TIL thread

[Infinity Blade]

Not to mention that while our current population might still be manageable, it will be less so as it continues to grow. Apparently we’re close to 8 billion people now, while I still remember just 11 years ago the world population hitting 7 billion.

[Supercommunist]

Personally. I don't get why people get so offended by the idea of trying to encourage lower birth rates in non-violent ways. Like who on Earth actually enjoys traffic, long lines, pollution, and expensive rent? The only benefit of a super high population is economic growth but obviously at some point we're going to have press on the breaks eventually, and its very likely automation will make a lot of low skill workers/physical laborers obsolete sometime in the distant future.

On a more serious note, I think it is very likely that developing countries such as India will have a larger carbon footprint over time as they are able to afford more goods and meat. I don't blame them for wanting to live a better life but the fact of the matter is that India is already a huge contributor to climate change when they are dirt poor. Imagine how bad it will get if their emissions climb closer towards the global average.

[creature386]

Aug 19, 2022 6:48:32 GMT 5 Supercommunist said:

Personally. I don't get why people get so offended by the idea of trying to encourage lower birth rates in non-violent ways. Like who on Earth actually enjoys traffic, long lines, pollution, and expensive rent? The only benefit of a super high population is economic growth but obviously at some point we're going to have press on the breaks eventually, and its very likely automation will make a lot of low skill workers/physical laborers obsolete sometime in the distant future.

From what I can tell, most of the people who want sustained population growth are conservatives and libertarians, with the former being worried that their ethnicity/cultural group shrinks compared to others and the latter being worried about, well, economic growth. But seriously, these techno-libertarians can be annoying. "Earth can sustain 9-10 billion people if we just take technology into account". I mean, maybe it can, but do we really need to test that?

[Supercommunist]

^I've also seen leftists argue that population is not a problem and that overconsumption is the only real issue. While they have a point, what they don't realize is that the average Joe living a first world country still has a huge impact on climate change. While I would agree companies and big organizations do deserve most of the blame since they are the main reason some many people deny climate change in the first place, regular folks shouldn't be left off the hook, especially since average Joes are one of the main obstacles in creating nuclear energy and will have a temper tantrum if you tell them to stop watering their lawns.

[Infinity Blade]

Something I learned yesterday night and then posted on my Twitter.

[Infinity Blade]

This is the cover of a book titled Evolution and Biogeography of Australasian Vertebrates. This is…the best thing ever.

://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-38779-1

This is the full drawing, revealing a long snake-like tail and the fluke of some fish.

www.researchgate.net/publication/304557789_The_Torresian_connections_Zoogeography_of_New_Guinea

[Infinity Blade]

TIL that references to steak rareness/doneness in literature go as far back as 1615. So people were eating their beef this way for at least that long.

www.foodtimeline.org/foodmeats.html


Also bighorn sheep have relatively short, blocky bodies that are unsuited for speed out in the open. Historical accounts indicate that bighorns caught in the open could easily be run down by a pack of dogs or on horseback.

www.google.com/books/edition/Bighorn_Sheep/SS4vBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=bighorn+sheep+running+speed&pg=PA40&printsec=frontcover

[Infinity Blade]

TIL that the Tang Dynasty actually fought Islamic caliphates.

For example, the Battle of Aksu in 717 CE was fought between the Tang and the Umayyad Caliphate and their allies. The Tang won that battle. 34 years late, the Tang fought the Abbasid Caliphate in the Battle of Talas, but weren't as lucky.

[Supercommunist]

I didn't know green herons could extend their necks to such great degree.





svpow.com/2021/01/07/herons-dont-just-lie-they-cheat-or-at-least-their-tracheas-do/

[Creodont]

TIL that an individual sperm whale tooth can weigh as much as one kilogram.

[Creodont]

TIL about South Korea's all-purple Banwol Island (a photographer's dream)

amp.cnn.com/cnn/travel/article/banwol-purple-instagram-island-south-korea/index.html

[Supercommunist]

According to some sources blues sharks have been know to give birth to 135 pups.

[Infinity Blade]

TIL that in the recent Chinese-Indian border clashes, the soldiers involved don't use firearms or explosives due to a 1996 agreement the two countries made. Instead they literally resort to melee combat and improvised/primitive weapons (while still being outfitted in modern body armor and uniforms).

Here's what is supposedly a nail-embedded club used by the Chinese.


Chinese soldiers photographed carrying guan dao.

On June 15, 2020, over 600 soldiers clashed in Galwan Valley. While the soldiers had rifles, they did not use them. Reportedly, the Chinese brought machetes, clubs embedded with nails, and batons wrapped with barbed wire. The violence involved a mix of purpose-built and improvised weapons including iron rods, collapsible batons, stones, and others.

www.sandboxx.us/blog/these-are-the-unique-weapons-used-in-the-border-clashes-between-china-and-india/


In this filmed incident, both sides appear to be using sticks, pipes, and batons, as well as throwing bricks and stones.

www.cnn.com/2022/12/14/asia/india-china-border-tensions-video-intl-hnk/index.html

Although soldiers are allowed to carry arms, the agreement’s restrictions on their use led combatants to rely on primitive weapons: Chinese soldiers threw stones and wielded wooden sticks wrapped with barbed wire, while Indian forces employed iron batons.

www.baronpa.com/library/understanding-the-china-india-border-skirmish/


India has apparently even made non-lethal electric tridents for use at the border conflicts.


www.indiatimes.com/technology/news/trishul-taser-sapper-punch-non-lethal-weapon-551917.html

[Infinity Blade]

TIL that in addition to the famous "Big Five"-> of Africa (lion, leopard, rhinoceros, Cape buffalo, and elephant) and the complementary "Little Five"-> (antlion, leopard tortoise, rhinoceros beetle, buffalo weaver, and elephant shrew), there's also the "Ugly Five", which is self-explanatory. They're the wildebeest, spotted hyena, lappet-faced vulture, warthog, and marabou stork.

[Supercommunist]

I could see why the average person views 4 out of the 5 as ugly but what's wrong with wildebeest?