Interesting Wikipedia articles for killing time and expanding your mind!! - Page 140 - Other Topics Forum - Discuss Pop Culture, Arts and Entertainment

I purchased the full hardcore history package after listening to The First World War series. 100% recommend.

Ghosts of the Ostfront (Second World War, eastern front) was incredible but I think my favourite is the stand alone episode The Destroyer of Worlds, about the history of the nuclear age. Brilliant podcast and obviously hugely relevant still.

(Not sure if it's a free one or paid, but i'd recommend it as a great starter if you haven't listened to his podcasts)

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07-15-2017 , 11:20 AM

#3477

Bluegrassplayer

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That's a free one and its great.

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07-15-2017 , 10:45 PM

#3478

ChrisV

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Goater

I've listened to all of them and my recommendations would be:

Series:

Ghosts of the Ostfront
Punic Nightmares
Wrath of the Khans
---
Death Throes of the Republic (good but a bit overlong)
Blueprint for Armageddon (likewise)

So of the series, the only one I don't recommend is King of Kings, which I found pretty boring. Historical sources that far back are pretty patchy so there's big gaps and everything is uncertain.

Single eps:

Prophets of Doom
Thoughts on Churchill
Logical Insanity
Judgment at Nineveh

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07-16-2017 , 12:57 PM

#3479

Howard Treesong

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Quote:

Originally Posted by RunDownHouse.

I started listening to the same set for my first foray into Hardcore History. I wasn't paying too much attention when I downloaded each episode, and started listening to the first one a couple hours before I had to leave the house. I told myself I'd get ready to go at the end of the first episode, and after about 90 minutes was like, "wtf," and checked on how much was left. Oh, only another 2.5 hours or so.

I'm finally coming up on the Battle of Verdun, after about 12 hours of listening. My wife thinks I'm nuts.

Jesus. They estimate there are still 12 million unexplored artillery shells remaining in the ground at Verdun alone.

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07-16-2017 , 01:18 PM

#3480

Howard Treesong

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Chris,

If you haven't read it, I recommend "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" by Richard Rhodes. It won a richly-deserved Pulitzer.

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07-16-2017 , 08:15 PM

#3481

W0X0F

sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight

Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 5,830

Quote:

Originally Posted by Howard Treesong

Jesus. They estimate there are still 12 million unexplored artillery shells remaining in the ground at Verdun alone.

Amazing the difference a single letter makes.

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07-17-2017 , 04:53 AM

#3482

JayTeeMe

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Not a wikipedia but my mind is blown that there are two different 'th' sounds in English. Been speaking it my whole life and i never noticed!

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07-17-2017 , 06:38 AM

#3483

Howard Treesong

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Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,681

Quote:

Originally Posted by W0X0F

Amazing the difference a single letter makes.

I absolutely hate the iPhone keyboard and autocorrect. It tries to replace unexploded with either unexplored or "I exploded."

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07-17-2017 , 05:19 PM

#3484

jalfrezi

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The latter is a machine learning from your most commonly used phrases.

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07-17-2017 , 05:34 PM

#3485

Howard Treesong

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I often use offbeat or unusual words and do so deliberately. I feel as though the machine learning function is deliberately attempting to thwart me.

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07-18-2017 , 01:34 PM

#3486

Howard Treesong

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The Lord Byron segment in the most recent ITTW podcast was excellent, particularly his insult about a wife he hated.

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07-18-2017 , 08:10 PM

#3487

daveT

S.A.G.E. Master

Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 23,955

I feel like the machine learning is a global user-base thing. No way a phone things I'd type half the stupid **** it auto-corrects me with.

****

Rai Stones:

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

Rai, or stone money (Yapese: raay), are large, circular stone disks carved out of limestone formed from aragonite and calcite crystals. Rai stones were quarried on several of the Micronesian islands, mainly Palau, but briefly on Guam as well, and transported for use as money to the island of Yap. They have been used in trade by the Yapese as a form of currency. The monetary system of Yap relies on an oral history of ownership. Because these stones are too large to move, buying an item with one simply involves agreeing that the ownership has changed. As long as the transaction is recorded in the oral history, it will now be owned by the person it is passed on to and no physical movement of the stone is required.

