Random thought of the day
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@remi said in Random thought of the day:
It feels to me that trying to tie those mythical stories to actual facts is trying a bit too hard to rationalise everything.
I didn't do any of that. At least I didn't intend to. I believe that even if they did actually discover a dinosaur bone, they were still certainly 100% wrong about everything. It was just a thought experiment about what would happen if they found one.
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@Gąska I'm not saying you did, it was more a generic comment that often goes along that line of thought ("hey those weird stories might kind of sort of look like they might have a link to some actual real factoid, so let's say that this is how they came about").
Though I agree that if they ever happened to find a recognisable-as-such giant bone, it's likely they would have integrated that into whatever myth fits the best. But while I think we cannot discount the probability that it might have happened at least once in the history of mankind, I also think that it's highly unlikely to have happened much more than that, due to what other people said.
Although that's only true for giant bones. There are tons of other fossils, such as molluscs shells (ammonites or others), that can easily (in the right places) be found in large number, perfectly well preserved and obviously looking like animals, but weirdly so (much bigger, or far from the sea etc.). Giant footprints can also be found in places and while they'd be harder to interpret as such, some people might possibly have correctly identified them. Stuff preserved in amber might also have given people a glimpse of unusual things (lizards in area where there are not many etc.). But all that wouldn't, IMO, be much different from stumbling upon rare animals (or unusual animals from a not-so-rare specie) that still existed, such as finding a cave salamander or a rodent of unusual size.
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@Gąska said in Random thought of the day:
It was just a thought experiment about what would happen if they found one.
There are a few places in the world where such fossils erode out of the stone naturally rather than needing to be dug out, producing a steady (if fairly slow) stream of curios that would have been traded all over.
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@anonymous234 said in Random thought of the day:
Enhancement: add a fifth wheel to the car for extra handling
I'd say missing the fifth wheel would be a rather serious bug that would impair handling so much that the car wouldn't be released.
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@remi said in Random thought of the day:
You don't see people going around trying to justify why Athena was born out of Jupiter's thigh (rather than his buttock or whatever),
I thought it was his head...
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@Mason_Wheeler said in Random thought of the day:
@remi said in Random thought of the day:
You don't see people going around trying to justify why Athena was born out of Jupiter's thigh (rather than his buttock or whatever),
I thought it was his head...
You're right, apparently it's Dionysus who was born out of his thigh (and only because Zeus killed his pregnant mother by revealing himself in his full god-hood, and then put the unborn baby into his thigh as a kind of surrogate womb -- yeah, ancient Greeks weren't really that good about anatomy, but there's nothing new here...).
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Reading my previous post just by itself, and trying to figure who each "his" refers to can lead to some... "interesting" interpretations...
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@Vixen said in Random thought of the day:
The lies we tell our children:
The first map is the propaganda printed in every American history textbook. It pushes a lie that the U.S. acquired all its land fairly from European nations. No mention of Native Americans. The second map shows how it was really acquired and all the nations they cheated to do it.
I would have remembered if I had ever seen the first map in a history book. Most notably because it's an odd map - it says that it's the territory of the original thirteen states, even though it covers more than 13 states. Could be explained, but still odd. Also, the word "lie" as it's used above seems to be a distortion of the word. Stating that that map is in every American history book seems much closer to a bona fide lie.
The idea that every single one of the tribes listed in the lower map was cheated seems like a distortion. Part of the problem is that Indian territories were not clearly defined.
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@jinpa Not only that, but to be , the other nations had already stolen the land from the indians, we stole it from those other nations.
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@Benjamin-Hall said in Random thought of the day:
@jinpa Not only that, but to be , the other nations had already stolen the land from the indians, we stole it from those other nations.
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@Vixen said in Random thought of the day:
@Benjamin-Hall said in Random thought of the day:
@jinpa Not only that, but to be , the other nations had already stolen the land from the indians, we stole it from those other nations.
"This land is mine. God gave this land to me."
Not entirely sure where that's from.
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@Vixen said in Random thought of the day:
Hume, I believe, made a pretty good analysis of the origins of property. Ownership of land starts when there's a large enough supply of land for everyone, and people mix their labor with the land.
Carlin (shudder) was a comedian, not a careful thinker. For it to be theft, it would have to belong to someone already. So it's a self-defeating assertion.
But ultimately, property is a convention. No one who claims not to believe in property gives up their own.
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@kazitor said in Random thought of the day:
If somebody had excavated a giant fossil, don't you think we'd notice a giant excavated fossil?
