Interesting Wikipedia articles for killing time and expanding your mind!! - Page 133 - Other Topics Forum - Discuss Pop Culture, Arts and Entertainment

Just in time for Halloween, I found that irritating sound that is in every 70s horror film. Now you can irritat the whole neighborhood by blasting it for the next few days.

Shepard tone:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepard_tone

Quote

10-30-2016 , 07:19 AM

#3302

Carnivore

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 8,231

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeli...the_far_future

Insane how far into the future some of these projections are.

Quote

10-30-2016 , 08:04 AM

#3303

yukoncpa

veteran

Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 3,127

Quote:

Originally Posted by daveT

Hedy Lamarr; Hollywood starlet goes nerd:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedy_Lamarr

After an early and brief film career in Germany, which included a controversial film Ecstasy (1933), she fled from her husband, a wealthy Austrian ammunition manufacturer and secretly moved to Paris. There, she met MGM head Louis B. Mayer, who offered her a movie contract in Hollywood, where she became a film star from the late 1930s to the 1950s.

t the beginning of World War II, Lamarr and composer George Antheil developed a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes, which used spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology to defeat the threat of jamming by the Axis powers.[4] Though the US Navy did not adopt the technology until the 1960s, the principles of their work are now incorporated into modern Wi-Fi, CDMA and Bluetooth technology,[5][6][7] and this work led to their being inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014.

Try to say spread spectrum five times really fast, or slow.

Quote

10-30-2016 , 01:41 PM

#3304

daveT

S.A.G.E. Master

Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 23,955

Some people can't say "spread spectrum" once, regardless if that is fast or slow.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhoticity_in_English

Quote

11-14-2016 , 07:58 PM

#3305

DesertCat

I am a Regulator

Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 13,544

O'Neill Cylinder, a very interesting massive space habitat design, with very good illustrations.

Quote

11-15-2016 , 05:35 AM

#3306

daveT

S.A.G.E. Master

Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 23,955

I was curious about the laws around the US flag. I guess it isn't so much a law as a code. It is highly detailed and I'm guessing most of us have either done something illegal or witnessed something illegal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Flag_Code

Quote

11-15-2016 , 04:22 PM

#3307

Dominic

Tripod

Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 74,272

Any American flag code is anti-American. There's no such thing as THE American flag. There are hundred of thousands of them, all of which are privately owned.

If I want to use my flag as a diaper, that's my right. I bought it. It's mine.

Quote

11-15-2016 , 04:24 PM

#3308

W0X0F

sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight

Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 5,830

Agreed. First amendment, ftw.

Quote

11-15-2016 , 04:46 PM

#3309

kokiri

ffermwr moch

Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 52,228

I think flag burning is positively patriotic.

Last edited by kokiri; 11-15-2016 at 04:46 PM. Reason: I'm a Brit

Quote

11-15-2016 , 11:56 PM

#3310

Howard Treesong

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,681

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dominic

I tend to agree. The counterpoint is that so doing is deliberately inflammatory and likely to cause unrest -- like using the n-word in a mixed-race crowd.

I think the Supreme Court decision on flag burning was a 5-4 decision.

Quote

11-18-2016 , 09:45 AM

#3311

JudgeHoldem

banned

Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 8,197

I wonder what % of businesses , orgs, etc fly that american flag for rah rah patriotism yet violate most of the rules

Quote

11-18-2016 , 01:18 PM

#3312

that_pope

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 33,230

I know, LOL cracked, but I thought this was interesting (#1, bottom of page):
http://www.cracked.com/article_24449...every-day.html

Quote:

while the main flag located smack dab in the middle of Main Street's square is the real deal, the rest of Disney's flags contain fewer than 50 stars. This isn't shoddy math on Disney's part, or evidence that they're megalomaniacal Nazis, despite what conspiracy theorists would have us believe -- it's an intentional choice designed to save time and money.

You see, the official customs for displaying an American flag include a bunch of rules to ensure maximum care and respect. For instance, American flags must be taken down in inclement weather and prominently lit at night. Disney can't be arsed to do that with all of its flags, so they found a loophole. By putting fewer stars on them, they're making it so they're not really American flags and don't need to be treated as such. They're flags from some strange parallel world where Canada invaded the north, or Florida finally floated off, or something like that.

Another side effect of the fauxmerican flags is that they don't have to fly at half mast during special occasions (only the main flag does).

Quote

11-18-2016 , 06:49 PM

#3313

JayTeeMe

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 29,410

I don't have to follow dumb flag rules either because i'm a free citizen in a free country (although Senator Hilary Clinton authored a bill to make disrespecting the flag a crime). I keep mine illuminated all night but leave it out in the rain without a worry because these colors don't run.