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07-18-2017 , 08:18 PM

#3488

Howard Treesong

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I think one of the Rai stones dropped to the bottom of the ocean but lost no value as a result!

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07-20-2017 , 12:55 AM

#3489

daveT

S.A.G.E. Master

Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 23,955

I first heard of those many years back. The person I was hanging out with was looking at one of those slug coins with a hole in the middle and telling me about it, as he was from the Palau islands. I'm not sure if he told me the story about a stone falling into the ocean and still having value, but I know I've heard that story as well.

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07-20-2017 , 03:59 PM

#3490

thethethe

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Project Habakkuk

Quote:

Project Habakkuk or Habbakuk (spelling varies; see below) was a plan by the British during the Second World War to construct an aircraft carrier out of pykrete (a mixture of wood pulp and ice) for use against German U-boats in the mid-Atlantic, which were beyond the flight range of land-based planes at that time. The idea came from Geoffrey Pyke, who worked for Combined Operations Headquarters. After promising scale tests and the creation of a prototype on a lake in Alberta, Canada the project was shelved due to rising costs, added requirements, and the availability of longer-range aircraft and escort carriers which closed the Mid-Atlantic gap the project was intended to address.

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07-23-2017 , 02:33 PM

#3491

daveT

S.A.G.E. Master

Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 23,955

Colditz Cock

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

Following the execution of 50 prisoners who had taken part in the "Great Escape" from Stalag Luft III, the Allied High Command had discouraged escape attempts, though the plan to build a glider was encouraged in order to divert the energies of the prisoners from descending into boredom and tedium. The idea for the glider came from Lieutenant Tony Rolt. Rolt, who was not even an airman, had noticed the chapel roof line was completely obscured from German view. He realised that the roof would make a perfect launching point from which the glider could fly across the River Mulde, which was about 60 metres below.

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08-04-2017 , 12:09 AM

#3492

Howard Treesong

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Another excellent episode of interesting things explained well is out.

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08-04-2017 , 08:11 AM

#3493

JudgeHoldem

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^ lol I was going to post that too. that guy is awesome. what university does he teach at?

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08-04-2017 , 08:50 AM

#3494

Howard Treesong

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I don't know but I like his style: direct, interesting, a little crass, occasionally jokey.

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08-04-2017 , 08:52 AM

#3495

W0X0F

sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight

Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 5,830

Me too. And I always learn something. Loved the discussion of satellites and orbits.

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08-04-2017 , 08:57 AM

#3496

JudgeHoldem

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Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 8,197

I like his pop culture references. like Jurassic Park quotes

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08-04-2017 , 03:39 PM

#3497

JudgeHoldem

banned

Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 8,197

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phanto...ation_syndrome

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08-04-2017 , 04:29 PM

#3498

IBeDrummin

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I used to feel that in my left pocket all the time.

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08-07-2017 , 04:46 AM

#3499

AllBlackDan

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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sentinel_Island
North Sentinel Island is one of the Andaman Islands, which includes South Sentinel Island, in the Bay of Bengal. It is home to the Sentinelese who, often violently, reject any contact with the outside world, and are among the last people worldwide to remain virtually untouched by modern civilization. As such, only limited information about the island is known.

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08-07-2017 , 07:57 PM

#3500

suzzer99

Save the Cheerleader, Save the World

Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 99,984

That article led me to the Jarawa tribe, who are nearby on the Andaman islands but had dense jungle instead of the sea as a buffer. Eventually a road was built through their territory, with predictable results.

Quote:

A major problem is the volume of sightseeing tours that are operated by private companies, where tourists view, photograph or otherwise attempt interactions with Jarawas, who are often begging by the highway. These are illegal under Indian law, and in March 2008, the Tourism Department of the Andaman and Nicobar administration issued a fresh warning to tour operators that attempting contact with Jarawas, photographing them, stopping vehicles while transiting through their land or offering them rides were prohibited under the Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation, 1956 and would be prosecuted under a strict interpretation of the statute.[18] It has been alleged, however, that these rules are openly being flouted with over 500 tourists being taken to view Jarawas daily by private tour operators, while technically being shown as transiting to legitimate destinations and resulting in continuing daily interaction between the Jarawa and day tourists inside the reserve area.[18]

Google image search for Jarawa is pretty sad.