Things you were shockingly old when you learned

I was about to type something (probably heavily influenced by John McPhee) about how the geology of Manhattan affects the skyline, and I saw this

http://www.actforlibraries.org/the-geology-of-manhattan/

There is a persuasively made counterargument that it is economics, not the accessibility of bedrock, that accounts for the profusion of skyscrapers in lower Manhattan and midtown, and the relative paucity of skyscrapers in (say) Greenwich Village.

I am not convinced yet but I am intrigued that it's up for debate.

https://buildingtheskyline.org/bedrock-and-midtown-i/

^ the counterargument

I've always wondered why I was led to believe you couldn't build tall buildings in the East Village/Lower East Side and then suddenly there were a bunch of tall buildings there after 2000 or so. That second link does offer an explanation.

That article is great but ignores the impact of Zoning regulations which started limiting building heights in certain areas starting around WWI (although granted that's slightly later than his time frame).

good articles!

Wow, great read - I've definitely heard and repeated the bedrock story myself.

I don’t know that Barr’s story is sufficient to entirely support his claim to be honest— I mean yeah, the cost of building caissons to bedrock may not be prohibitive for an additional feet as he specifically claims, but 20 STORIES deeper? Your market has to be pretty damn supportive to make your time horizon to profitable roi doable, esp before robots and deep drilling to keep the proles from dying of the bends all the time (if they cared about that). He never writes that bedrock is not a necessary target zone.

Like his point is good and important, but now I want more content on what tech it takes to make that shit now, or if there’s now bldgs that float on quicksand or whatever.

“50 ft”

The Michelin man is made out of stacked tires

Tyres of the future from the Michelin man - prints now in the shop: https://t.co/iznhWeAhMj pic.twitter.com/qpRYy3Jdvl

— Flashbak.com (@aflashbak) January 11, 2022

Show the tire guy some respect. He’s got a name, and it’s Bibendum

Are Michelin * restaurant guides even related to the tire company anymore?

Yes. Bibendum writes them.

Yes, still the same company.

I fondly recall my grandad being a slave to the AA's version of the scheme in the UK and their Book of the Road.

Michelin guide, where to eat when out driving etc.
A bit like the Green Book though a lot less necessary I guess. JUst is useful to know where it is worth eating if one is far away from home.
Whereas the Green Book told people where they actually could eat

the one restaurant in London, by the museums, has bibendum stained glass windows

http://www.spinarchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Exterior-e1512663506701.jpg

If he ever teamed up with the Kool-Aid man, they could cause a lot of damage

the Michelin House is one of the greatest lesser-known architectural treats in all London.

my ex collects bibendum miscellany, it's a weird mascot

Identical twins don't have identical fingerprints: https://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/atlanta-twin-murder-case-echoes-fingerprint-origins/story?id=9909586

There's actually a way to properly fold a fitted sheet.. but I've tried & failed several times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckTCocBCUN4

I learned that fitted sheet fold as a New Years resolution some years back. Took awhile to master but has been worth it for gaining closet space.

I did that for a few years but kinda just gave up and roll it into a ball again

this is an oldish one for me, but for years I was familiar with at least a half a dozen Rahsaan Roland Kirk albums without knowing he was blind. lol when I say oldish I mean about 3 years ago.

Have watched those kinds of videos several times and still can never get the fitted sheet folding technique in person.

my secret to fitted sheets is to have one set of sheets that you wash and reinstall the same day

This ^^^

Say "I'm a sheet fitter and I fit sheets" ten times fast

Nutella has coco in it.i thought it was just hazelnuts. I learned this maybe two years ago.

I feel so ripped off.

I just asked my 11 year old niece how long she could survive on Nutella alone.. her reply: "Well, at least eleven years!"

you used to get one of the nut spreads in jars with 2 colours of it a chocolate and a more beige natural one. Not sure if that was Nutella cos this was the early to mid 70s. I think you still get a swirl variety with something close to those 2 colours.

is there a separate "things i've mispronounced for so long [and at this point i'm blaming a good portion of society for witnessing me using it and not correcting me on this]" thread?

Not specifically, I don’t think, but take your pick of general pronunciation threads!

https://i.imgur.com/gfDV5Hh.jpg

That you can bite both ends off a Twix and use it as a straw to drink tea/coffee/hot chocolate.

Ginger Rogers was called Ginger because...

One of Rogers's young cousins, Helen, had a hard time pronouncing "Virginia", shortening it to "Badinda"; the nickname soon became "Ginga".[

... and not because she had red hair... which never made much sense anyway because she was blonde.

"Ginger" as a term for redheads isn't very common in North America.

At least until that South Park episode aired.

Yeah, my brother (born 1955) and nephews (born late 80s) all had red hair, and it was frequently commented on, but never with that word.

wonder why that would be, would have thought the language would have diverged after the word ginger was adopted. Though of course immigration came from a load of other places, not just the United Kingdom.
Is there a term adopted from another language that took dominance or anything.
Wonder what the common parlance was before the spice became common.
& carrot top depends on a piece of political propaganda since earlier versions of that vegetable come in different colours anyway.

Ginger is also fairly common nickname for Virginia

how to fold a fitted sheet (though maybe not shocking)

I know two people called Ginger and they are both nicknames for Virginia. Only one of them is a redhead.

I don't think I'd heard "ginger" as a pejorative until "24 Hour Party People."

is ginger as a descriptive automatically perogative.
just thinking chestnut for brunette doesn't seem to have the same connotation.
THough usage doesn't necessarily follow

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

Our Amber has always identified as ginger since she was born (btw, we had chosen her name before)

She's 23 now

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/11/25/1385384333335/e4dd6e16-d96f-4ebf-a5c6-78fe01d49592-620x513.jpeg?width=465&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=d33a3b2e63c0803f6d1fbce1642da4be

USA map shows a lot of red heads in central south appalachia as %, perhaps explaining virginia note above.

Lot of people of UK/Irish extraction down that way.

the proper term is hillbillies

University Challenge is based on the US TV show College Bowl.