goltz20707
goltz20707 t1_jegzicd wrote
Reply to TIL that on top of the 3 matters of state that we’re all familiar with (solid, liquid, gas), there are at least 24 more, though most only exist under extreme conditions by gianthooverpig
There’s even debate on whether sand is a different state of matter. See https://youtu.be/184eP_KuXek
goltz20707 t1_jec8pcl wrote
Reply to comment by DavoTB in TIL children were most prone to lead poisoning because lead chips and toys with lead dust tasted "sweet". by WhatA_Nerd
Couldn’t find it on YouTube, though I found a few others.
My wife remembers one (Pittsburgh) with a small Black child in a dirty room, next to a filthy window. Another at-risk group, I assume.
goltz20707 t1_jec6vr8 wrote
Reply to comment by DavoTB in TIL children were most prone to lead poisoning because lead chips and toys with lead dust tasted "sweet". by WhatA_Nerd
The PSA I remember (NYC, late 1960s) had an ER doctor trying to talk to a Latina woman, asking whether her child had eaten any paint chips. I can only assume they felt the Latinx community was most at risk.
goltz20707 t1_j8psntw wrote
Reply to comment by ThinkSleepKoya in Warm water melts weak spots on Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier', say scientists by cynicalaa22
If it helps, I’m not a meteorologist, climatologist, international trade expert, sailor, pilot, air traffic controller, or really any kind of expert whatsoever.
goltz20707 t1_j8phszf wrote
Reply to Warm water melts weak spots on Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier', say scientists by cynicalaa22
I see a number of comments here like, “sea levels are going to rise X feet, but I’m Y feet above sea level, so I’m fine.”
No. No, you’re not.
Remember how, not that long ago, all the closures and disruption from COVID-19 totally screwed up the supply chain? Well, the vast majority of the nation’s commerce, and that of other nations, flows through oceanside ports, ports that will be largely unusable for a good period of time once the seas rise. Probably for decades, even if we start adapting them now.
Oil, LPG, JP-1, imports from China, exports, everything non-domestic that doesn’t come from or go to Canada or Mexico, all of it flows through oceanside ports, many of which will be shut down or impaired.
And, just like there are many major cities near the ocean, there are many major airports. Inland airports will still be functional (although see above re: JP-1), but our air traffic control system is largely at capacity now. Diverting all the flights from JFK, Miami, etc. to other airports is going to create the mother of all air traffic jams.
And except for digital traffic, air and water transport is all there is for intercontinental commerce. (I suppose we could use suborbital rockets, but that doesn’t scale well.)
The upshot is, once the sea levels rise—and it’s a when, not an if—take COVID levels of disruption and multiply them by 20. At minimum.
This is on track to happen within 10 years.
goltz20707 t1_j5rjond wrote
The Streisand Effect strikes again!
goltz20707 t1_ixx65y3 wrote
goltz20707 t1_ism3fpr wrote
Reply to comment by kommandeclean in TIL: Sperms were thought to move by wiggling their tails side-to-side, like eels, for 350 years. But research shows that they roll as they move forward like a spinning top. by vect77
I apologize. I should know better than to escalate an argument like this. If it’s put you into a depressive spiral like it has me, then I doubly apologize. Antagonism was not my intent.
goltz20707 t1_isligjz wrote
Reply to comment by kommandeclean in TIL: Sperms were thought to move by wiggling their tails side-to-side, like eels, for 350 years. But research shows that they roll as they move forward like a spinning top. by vect77
If you can convince me that you even come close to understanding proton-pump biology and why that cannot, cannot possibly scale past the molecular level, I’ll consider your argument.
goltz20707 t1_ishpr32 wrote
goltz20707 t1_ishpkv5 wrote
Reply to comment by babylove2022 in TIL: Sperms were thought to move by wiggling their tails side-to-side, like eels, for 350 years. But research shows that they roll as they move forward like a spinning top. by vect77
Unfortunately no. I read it in a Scientific American article from…10 years ago? 20?
goltz20707 t1_ishbsqj wrote
Reply to comment by bubliksmaz in TIL: Sperms were thought to move by wiggling their tails side-to-side, like eels, for 350 years. But research shows that they roll as they move forward like a spinning top. by vect77
I guess what I meant is that a protein-proton motor that uses things like van del Waals forces and molecular mechanical mechanisms to create motion cannot work at the visible scale. I agree that complexity is no barrier for evolution—look at clotting factor chemistry—but I can’t imagine an incremental path to “wheels”. (I will admit it may be possible.)
goltz20707 t1_isgjupk wrote
Reply to comment by on_ in TIL: Sperms were thought to move by wiggling their tails side-to-side, like eels, for 350 years. But research shows that they roll as they move forward like a spinning top. by vect77
Protista “motors” are constructed at the molecular level, with (in the case of human sperm) 16 proteins in a ring. One proton per protein rotates the ring by one protein, so 256 protons are required per rotation. Scaling that up to the macroscopic level, even just to the size of a small insect, would require a very complex design. I can’t see such a design evolving naturally — it would take deliberate “intelligent design”.
goltz20707 t1_isfqew0 wrote
Reply to TIL: Sperms were thought to move by wiggling their tails side-to-side, like eels, for 350 years. But research shows that they roll as they move forward like a spinning top. by vect77
All bacteria and protists with flagella propel themselves by spinning the end, not wriggling. They use proton-powered rotary motors.
goltz20707 t1_jeh4fne wrote
Reply to TIL among the official HTTP client error response codes (like "404: Not Found"), status code "418: I'm a teapot" is the code used to indicate that the server refuses to brew coffee because it is, permanently, a teapot. by lofzfreak
I’ve used that in HTTP-speaking apps in code branches that should only be reached in catastrophic edge cases. If your browser reports that the app says it’s a teapot, something has gone very wrong.