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Joined: Dec 2001
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Thanks Max! Unfortunately, the thread you linked to is one that started and ended weeks before I came aBoard. I tried to click the link to the complete list, obviously it is much longer than the version I posted, but the link takes you to oblivion. Wish I could have read them, bet they were pretty funny.


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And here's the link to our first thread about left-handed polar bears, and so forth. (I recommend this one.)
http://wordsmith.org/board/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=words&Number=3658


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OH, Jackie! Thanks for the link! I love these old threads, but there are sooooooo many, would take too long to search for the best of them.


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Here's a true useless fact from radiation biology: The dose of total-body radiation it takes to kill a person (so called LD50, a dose which is lethal to 50% of the people who receive it) is only enough to heat a cup of coffee by about 1°C. It's an interesting testament to the fact that it's the WAY radiation does damage, not AMOUNT of energy, that is dangerous.

You can figure it out for yourself if you're so inclined: This dose is 4 Gy = 4 J/kg. All you need is the weight of an average person (~70 kg), the heat capacity of water (4184 J/kg), and an estimate of the volume of a cup of water (0.25 kg). Presto!

Edit: Ok, I calculated it. It's more like 0.27°C (0.46°F).

#59654 03/10/02 01:02 PM
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apropos of
7. The male preying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body :

"The juvenile sea squirt wanders through the sea
searching for a suitable rock or hunk of coral
to cling to and make its home for life.

When it finds its spot and takes root
it doesn’t need its brain any more
so it eats it.

It’s rather like getting tenure."

-- Daniel Dennett, Consciousness





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