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From: Invisible
Subject: Mysteries of the universe
Date: 2 Sep 2009 11:48:50
Message: <4a9e93e2$1@news.povray.org>
What THE HELL is actually in Oxo cubes? Seriously, WTF are those things 
actually made of? Clearly there's corn flour and salt in them, but 
what's the rest of it?

Ditto Bisto.

Actually, Marmite too. And Worcester Sauce. And Cola! Hmm... dark brown 
liquids with inexplicable flavours...

What does "101" actually mean? (Besides being the 26th prime number, 
anyway.) What do people actually mean when they say "bird watching 101"?

Why do overhead cables never flap around in the wind? Come to think of 
it, why doesn't rain short out power cables?

Steelworks. They have furnaces hot enough to melt steel, right? So what 
THE HELL is the furnace itself made of?!

Poisonous berries. Now, let's think about this for a moment. The purpose 
of fruit is to be eaten, thus dispercing the seeds it contains. So... 
WHY WOULD YOU MAKE IT POISONOUS?! That defies the object of the exercise!

Why do some people like the X-Files?

Why is John Smith such a popular name?

Are mushrooms poisonous on purpose, or by accident?


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From: nemesis
Subject: Re: Mysteries of the universe
Date: 2 Sep 2009 12:00:36
Message: <4a9e96a4$1@news.povray.org>
Invisible escreveu:
> What does "101" actually mean? (Besides being the 26th prime number, 
> anyway.)

it's also a palindrome. ;)

> Steelworks. They have furnaces hot enough to melt steel, right? So what 
> THE HELL is the furnace itself made of?!

That has always intrigued me ever since as well.  I can only hope they 
are made of adamantium. ;)

> Why do some people like the X-Files?

Because it's cool.  The whole UFO "I want to believe" mantra as well as 
the "Trust no one" conspiracionist theories were all around in the 90s...

> Are mushrooms poisonous on purpose, or by accident?

On purpose.  They know you'd eat them otherwise.

-- 
a game sig: http://tinyurl.com/d3rxz9


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Mysteries of the universe
Date: 2 Sep 2009 12:04:58
Message: <4a9e97aa$1@news.povray.org>
On Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:48:54 +0100, Invisible wrote:

> What does "101" actually mean? (Besides being the 26th prime number,
> anyway.) What do people actually mean when they say "bird watching 101"?

Comes from university systems (at least in the US).  A course number like 
CS101 is essentially "Computer Science for noobs".  PS101 is "Physical 
Science for noobs".

Jim


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Mysteries of the universe
Date: 2 Sep 2009 12:08:58
Message: <4a9e989a$1@news.povray.org>
On Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:48:54 +0100, Invisible wrote:

> Steelworks. They have furnaces hot enough to melt steel, right? So what
> THE HELL is the furnace itself made of?!

Something with a higher melting point than steel. :-)

> Poisonous berries. Now, let's think about this for a moment. The purpose
> of fruit is to be eaten, thus dispercing the seeds it contains. So...
> WHY WOULD YOU MAKE IT POISONOUS?! That defies the object of the
> exercise!

Poisonous to whom?

> Why do some people like the X-Files?

Because it's a fun show at times, even though the general story arcs had 
no continuity.  That was part of the fun.

> Are mushrooms poisonous on purpose, or by accident?

That implies a will behind their creation.  And not all mushrooms are 
poisonous.  Take the ones that I had on my hamburger last night..... ;-)

Jim


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From: Mike Raiford
Subject: Re: Mysteries of the universe
Date: 2 Sep 2009 12:10:10
Message: <4a9e98e2@news.povray.org>
Invisible wrote:
> What THE HELL is actually in Oxo cubes? Seriously, WTF are those things 
> actually made of? Clearly there's corn flour and salt in them, but 
> what's the rest of it?

Dunno what that is ...

> Ditto Bisto.

Dunno...

> Actually, Marmite too. And Worcester Sauce. And Cola! Hmm... dark brown 
> liquids with inexplicable flavours...

Worcestershire sauce is ... fermented anchovies.
Cola is flavored with lots of stuff: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cola

> What does "101" actually mean? (Besides being the 26th prime number, 
> anyway.) What do people actually mean when they say "bird watching 101"?

Introductory level. Traditionally freshman college classes follow this 
form with class numbers, though I've only seen 4-digit numbers, like 
Bilogy 1301 would be a freshman level biology class.

> Why do overhead cables never flap around in the wind? Come to think of 
> it, why doesn't rain short out power cables?

