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Interesting Wikipedia articles for killing time and expanding your mind!! Interesting Wikipedia articles for killing time and expanding your mind!!

01-03-2012 , 04:47 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Gale
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K_Found...a_Million_Quid -Burning one million pound sterling.

"Was it a crime ?
Was it a burnt offering ?
Was it madness ?
Was it an investment ?
Was it rock 'n' roll ?
Was it an obscenity ?
Was it art ?
Was it a political statement ?
Was it bollocks ?"

"budget: £1,000,000"




lol
Interesting Wikipedia articles for killing time and expanding your mind!! Quote
01-03-2012 , 05:56 PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_organ - GOAT (CAT?) instrument

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ulent_diplomas - Pets that were used to out "diploma mills" aka fake universities
Interesting Wikipedia articles for killing time and expanding your mind!! Quote
01-03-2012 , 10:48 PM
Two almost mythological guys:

Alexander Solonik
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Solonik

I know this thread is Wikipedia only, but here is a slightly more detailed account of his exploits- http://www.badassoftheweek.com/solonik.html

Vassilis Paleokostas

"What makes him famous in his hometown is the fact that it is said that he has given most of the stolen money to poor families, making him a local "Robin of the Poor", reminiscent of the famous tale of Robin Hood."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vassilis_Paleokostas

Again, here is more detail if anyone wants it

http://badasshistory.com/paleokostas.html


I have read through all this thread and don't recall seeing either of these posted but I could be wrong, if so I'm sorry.
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01-04-2012 , 02:56 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by szw
Nice link, but is anybody able to describe how "war games" like these actually happen? I mean I can't really comprehend what they are actually doing and how many people are involved and stuff
In his book "Blink" Malcolm Gladwell devotes a chapter on the Millennium Challenge hilighting the thinking of the crafty "enemy" general Paul K. Van Riper.
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01-08-2012 , 08:18 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by tyler_cracker
us military sets up an internal war game, then declares shenanigans and demands a do-over when the wrong team loses.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Challenge_2002
Who, in your opinion(s), should direct and produce the movie of this? What actors should play the generals and other major characters?

Directors: Martin Scosese? Oliver Stone?
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01-17-2012 , 05:49 PM
SEALAB
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEALAB

Quote:
SEALAB I, II, and III were experimental underwater habitats developed by the United States Navy...

...They were aided by a bottlenose dolphin named Tuffy from the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program, who ferried supplies from the surface.
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01-17-2012 , 08:45 PM
if you're looking for me
you better check under the sea
cuz that is where you'll find me
underneath the
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01-17-2012 , 09:03 PM
Don't you mean... BIZARRO Sealab?
Interesting Wikipedia articles for killing time and expanding your mind!! Quote
01-17-2012 , 09:31 PM
bizarro
bizarro
bizarro
bizarro
...
Interesting Wikipedia articles for killing time and expanding your mind!! Quote
01-23-2012 , 02:02 PM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives blomp

Ever wonder why we have Phillips, allen keys, Torx, splines, and dumb pointless ones like you see on iPhones? This explains a lot and it shows you the surprising number of different types of types.

Still, after reading that, there are definitely a few that could go.
Interesting Wikipedia articles for killing time and expanding your mind!! Quote
01-23-2012 , 02:48 PM
for god's sake, one million quids. dammit.
Interesting Wikipedia articles for killing time and expanding your mind!! Quote
01-23-2012 , 08:50 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by toss
yeah the article about the naval mammal program was even better

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Na...Mammal_Program
Interesting Wikipedia articles for killing time and expanding your mind!! Quote
01-23-2012 , 09:38 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by LOLNHDONKWP
the only wikipedia article I created,

Ireland's most popular cheap beer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_gold
Are they actually marketed as "drank by loyalty"?
Cause they sure ain't in Denmark or other close countries.
Interesting Wikipedia articles for killing time and expanding your mind!! Quote
01-25-2012 , 01:34 PM
Some crazy guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wynn_Miller

Quote:
he describes himself as a "Plenipotentiary-Judge", an ambassador, banker, postmaster,[9] King of Hawaii, and a genius.
Quote:
According to Miller's teaching, the addition of hyphens and colons to one's name turns one from an ordinary, taxable human into a non-taxable “prepositional phrase.”
The best part is all the people who try to use his ideas in court.

I guess I'm a prepositional phrase...
Interesting Wikipedia articles for killing time and expanding your mind!! Quote
01-25-2012 , 07:22 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoahSD
Some crazy guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wynn_Miller





The best part is all the people who try to use his ideas in court.

I guess I'm a prepositional phrase...
wtflol

In 1998 Miller assisted Ingleside, Illinois resident George Johnson in his legal defense against child molestation charges.[19] Johnson was convicted and returned to prison in 1999.[20]
Interesting Wikipedia articles for killing time and expanding your mind!! Quote
01-25-2012 , 08:39 PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Canal (sfw!)

this may be well known to northeasterners or folks a little older than me, but i'd never heard of it.

Quote:
In the mid 1970s Love Canal became the subject of national and international attention after it was revealed in the press that the site had formerly been used to bury 21,000 tons of toxic waste by Hooker Chemical (now Occidental Petroleum Corporation).
typical corporate greed and bull****, right? not quite:

Quote:
The Niagara Falls City School District needed land to build new schools, and attempted to purchase the property from Hooker Chemical that had been used to bury toxic waste. The corporation refused to sell, citing safety concerns, and took members of the school board to the canal and drilled several bore holes to demonstrate that there were toxic chemicals below the surface. However, the board refused to capitulate.[1] Eventually, faced with the property being condemned and/or expropriated, Hooker Chemical agreed to sell on the condition that the board buy the entire property for one dollar. In the agreement signed on April 28, 1953, Hooker included a seventeen line caveat that explained the dangers of building on the site.
hey, what could go wrong? well...

