Quirky Science Facts!

[Jay-qu]

4.38 est

Bacteria can reproduce sexually

 

Einstein is reputed to have said that if all bees die, humans would be extinct within 4 years.

Is it fun for them? :eek:

[InternationalSpaceAgency]

Does the French Space Agency (CNES) count as Quirky Science Facts?

 

Or do they have something worth talking about!?

 

:shrug:

[Tormod]

Does the French Space Agency (CNES) count as Quirky Science Facts?

 

Or do they have something worth talking about!?

 

:shrug:

 

I guess a quirky science fact would be that a so-called representative for a "space agency" ridicules an actual space agency and thinks it's funny. :doh:

[InternationalSpaceAgency]

I See!

So quick to attack and slander, and little effort to engage!

 

I was NOT ridiculing CNES the French Space Agency, I was actually bringing light to the fact they are brave enough to bring the UFO issue into the light of day, and to address it as this topic should be! In a scientific point of view!

 

If took the time to look at the International Space Agency (ISA) website before you put your foot in your mouth, you would have seen with support CNES, and have a link to CNES!

 

You people do not know how to greet guests and new comers do you!

 

You start wars and throw around fighting words, and do so with out even knowing the FACTS! NOT very scientific I maight say!

 

:shrug:

 

 

I guess a quirky science fact would be that a so-called representative for a "space agency" ridicules an actual space agency and thinks it's funny. :doh:

[Tormod]

I See!

So quick to attack and slander, and little effort to engage!

 

:shrug:

 

But let's cut to the chase:

Cnes - GEIPAN UAP investigation unit opens its files

 

I fail to see the quirk.

[InternationalSpaceAgency]

To the common man who is controled by government propoganda, this would seem to be a quirk! I made a contrast to this, to bring positive light to the facts, and not the media feed cult frenzy!

 

You attacked a new comer before this person even had a chance to have a word sideways!

 

Now you make threats because you are an Admin, and make things even more hostile!

 

 

 

But let's cut to the chase:

Cnes - GEIPAN UAP investigation unit opens its files

 

I fail to see the quirk.

[Monomer]

Now you make threats because you are an Admin, and make things even more hostile!

 

 

As a new comer you should tread carefully and get to know the site and the people. That way you'll see that people aren't really being hostile. Tormod is seriously "Your Friendly Neighborhood Admin".

 

 

Anyway, back to quirky science facts:

 

The Atlantic Giant Squid's eye can be as large as 15.75 inches (40 centimeters) wide

[freeztar]

Accroding to rainforests.net there will be almost 496,000 species extinct this year. Rainforests.net - Rainforests Biodiversity Scale Of Destruction by Mark R. Elsis

 

The good news is that this number will decrease over time.

[Turtle]

Ben Franklin used individual plant leaves to make casts and from them metal dies to imprint currency with irreproducable watermarks; he never revealed the process and it remains a mystery to this day.

[Michaelangelica]

Ben Franklin used individual plant leaves to make casts and from them metal dies to imprint currency with irreproducable watermarks; he never revealed the process and it remains a mystery to this day.

Saw some jewelry made from casts of ginkgo leaves once. Very beautiful.

 

"Half of all the energy generated since the Industrial Revolution has been consumed in just the last twenty years."

p 167 The Weather Makers Tim Flannery 2005

[Guest chendoh]

GRAVITY HILL, Pennsylvania Phenomenon

 

nuff said........

[Guest chendoh]

At 2:03 and 4 seconds on the morning of May 6th, 2007

 

it will be 02-03-04-05-06-07 :D

[Monomer]

The world's largest flower is the Rafflesia arnoldii, which is found in the rainforests of Indonesia, and can grow to be 3 feet across and 15 pounds.

[Boerseun]

The biggest tyre manufacturer in the world must surely be either Firestone, or Bridgestone? Pirelli? No? Michelin?

 

Nope. All wrong. The biggest tyre manufacturer in the world, is the LEGO group! They manufacture more than 306 million tyres per year, more than any other tyre manufacturer! (Albeit miniature tyres, but still...)

[Michaelangelica]

Another cover-up or the true story of the pen/pencil in space story?

Fact or Fiction?: NASA Spent Millions to Develop a Pen that Would Write in Space, whereas the Soviet Cosmonauts Used a Pencil: Scientific American

 

That same year, Fisher offered the AG-7 "Anti-Gravity" Space Pen to NASA. Because of the earlier mechanical pencil fiasco, NASA was hesitant. But, after testing the space pen intensively, the agency decided to use it on spaceflights beginning in 1967.

 

Unlike most ballpoint pens, Fisher's pen does not rely on gravity to get the ink flowing. The cartridge is instead pressurized with nitrogen at 35 pounds per square inch. This pressure pushes the ink toward the tungsten carbide ball at the pen's tip.

 

The ink, too, differs from that of other pens. Fisher used ink that stays a gellike solid until the movement of the ballpoint turns it into a fluid. The pressurized nitrogen also prevents air from mixing with the ink so it cannot evaporate or oxidize.

 

According to an Associated Press report from February 1968, NASA ordered 400 of Fisher's antigravity ballpoint pens for the Apollo program. A year later, the Soviet Union ordered 100 pens and 1,000 ink cartridges to use on their Soyuz space missions, said the United Press International. The AP later noted that both NASA and the Soviet space agency received the same 40 percent discount for buying their pens in bulk. They both paid $2.39 per pen instead of $3.98.

 

The space pen's mark on the Apollo program was not limited to facilitating writing in microgravity. According to the Fisher Space Pen Company, the Apollo 11 astronauts also used the pen to fix a broken arming switch, enabling their return to Earth.

 

Since the late 1960s American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts have used Fisher's pens. In fact, Fisher has created a whole line of space pens. A newer pen, called the Shuttle Pen, was used on NASA's space shuttles and on the Russian space station, Mir. Of course, you don't have to go to space to get your hands on a space pen--earthbound folks can own one for the low, low price of $50.00.

[Michaelangelica]

Dr Karl says that atree struck by lightening becomes very hard and will blunt a chain -saw quickly.

Also the wood will not burn

http://www.abc.net.au/science/podcast/triplej/drkarl_20070524.mp3

(1/2 way though talk)

[Boerseun]

Dr Karl says that atree struck by lightening becomes very hard and will blunt a chain -saw quickly.

Also the wood will not burn

http://www.abc.net.au/science/podcast/triplej/drkarl_20070524.mp3

(1/2 way though talk)

I have actual first-hand experience of this.

 

Over here, eucalyptis trees are invaders. They were imported many years ago from Australia to serve as efficient windbreaks, as well as to dry swamplands, but they use up so much water that they kill off the indigenous plants. So, farmers are encouraged to cut them down and replant indigenous trees.

 

So, the other day I helped my friend cut down a eucalyptis on his farm. And it was a pretty damn big one, and had a black stripe down the side where it was struck by lightning many years ago. We cut big wedges out of it with chainsaws, and the moment we got to the inside of the tree where the lightning ran down, we broke chain after chain after chain without cutting more than about an inch or two into it. We ended up tying a fat cable to the top of the tree, which we fit to the base of another eucalyptis standing about fourty meters away. And we used hand-winches and turnbuckles, but eventually the tree came down. But there was no way to cut through the lightning-bit, save a hammer and chisels.