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@Carnage said in Random thought of the day:
@anonymous234 said in Random thought of the day:
Enhancement: add a fifth wheel to the car for extra handling
I'd say missing the fifth wheel would be a rather serious bug that would impair handling so much that the car wouldn't be released.
... And most of the users somehow are rather happy with a buggy car (pun intended).
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@Vixen One nice thing about this topic is that even when a reply seems to be off-topic, it isn't.
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@jinpa said in Random thought of the day:
@Vixen One nice thing about this topic is that even when a reply seems to be off-topic, it isn't.
this is the one(?) thread it is impossible to non sequitur.
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@jinpa said in Random thought of the day:
@Vixen One nice thing about this topic is that even when a reply seems to be off-topic, it isn't.
That's not true, I had a totally structured and predictable thought which definitely wouldn't fit
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@hungrier Such a predictable response!
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@Mason_Wheeler See? Just like I said, it's wrong for this topic
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@Carnage said in Random thought of the day:
@anonymous234 said in Random thought of the day:
Enhancement: add a fifth wheel to the car for extra handling
I'd say missing the fifth wheel would be a rather serious bug that would impair handling so much that the car wouldn't be released.
Bullshit. People in Poland regularly remove the fifth wheel to make room for LPG tank and they still handle perfectly.
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@Gąska said in Random thought of the day:
@Carnage said in Random thought of the day:
@anonymous234 said in Random thought of the day:
Enhancement: add a fifth wheel to the car for extra handling
I'd say missing the fifth wheel would be a rather serious bug that would impair handling so much that the car wouldn't be released.
Bullshit. People in Poland regularly remove the fifth wheel to make room for LPG tank and they still handle perfectly.
Hah, I even forgot about that one since a lot of cars come without that.
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@Carnage a lot of what now?
Edit: we need a Polandball emoji.
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@remi said in Random thought of the day:
Athena was born out of Jupiter's thigh
Mixing your mythologies. Athena is Greek; Jupiter is Roman.
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@remi said in Random thought of the day:
(or unusual animals from a not-so-rare specie)
I think that word does not mean what you think it means. It is not the singular of species.
</ic rant>
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@remi said in Random thought of the day:
ancient Greeks weren't really that good about anatomy, but there's nothing new here...
Some modern Arizonians seem to struggle with it, too.
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@jinpa said in Random thought of the day:
it says that it's the territory of the original thirteen states, even though it covers more than 13 states. Could be explained, but still odd.
The original colonial boundaries were defined to extend westward indefinitely, although as a practical matter, they tended to not be recognized beyond the point where they crossed into territory held by another colonial power (i.e. France) at the Mississippi River. Well, except Virginia, whose northern boundary extended northwest, crossing and conflicting with the claims of every colony north of it. (It wasn't the only conflict; e.g., the claims of Massachusetts and Connecticut extended across New York.) I don't remember when the conflicts were resolved, and IIRC, the states eventually ceded their western claims to the Federal government, but the US did claim all that territory since the time of the original 13.
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@Benjamin-Hall said in Random thought of the day:
@jinpa Not only that, but to be , the other nations had already stolen the land from the indians,
Many of whom had stolen it from each other. If you think the Native Americans were peaceful, spiritual people who sat around in trances communing with the Great Spirit, no. Let's just say, taking the scalps of their dead (or not) enemies is not something they invented when the white man showed up.
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@HardwareGeek said in Random thought of the day:
Let's just say, taking the scalps of their dead (or not) enemies is not something they invented when the white man showed up.
My sister did some digging into our Iroquois ancestry and basically decided they were all-around awful people.
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@mott555 Any current Democratic presidential candidates in your family tree?
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@mott555 said in Random thought of the day:
all-around awful people.
I wouldn't have gone that far, but you have more detailed and specific knowledge than I do, so I will defer to your opinion.
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@HardwareGeek Likewise, I have basically no knowledge so I'm deferring to my sister on that opinion.
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@hungrier said in Random thought of the day:
@mott555 Any current Democratic presidential candidates in your family tree?
If so, we're far more likely to be related through European routes than Native American, given I'm 12.5% "New York" Indian (almost certainly one of the Iroquois Nation tribes, but we don't know which one) and the other is like one billion-trillionth of something, maybe.
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@HardwareGeek said in Random thought of the day:
@remi said in Random thought of the day:
ancient Greeks weren't really that good about anatomy, but there's nothing new here...
Some modern Arizonians seem to struggle with it, too.