Quote:
The matter went quiet for more than a year and was resurrected by reporter Michael Brown, who then investigated potential health effects by carrying forth an informal door-to-door survey in early 1978, finding birth defects and many anomalies such as enlarged feet, heads, hands, and legs. He advised the local residents to create a protest group, which was led by resident Karen Schroeder, whose daughter had many (about a dozen) birth defects. The New York State Health Department followed suit and found an abnormal incidence of miscarriages.
Quote:
Lois Gibbs, a local mother who called an election to head the Love Canal Homeowners' Association, began to further rally homeowners. Her son, Michael Gibbs, began attending school in September 1977. He developed epilepsy in December, suffered from asthma and a urinary tract infection, and had a low white blood cell count,[15][16] all associated with his exposure to the leaking chemical waste.
[...]
In the following years, Gibbs led an effort to investigate community concerns about the health of its residents; she and other residents made repeated complaints of strange odors and "substances" that surfaced in their yards. In Gibbs' neighborhood, there was a high rate of unexplained illnesses, miscarriages, and mental ******ation.[16] Furthermore, basements were often covered with a thick, black substance, and vegetation was also dying. In many yards, the only vegetation that grew were shrubby grasses.
beautiful upstate ny, folks!
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01-25-2012 , 08:51 PM
related: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_of_the_Drums

Quote:
The Valley of the Drums is a 23 acre (9.3 hectare) toxic waste site in northern Bullitt County, Kentucky, near Louisville, named after the waste-containing drums strewn across the area.


Quote:
The site became a collection point for toxic wastes starting sometime in the 1960s. It caught the attention of state officials when some of the drums caught fire and burned for more than a week in 1966. However, at that time there were no laws to address the storage or containment of toxic wastes, and the site continued to be unregulated for another decade.
wikipedia doesn't make this connection, but i will:

Interesting Wikipedia articles for killing time and expanding your mind!! Quote
02-02-2012 , 01:16 AM
Bump for upgrade
Interesting Wikipedia articles for killing time and expanding your mind!! Quote
02-03-2012 , 09:17 AM
The USA army. OG camel jockeys

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Camel_Corps
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02-03-2012 , 12:54 PM
Quote:
Many of the camels were sold to private owners; others escaped into the desert throughout the West and British Columbia. [...] Feral camels continued to be sighted in the Southwest through the early 1900s, with the last reported sighting in 1941 near Douglas, Texas.
i can't remember the last two-word phrase that frightened me more than "feral camels".
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02-05-2012 , 06:39 AM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADE_651

Quote:
The ADE 651 is a hand-held device produced by ATSC (UK), which claims the device can detect from a distance the presence and location of various types of explosives, drugs, and other substances. The device has been sold to a number of countries in the Middle and Far East, including Iraq, for as much as $60,000 per unit. The Iraqi government is said to have spent £52m ($85m) on the devices.[1] Investigations by the BBC and other organisations have reported that the device is little more than a "glorified dowsing rod" with no ability to perform its claimed functions
Quote:
The veteran Canadian-American magician and sceptic James Randi has publicly offered one million dollars to anyone who can prove the device's effectiveness as far back as October 2008.[24] Randi issued a statement calling the ADE 651 "a useless quack device which cannot perform any other function than separating naive persons from their money. It's a fake, a scam, a swindle, and a blatant fraud. Prove me wrong and take the million dollars."[12] According to Randi, and as reported by the New York Times on November 3, 2009, nobody from ATSC has responded.[7]
Interesting Wikipedia articles for killing time and expanding your mind!! Quote
02-06-2012 , 06:24 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by potatoesareawesome
Are they actually marketed as "drank by loyalty"?
Cause they sure ain't in Denmark or other close countries.
Pretty sure Denmark isn't Dutch.
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02-06-2012 , 01:02 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by saltine
Pretty sure Denmark isn't Dutch.
He's referring to the "Tuborg, a rich pilsner beer from Denmark, drank by royalty."

A beer marketed as drank by royalty is odd in any monarchy though. "Preferred by royalty", "Official supplier to the royalty" or something like that is much more suiting.
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02-06-2012 , 07:38 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by sokiraJ
that is sooo friggin awesome yet very very very sad.

I love this quote
Quote:
He told The Times that ATSC had been dealing with doubters for ten years and that the device was merely being criticised because of its "primitive" appearance. He said: "We are working on a new model that has flashing lights."
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02-07-2012 , 08:35 AM
Ursula and Sabina Eriksson

Quote:
Ursula and Sabina Eriksson, born 1967, are a pair of Swedish twins who came to national attention in the United Kingdom in 2008 after an apparent episode of folie à deux which resulted in unique footage of insanity on the M6 motorway and the killing of Glenn Hollinshead. No drugs or alcohol were involved in any of the incidents.[1][2] Their actions have never been explained, other than by a rare, induced delusional disorder which caused the pair to be temporarily insane
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_and_Sabina_Eriksson

full graphic Bbc documentary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Euy6vE5VsMQ
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