at "Richmond secondary modern" :smile:
where the **** is that?
Whitehaven, Cumberland (or Cumbria) As it has been re-branded.
It was surely the worst "school" in the UK.
Learned how to play chess (in the maths class) Nothing else.

Edit.
Funnily enough the geography teacher was my favourite, he used to take us fell walking and youth hostelling in his own time at the weekends.
Abstinence Makes the Church Grow Fondlers.

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Paolo
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Re: Interesting stuff

#47 Post by Paolo » January 20th, 2011, 7:57 am

Alan C. wrote:I believe I read (somewhere) recently that humans and chimpanzees are the only two animals that have a prostate gland, the biggest cause of cancer in men.
I stand to be corrected of course.

I might have dreamt it :)
I think you must have dreamt it Alan, to the best of my knowledge all male mammals have a prostate gland - from gorilla to dogs to kangaroos and other marsupials.

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animist
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Re: Interesting stuff

#48 Post by animist » January 20th, 2011, 8:37 am

Paolo wrote:
Dave B wrote:
Nick wrote:Restoring the thread to it's original intentions...

From an answer to my question on Ask a Biologist, I have learned that elephants do not have, as I thought, 4 knees, but 2 knees and 2 elbows. :D

What interesting fact would you like to share with the world?
I wonder if that goes for all quadrupeds? Basic structure of the rest of the mammalian body seems to have a common(ish) configuration.
It is indeed standard for all quadrupeds and indeed bipeds. The only tetrapods (that's the discrete evolutionary group including all of the terrestrial vertebrates) that don't have elbows and knees are the ones that have secondarily reduced or lost their limbs, like the snakes, caecilians, whales, etc.
this has made me realise I don't really know what the difference between elbow and knee is for a tetrapod - could you explain please, Paolo?

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animist
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Re: Interesting stuff

#49 Post by animist » January 20th, 2011, 8:41 am

Dave B wrote:Thanks for confirming my thoughts, Paolo. This similarity in bodily structure is one of those things that the relioginstas seems to ignore when evolution is discussed.

There used to be a song that went along the lines of:
"Be nice to our four footed friends,
'Cos that pig may be somebody's brother . . ."

Can't find it , only a paraphrase:
"Be kind to your web-footed friends
'Cause (for) a duck may be somebody's mother."
and other songs in a similar vein of silliness
don't egg me on!

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Alan H
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Re: Interesting stuff

#50 Post by Alan H » January 20th, 2011, 2:11 pm

animist wrote:this has made me realise I don't really know what the difference between elbow and knee is for a tetrapod - could you explain please, Paolo?
The obvious difference is the kneecap (patella), but there may be more to it than that.
Alan Henness

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1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

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sandymere
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Re: Interesting stuff

#51 Post by sandymere » January 20th, 2011, 2:47 pm

Both hinge joints, a little move movement in the elbow, some muscle, tendon etc differences but not really a great deal of variance in comparison to say the hip joint.

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Dave B
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Re: Interesting stuff

#52 Post by Dave B » January 20th, 2011, 3:11 pm

Trouble is lots of animals have ankles that look like they are half way up the leg, gurt long metatarsals, and the foot is actually only the toes. Makes lit look like the knees bends backwards until you realise that is the ankle!
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Gottard
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Re: Interesting stuff

#53 Post by Gottard » January 20th, 2011, 3:26 pm

thundril wrote:Hmmm. Now Spain/Portugal is almost an island in the Mediterranean, which is almost an inland sea. Is there a special word for an actual island in an actual inland sea. And does anyone know of any?
Spain/Portugal are known as the "Iberian peninsula" and the two countries are washed by two seas: Mediterranean for Spain and the Atlantic ocean for Portugal. Italy as well, is a peninsula as the Scandinavian peninsula is. The peninsula of Giens http://maps.google.com/maps?tab=ml is a nice holiday resort for instance....where I spent several vacations!
The only thing I fear of death is regret if I couldn’t complete my learning experience

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Paolo
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Re: Interesting stuff

#54 Post by Paolo » January 20th, 2011, 5:54 pm

animist wrote:this has made me realise I don't really know what the difference between elbow and knee is for a tetrapod - could you explain please, Paolo?
Alan H wrote:The obvious difference is the kneecap (patella), but there may be more to it than that.
sandymere wrote:Both hinge joints, a little move movement in the elbow, some muscle, tendon etc differences but not really a great deal of variance in comparison to say the hip joint.
Dave B wrote:Trouble is lots of animals have ankles that look like they are half way up the leg, gurt long metatarsals, and the foot is actually only the toes. Makes lit look like the knees bends backwards until you realise that is the ankle!
Image
Great responses all, so I don't think I need to say much more! The one obvious visible difference I will mention, without getting bogged down with the anatomy, is that knees allow the lower section of the hind limb to hinge backwards, whilst the elbow allows the lower section of the forelimb to hinge forwards.

petemster
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Re: Interesting stuff

#55 Post by petemster » January 20th, 2011, 7:15 pm

.
.

... and speaking of those parts used for getting around on ...

One Italian ape has six of them ...

but another Italian ape has only three of them.

And that's because ...


Pete M.

petemster
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Re: Interesting stuff

#56 Post by petemster » January 20th, 2011, 8:54 pm

.

... the Italian word "ape" (pronounced ah-peh ) means a bee

which has six legs for getting around on - plus its wings

the sound of which gives the name to the Fiat Ape -

that tiny little multi-style, three-wheeled van which buzzes around everywhere.


P.M.

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Dave B
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Re: Interesting stuff

#57 Post by Dave B » January 20th, 2011, 9:22 pm

So calling an Italian, "You big ape!" might have him buzzing with anger?
"Look forward; yesterday was a lesson, if you did not learn from it you wasted it."
Me, 2015

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Paolo
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Re: Interesting stuff

#58 Post by Paolo » January 20th, 2011, 9:39 pm

petemster wrote:.

... the Italian word "ape" (pronounced ah-peh ) means a bee

which has six legs for getting around on - plus its wings

the sound of which gives the name to the Fiat Ape -

that tiny little multi-style, three-wheeled van which buzzes around everywhere.


P.M.
I thought you were making a reference to the Pope AKA the 'Primate of Rome'!

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Lifelinking
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Re: Interesting stuff

#59 Post by Lifelinking » January 20th, 2011, 9:44 pm

The Polish word for wasp is bonk. :)
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Fia
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Re: Interesting stuff

#60 Post by Fia » January 20th, 2011, 9:58 pm

:pointlaugh:

...and in Italian it's vespa I think... is all Italian transport named after an insect?

Wonder what sort of transport could be called after the Scottish Midge? :D

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Alan C.
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Re: Interesting stuff

#61 Post by Alan C. » January 20th, 2011, 10:16 pm

Fia
Wonder what sort of transport could be called after the Scottish Midge? :D
The stuka?
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