@HardwareGeek said in Random thought of the day:
@remi said in Random thought of the day:
ancient Greeks weren't really that good about anatomy, but there's nothing new here...
Some modern Arizonians seem to struggle with it, too.
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@Carnage said in Random thought of the day:
@Gąska said in Random thought of the day:
@Carnage said in Random thought of the day:
@anonymous234 said in Random thought of the day:
Enhancement: add a fifth wheel to the car for extra handling
I'd say missing the fifth wheel would be a rather serious bug that would impair handling so much that the car wouldn't be released.
Bullshit. People in Poland regularly remove the fifth wheel to make room for LPG tank and they still handle perfectly.
Hah, I even forgot about that one since a lot of them come without that.
@Gąska said in Random thought of the day:
@Carnage a lot of what now?
Edit: we need a Polandball emoji.
Note to self: always quote @Carnage's posts in case he edits out the word that's critical for the joke.
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@Gąska said in Random thought of the day:
@Carnage said in Random thought of the day:
@Gąska said in Random thought of the day:
@Carnage said in Random thought of the day:
@anonymous234 said in Random thought of the day:
Enhancement: add a fifth wheel to the car for extra handling
I'd say missing the fifth wheel would be a rather serious bug that would impair handling so much that the car wouldn't be released.
Bullshit. People in Poland regularly remove the fifth wheel to make room for LPG tank and they still handle perfectly.
Hah, I even forgot about that one since a lot of them come without that.
@Gąska said in Random thought of the day:
@Carnage a lot of what now?
Edit: we need a Polandball emoji.
Note to self: always quote @Carnage's posts in case he edits out the word that's critical for the joke.
Indeed! I am an asshole!
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@Carnage said in Random thought of the day:
@Gąska said in Random thought of the day:
@Carnage said in Random thought of the day:
@Gąska said in Random thought of the day:
@Carnage said in Random thought of the day:
@anonymous234 said in Random thought of the day:
Enhancement: add a fifth wheel to the car for extra handling
I'd say missing the fifth wheel would be a rather serious bug that would impair handling so much that the car wouldn't be released.
Bullshit. People in Poland regularly remove the fifth wheel to make room for LPG tank and they still handle perfectly.
Hah, I even forgot about that one since a lot of them come without that.
@Gąska said in Random thought of the day:
@Carnage a lot of what now?
Edit: we need a Polandball emoji.
Note to self: always quote @Carnage's posts in case he edits out the word that's critical for the joke.
Indeed! I am an asshole!
You know, I've heard that stimulating assholes makes them feel better...
I'll let the reader make conclusions.
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@Tsaukpaetra said in Random thought of the day:
@HardwareGeek said in Random thought of the day:
@remi said in Random thought of the day:
ancient Greeks weren't really that good about anatomy, but there's nothing new here...
Some modern Arizonians seem to struggle with it, too.
@HardwareGeek said in Random thought of the day:
@remi said in Random thought of the day:
ancient Greeks weren't really that good about anatomy, but there's nothing new here...
Some modern Arizonians seem to struggle with it, too.
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@mott555 said in Random thought of the day:
Iroquois ancestry
I was going to make a joke about liking their music, but turns out Jamiroquai actually are named after the Iroquois.
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Bush, Bill, Bill, Bush, Bush, Barack, Barack.
Bernie, Biden, Bloomberg, Buttigieg, Beto, Booker.Is it me or is there some kind of pattern in those names?
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@anonymous234 Only if you conveniently leave out the one in the middle that got conveniently left out...
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@Mason_Wheeler said in Random thought of the day:
@anonymous234 Only if you conveniently leave out the one in the middle that got conveniently left out...
Bonald Bump?
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@anonymous234 said in Random thought of the day:
Bush, Bill, Bill, Bush, Bush, Barack, Barack.
Bernie, Biden, Bloomberg, Buttigieg, Beto, Booker.Is it me or is there some kind of pattern in those names?
None of them are longer than 2 syllables?
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@Mason_Wheeler (I also conveniently switched between name and last name)
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@anonymous234 100% True Fact: Before George H. W. Bush, no US president had the letter "B" in his name
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I believe 100% percent.
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@hungrier At the risk of , Abraham Lincoln.
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@mott555 said in Random thought of the day:
@hungrier At the risk of , Abraham Lincoln.
100% True Fact: His name was actually "Daveraham" but historians said "Nah, nobody would believe someone with a ridiculous name like that would ever become president"
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@Gąska said in Random thought of the day:
It was just a thought experiment about what would happen if they found one.
Result: People on the internet will attack you and your ideas.