Quote

11-18-2016 , 08:48 PM

#3314

Join Date: Oct 2013 Posts: 8,132

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carnivore

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeli...the_far_future

Insane how far into the future some of these projections are.

http://futuretimeline.net/

Quote

11-24-2016 , 10:18 AM

#3315

Mr.mmmKay

Drugs are bad...

Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 20,179

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C3%A...Sulzer_RTA96-C

Quote:

Its largest 14-cylinder version is 13.5 metres (44 ft) high, 26.59 m (87 ft) long, weighs over 2,300 tons, and produces 80,080 kilowatts (107,390 hp). The engine is the largest reciprocating engine in the world.

Quote:

Whole motor uses up to 250 tons of fuel per day

Quote

11-24-2016 , 08:25 PM

#3316

Daenerys

newbie

Join Date: Nov 2016 Posts: 36

Hopefully my dilemma will fall on curious minds...

We all know techno songs are hard to find via google -- and so are abstract paintings that are very vague that can be only described as "kinda looks like 2 mountains side by side but one is slightly disappearing into the air" basically I'm describing things which even if you kinda know what they are—you can't type your incomplete description into google because your search terms will be so vague they are useless!

There was a Wikipedia entry specifically for paintings which are semi-famous but by unknown artists -- I don't know the Wikipedia list (or category-page) that deals with these nearly-famous paintings but have been searching for 2 hours. Anybody, help plz?

Quote

11-24-2016 , 11:08 PM

#3317

Steve350

veteran

Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 2,039

Google "unknown famous art."

Last edited by Steve350; 11-24-2016 at 11:08 PM. Reason: punctuation

Quote

11-24-2016 , 11:40 PM

#3318

Daenerys

newbie

Join Date: Nov 2016 Posts: 36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve350

Google "unknown famous art."

Well played, sir. I think that'll work!

Quote

11-25-2016 , 04:52 AM

#3319

Mr.mmmKay

Drugs are bad...

Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 20,179

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaistos_Disc

Quote:

The disk is about 15 cm (5.9 in) in diameter and covered on both sides with a spiral of stamped symbols. Its purpose and meaning, and even its original geographical place of manufacture, remain disputed, making it one of the most famous mysteries of archaeology.

Quote:

The Phaistos Disc captured the imagination of amateur and professional archaeologists, and many attempts have been made to decipher the code behind the disc's signs. While it is not clear that it is a script, most attempted decipherments assume that it is; most additionally assume a syllabary, others an alphabet or logography. Attempts at decipherment are generally thought to be unlikely to succeed unless more examples of the signs are found, as it is generally agreed that there is not enough context available for a meaningful analysis.

Quote

11-25-2016 , 11:45 AM

#3320

PocketChads

guaranteed 42-10 finish

Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 22,449

A kid was playing around with stamps

Quote

11-25-2016 , 12:16 PM

#3321

kokiri

ffermwr moch

Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 52,228

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.mmmKay

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaistos_Disc

My parents had/have a souvenir version, pretty sure I thought it was a genuine artifact for much of my childhood.

Quote

12-01-2016 , 10:04 AM

#3322

Aytumious

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,516

Quote:

Pierre Brassau was a chimpanzee and the subject of a 1964 hoax perpetrated by Åke "Dacke" Axelsson, a journalist at the Swedish tabloid Göteborgs-Tidningen. Axelsson came up with the idea of exhibiting a series of paintings made by a non-human primate, under the presumption that they were the work of a previously unknown human French artist named "Pierre Brassau", in order to test whether critics could tell the difference between true avant-garde modern art and the work of a chimpanzee.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Brassau

Quote

12-09-2016 , 09:51 PM

#3323

JimHammer

Digg'n the gifs

Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 8,742

Rabbit of Caerbannog

Quote:

The rabbit was portrayed in the movie by both a real rabbit and a prop. The woman who owned the real rabbit was unhappy with the amount of fake blood in which it had been doused by the Python crew.

Quote

12-09-2016 , 10:57 PM

#3324

StimAbuser

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 8,822

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShimmyBasis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinterkaifeck - It was bears, obv.

Recently listened to a stuff you should know podcast about this. Apparently a decent amount of evidence points to one of the neighbors. A man who had a relationship and likely son with the 17 year old daughter. Apparently he was going to be sued for paternity, had no alibi other than his family saying he slept in their barn which doesn't make much sense considering he had asthma, and was one of the first witnesses on scene and the other witnesses reported he wasn't remotely bothered by any of the carnage and actually disturbed the hell out of the crime scene. Moving bodies etc.