Things you were shockingly old when you learned

the adjective of governorship based on the same latin root.

That "varsity" is short for "university"

― i know kore-eda (or something), Monday, September 25, 2017 2:58 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this can't be true

*visits oed*

Etymology: Colloquial abbreviation of university n.

The hell

Yeah, varsity is new one for me, especially because I associate it more with high school

that the word painstaking is pains-taking, as in taking pains to do something well, and not pain-staking

I just got why "fruit flies like a banana" is funny

This reminds me of weird things like "gubernatorial" like what even is that word.

― Stoop Crone (Trayce), Monday, 25 September 2017 23:38 (three days ago)

the adjective of governorship based on the same latin root.

― Stevolende, Tuesday, 26 September 2017 00:44 (two days ago)

Fun fact (or maybe not): also from the same root, or the root of that root I guess, being from the Greek = cybernetics.

calzino's post reminds me that there's loads of basic everyday stuff (start brushing your hair near the bottom if it might be tangled and work your way up, how to use various kitchen implements, more I can't remember right now) that I never worked out until well into my adulthood and then went "nobody told me this!!1" to my parents, who immediately said that they totally had told me that repeatedly as a child but I never listen

probably I really do never listen, though there's also lots of stuff that they never bothered telling me because "everyone just knows" and apparently I'm the only person who ever needed to be told it

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

oh god

I also knew nothing about this.

Dunno if there was a society/body per se but similar happened in Aus - the invading brits decided they wanted to have fun hunting in their new lands. So they let loose a bunch of fucking rabbits, and now we have rabbit plagues.

maybe you can get them to fight the cane toads

cane toads also an introduced species, brought in to fight native beetles

I knew an old lady who swallowed a fly...

the Chinese needle snakes will take care of the cane toads

I did always wonder where our mynas and sparrows came from, that said.

I only recently learned that the female singer (Merry Clayton, btw) in "Gimme Shelter" was singing: "Rape! Murder!" Her voice may have been electrifying, but her enunciation was a bit unclear.

what did you think she was singing?

AAAY! UUUUR-UH!

Crape Myrtle

https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/images/D/Sioux-Crape-Myrtle-2-450w.jpg

i just realized that we use a base-10 counting system most likely because we have 10 fingers to count on

It wasn't until I read a book about surveying that I realized why imperial measurements so didn't follow any rules of ten.

Yeah, if only we had eight fingers and toes everyone would be happy.

It's funny how hard it is to shake off the idea that ten is an intrinsically special number.

With that introducing species to countries being colonised the book Ecological Imperialism by Alfred crosby covers the idea in pretty great depth. Seems that anybody arriving anywhere by a traditional sea faring vessel would unintentionally take some unexpected flora and fauna with them. & that would subsequently fight for dominance of the area.
Also if the travellers were expecting to settle anywhere they would probably try to bring some of the food stuff they were used to at home with them and try to get it to flourish in the new area and things would subsequently spread.

Also did I hear that myxomatosis the rabbit euye disease that was going rampant across the UK in the mid 70s was actually released in Australia in ana ttempt to control the growing rabbit population. Think somebody said that to me at the time.

I only recently learned that some socks are fitted for L and R feet.

I'm currently reading 1493 by Charles C Mann which is all about how humans introduced species to different to different continents (both intentionally and inadvertently). I think the one fact that surprised my the most is actually that there were no earthworms in North America before the arrival of Europeans. So I just learned that a couple of days ago.

i just realized that we use a base-10 counting system most likely because we have 10 fingers to count on

check out diamonddave85 over here, str8 boasting about his full complement of fingers

xpost Might have been that book (or maybe another?) where I learned that the honeybee itself is an invasive species the Europeans brought with them that in turn killed the native bees and took over their duties. Off (but on) topic, I have no idea why but I could not for the life of me finish 1491. In fact, I only finally abandoned it last week and moved on to something else. Just the sheer onslaught of history and dates and whatnot was too relentless. It just kept going. Feel bad, because I was looking forward to moving on to 1493, but I don't think I can do it.

I don't think you need to have read 1491 to read 1493, they deal with different things. 1493 is all about ecology, agriculture and trade how intertwined this all is. I'm currently reading the chapter on the effects of introducing potatoes to Europe and this just keep getting surprised by how far reaching the consequences are.

Also, the last section in 1491 about how the pre-columbian amazonian rain forest is in large part man-made is probably the most interesting part of that book.

'Roiled' is American for 'riled'.

not to be mistaken with 'birled' as popularised by RT star presenter Alex Salmond.

Birl means to spin round. Don't know how Wee Eck's been using it on RT though.

'Roiled' is American for 'riled'.

I think I just learned this now. I'm not sure I've ever heard "roiled".

Americans use both roil and rile. I'd say roil if I were talking about water and rile if I were talking about making someone upset.

Oh, I have read "roil" in reference to water but mostly in older literature.

Noodles says what I was going to say. Water is roiled and people are riled.

That the Iron Age refers specifically to the period when humans began smelting iron mined from the earth, as iron had actually been in use for a long time prior but it was all meteoric iron so people basically thought it was just some magic metal gifted to them from space aliens or gods or whatever rationale they had to apply to some crazy shit that was just falling from the sky.

I warn my kids every night around nine to not rile the dog up.

I don't know if I've ever said the word "roil" out loud.

Americans use both roil and rile. I'd say roil if I were talking about water and rile if I were talking about making someone upset.

Right, though the context I saw it in was about upsetting or annoying someone... having said that what's all this stuff about roiling (or riling) water?

"Roil" is how Americans say "rile" when they're doing a British accent.

I did almost mention Dick Van Dyke earlier.

"The sea raged and roiled" is the only usage of the word "roil" that seems familiar to me.

agree, I only think of “roil”as tumultuous waters

"Roil" is how Americans say "rile" when they're doing a British accent.

― nickn, Saturday, November 11, 2017 1:00 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Or like how we refer to their Roil Family.

I'm sure I've heard roiling in cooking terms when you boil water in a pan and the water's bubbling away ferociously, what I'd call a fast boil. Is that the same thing again?

rolling boil maybe

broil?

OIM RILLY ROILED UP ROIGHT NOW

flea circuses are actually a real thing that people used to do, with real fleas, not just a metaphor or a thing in cartoons

Yeah, but I'm sure I've heard it called roiling. Is broiling not grilling?

oh you’re right. i’ve only ever had broiled meats in chinese/taiwanese soups, and just assumed broiling was that.