Those cables are pulled rather tight, also take a close look at high 
tension wires, they'll have some funny looking thing hanging off of 
them that looks like some sort of paddle, This also helps with the wind. 
And they're too far apart to short out in the rain. Fresh water is 
actually not a great conductor, and air is even a worse conductor. 
Submerge them in salt water, and they'll short for sure.

> Steelworks. They have furnaces hot enough to melt steel, right? So what 
> THE HELL is the furnace itself made of?!

They're lined with ceramic bricks. ;)

> Poisonous berries. Now, let's think about this for a moment. The purpose 
> of fruit is to be eaten, thus dispercing the seeds it contains. So... 
> WHY WOULD YOU MAKE IT POISONOUS?! That defies the object of the exercise!

They may be toxic to mammals, but birds might be immune to the toxin. 
It's a protective measure. Many mammals can digest the seeds, Birds, on 
the other hand pass the seeds right through. Same reason hot peppers are 
hot.

> Why do some people like the X-Files?

It was an enjoyable show!

> Are mushrooms poisonous on purpose, or by accident?

Probably on purpose. Obviously not all are toxic.
-- 
~Mike


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Mysteries of the universe
Date: 2 Sep 2009 12:11:00
Message: <4a9e9914$1@news.povray.org>
On Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:06:08 -0500, Mike Raiford wrote:

> Bilogy 1301

That made me laugh. :-)

Jim


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From: Mike Raiford
Subject: Re: Mysteries of the universe
Date: 2 Sep 2009 12:15:26
Message: <4a9e9a1e@news.povray.org>
Jim Henderson wrote:
> On Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:06:08 -0500, Mike Raiford wrote:
> 
>> Bilogy 1301
> 
> That made me laugh. :-)
> 
> Jim

ooops.

-- 
~Mike


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Mysteries of the universe
Date: 2 Sep 2009 12:29:33
Message: <4a9e9d6d$1@news.povray.org>
On Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:11:25 -0500, Mike Raiford wrote:

> Jim Henderson wrote:
>> On Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:06:08 -0500, Mike Raiford wrote:
>> 
>>> Bilogy 1301
>> 
>> That made me laugh. :-)
>> 
>> Jim
> 
> ooops.

...Largely because my stepson was pursuing a degree in Biology. :-)

Jim


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From: triple r
Subject: Re: Mysteries of the universe
Date: 2 Sep 2009 12:40:01
Message: <web.4a9e9fb839795a72958421d50@news.povray.org>
Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
> Why do overhead cables never flap around in the wind?

They do, so of course they're designed to minimize that.  Tension will increase
the natural frequency of the cable, hopefully well above the vortex shedding
frequency.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vortex_induced_vibration


> Why is John Smith such a popular name?

I wouldn't expect an even distribution of names, so if John Smith weren't
popular, something else would be.  Also, if John Smith has a lot of kids, then
then you'd expect a lot of Smiths, some of them named John.  Looks like it's in
decline around here though.  Your results may differ.

http://www.behindthename.com/top/search.php?terms=john&code=us&gender=

 - Ricky


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From: Darren New
Subject: Re: Mysteries of the universe
Date: 2 Sep 2009 13:08:28
Message: <4a9ea68c$1@news.povray.org>
Invisible wrote:
> What does "101" actually mean? (Besides being the 26th prime number, 
> anyway.) What do people actually mean when they say "bird watching 101"?

101 - first year, first class. 201 - second year, first class. 102 - first 
year second class.

> Why do overhead cables never flap around in the wind?

They do, but they're heavy and stiff and thin, so not much.

> Come to think of it, why doesn't rain short out power cables?

Because power system engineers aren't stupid enough to put them close enough 
together a raindrop will bridge them.

> Steelworks. They have furnaces hot enough to melt steel, right? So what 
> THE HELL is the furnace itself made of?!

Stone-like substances, generally. Clay, brick, etc.

> Poisonous berries. Now, let's think about this for a moment. The purpose 
> of fruit is to be eaten, thus dispercing the seeds it contains. So... 
> WHY WOULD YOU MAKE IT POISONOUS?! 

To prevent them from being eaten by those creatures for whom it is 
poisonous. You don't think chili peppers are hot to *every* creature, do you?

> Why is John Smith such a popular name?

John is a popular name from the bible, and smith was a popular occupation.

> Are mushrooms poisonous on purpose, or by accident?

Depends on the mushroom.

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   Understanding the structure of the universe
    via religion is like understanding the
     structure of computers via Tron.


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