post something Quite Interesting..

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Fudo
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27 May 2011, 2:33 am

QI Fact of the Day

In 1883, Sitting Bull was invited as guest of honour to address a celebration of the completion of the Northern Pacific Railway. Speaking in Sioux through a translator, his speech began: "I hate all white people. You are thieves and liars". The interpreter, taken by surprise, hastily improvised a string of flowery complements in English, with the result that the speech greeted with rapturous applause, much to Sitting Bull's amusement.

QI Quote of the Day

"I will gladly lecture for fifty dollars, but I'll not be a guest for less than a hundred."
ELBERT HUBBARD (1856-1915)

Twirlip
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27 May 2011, 1:47 pm

Fudo, do you subscribe to The QI Elves (qikipedia) on Twitter? I just discovered it today. (I just discovered how to work Twitter, on my crumbling old computer, last Friday!)

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Fudo
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27 May 2011, 2:29 pm

i don't but i frequent www.qi.com for the facts & quotes of the day.. i've seen the twitter, but twitter annoys me :lol:

Fudo
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27 May 2011, 2:45 pm

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV39k6l4qYQ[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNiN0ANWSr8&feature=related[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PZMrvq_MKQ&feature=related[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcB6biXYJbI&feature=related[/youtube]

Fudo
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27 May 2011, 7:20 pm

Glass ice

Water doesn't always freeze at 0C (32F): it needs something for its molecules to latch on to. Ice crystals form around 'nuclei', such as small particles of dust. If there are none of these, you can get the temperature of water down to -42C (-44F) before it freezes in a process known as "supercooling".

It has to be done slowly, but cooling water extremely fast has a completely different effect. It bypasses the ice stage (which has a regular crystalline lattice structure) and transforms into a chaotic amorphous solid known as "glassy water" (so called because the random arrangement of molecules is similar to that found in glass). To form "glassy water" you need to get the water temperature down to -137C (-215F) in a few milliseconds.
You won't find glassy water outside the lab on Earth, but it's the most common form of water in the universe - it's what comets are made from.

Twirlip
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27 May 2011, 7:33 pm

Fudo wrote:

Water doesn't always freeze at 0C (32F): it needs something for its molecules to latch on to. Ice crystals form around 'nuclei', such as small particles of dust.

Or bacteria: Bacteria-rich hailstones add to 'bioprecipitation' idea

Quote:

A study of hailstones has found large numbers of bacteria at their cores.

The find lends credence to the "bio-precipitation" idea, which suggests that bacteria are actively involved in stimulating precipitation.

The bacteria have protein coatings that cause water to freeze at relatively warm temperatures.

Researchers at the American Society for Microbiology meeting suggest bacteria may have evolved to use the water cycle to facilitate their own dispersal.

The micro-organisms that can be found in precipitation such as snow have been studied since the 1960s.

One bacterium that has appeared in many contexts is Pseudomonas syringae, which expresses a protein on its surface that encourages an orderly arrangement of water molecules.

That in turn acts as a "nucleation" site, stimulating the formation of ice at temperatures far higher than those normally required.

So effective is P. syringae at the task that it is used in a commercially-available mixture for snow machines.

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Twirlip
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27 May 2011, 7:37 pm

From qikipedia:

Quote:

A vulture can safely swallow enough botulism toxin to kill 300,000 guinea pigs

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27 May 2011, 7:38 pm

And related to super-cooled water, YouTube obliges:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpiUZI_3o8s[/youtube]

Another cool, er, cooling effect:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2mj-Sq2oeo[/youtube]

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Fudo
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27 May 2011, 7:40 pm

scientists have far too much time on their hands.. :roll: poor vultures.

thanks Twirlip & Cornflake.

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27 May 2011, 7:42 pm

Also from qikipedia:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSKyHmjyrkA[/youtube]

Fudo
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27 May 2011, 8:09 pm

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxKxnQWUrBA&feature=related[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1VInFaoda8&feature=related[/youtube]

Fudo
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28 May 2011, 2:20 pm

QI Fact of the Day

Edward VII's idea of a good time was to drop half-sucked pear drops into the pockets of his houseguests.

QI Quote of the Day

"Every guest hates the others, and the host hates them all."
ALBANIAN PROVERB

Zen
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28 May 2011, 2:42 pm

I think this is quite interesting. :-) The first known museum.

http://io9.com/5805358/the-story-behind ... -years-ago

Fudo
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28 May 2011, 2:47 pm

it IS quite interesting, thankyou for sharing.

Fudo
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28 May 2011, 3:00 pm

this has been quite interesting to fudo, of late..
more musically than for the novelty value
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXkQyTk3Hs4&NR=1[/youtube]

not the greatest piece but one fudo enjoys
also someone to look out for in the future.

Fudo
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28 May 2011, 3:15 pm

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZhjtrYrHdY&feature=related[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfVVl_KhdO4&feature=related[/youtube]

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