The Thread for Useless, but Interesting Facts

[Azeem]

Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean was allegedly inspired from a real life pirate from 17th century, John Ward aka Jack Birdy

[Cicero]

Heard he was the most ridiculous pirate ever. 

[Tommy]

24 minutes ago, Cicero said:

Heard he was the most ridiculous pirate ever. 

But you have heard of him! 

[CaaC (John)+]

Quote

What is phantom vibration syndrome?

If you feel your phone vibrating but there's no one there, you're not alone.

Ever felt your phone buzz in your pocket, then pulled it out to find no text, no call, no notification? You might be experiencing ‘phantom vibration syndrome’– and you’re not alone. According to one study, 9 out of 10 undergraduates said they had experienced the phenomenon in the last week or month.

Scientists aren’t exactly sure why these tactile hallucinations happen to so many of us. One leading theory is that our excessive smartphone use, and our creeping sense that we should be constantly available, have conditioned our brains to overinterpret sensations such as clothing moving against our skin. On the plus side, most people don’t find the phantom signals bothersome.

https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/phantom-vibration-syndrome/

 

Edited September 29, 2022 by CaaC (John)
Spacing correction

[Azeem]

U.S. air raided all but five Japanese cities prior to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 88% urban area was destroyed in seventeen cities, Kyoto alone had 65 raids. 

This makes the nukes was a last resort to end war argument untenable.

[Azeem]

Duchess Anastasia, youngest daughter of Russian Emperor Tsar Nicholas II was believed to have fled from the Bolshevik massacre of his family as her body was not found. Countless women tried to imposter themselves as Anastasia and one girl was quite successful becoming a national star. 

Though she did not escape and her death was forensically proved in 2007.

[Spike]

On 27/09/2022 at 05:37, Beelzebub said:

94% of Chinese population lives on the red side. I think only Russia and Canada are only that extreme in terms of disparate pop density

I think around 80% of Australians live on the east coast. Could be wrong but it is very high. Obviously not as an extreme amount as 94% but it is a smaller land area.

[Azeem]

Starring from 1696 for 155  years England and Wales had a window tax based on number of windows one had in their house.

[Spike]

7 hours ago, Beelzebub said:

Starring from 1696 for 155  years England and Wales had a window tax based on number of windows one had in their house.

No worse then buying a licence for the fucking TV

[Gunnersaurus]

28 minutes ago, Spike said:

No worse then buying a licence for the fucking TV

The tv licence is used to fund the bbc which doesn't have adverts. Why you cant just not watch it and watch other channels without it though I dont know. Perhaps years ago with the analogue system it was impossible to tell which channel people had on.  And also you couldn't just stop that channel from broadcasting to certain TVs. Where as now you can tell and you can stop certain channels from broadcasting so I dont know why it is still here and why you cant just pay for the bbc if you want it 

[Gunnersaurus]

@Spike Just googled it and the tv licence is expected to be abolished in 2027. Probably had to wait for country to be completely digital and then some time to sort it out 

[Spike]

Just now, Gunnersaurus said:

The tv licence is used to fund the bbc which doesn't have adverts. Why you cant just not watch it and watch other channels without it though I dont know. Perhaps years ago with the analogue system it was impossible to tell which channel people had on.  And also you couldn't just stop that channel from broadcasting to certain TVs. Where as now you can tell and you can stop certain channels from broadcasting so I dont know why it is still here and why you cant just pay for the bbc if you want it 

ABC doesn't have adverts and we don't have to purchase a licence, you get taxed regardless, so why does the BBC have a specific tax? We also get Channel 7, Channel 10, Channel 9, and SBS for free, as well as all the derivatives.

Seems like a relic of a yesteryear that shouldn't exist but no government will get rid of it because the returns are too nice.

[Gunnersaurus]

19 minutes ago, Spike said:

ABC doesn't have adverts and we don't have to purchase a licence, you get taxed regardless, so why does the BBC have a specific tax? We also get Channel 7, Channel 10, Channel 9, and SBS for free, as well as all the derivatives.

Seems like a relic of a yesteryear that shouldn't exist but no government will get rid of it because the returns are too nice.

I just googled ABC and it seems as if it is funded through tax. So you are still paying for it just in a different way.  If anything a tv licence is fairer because if someone doesn't want to watch tv they dont pay for it. I dont know how all the other channels are funded but someone pays for it. Nothing is free 

Edited October 2, 2022 by Gunnersaurus

[nudge]

Pyrenean ibex is the first and the only known species to go extinct twice. Originally, they became extinct in 2000, and there were several cloning attempts to resurrect the species afterwards. In 2003, a living specimen was born through cloning, but died 7 minutes after birth due to a respiratory defect, making it the first species to go extinct, be brought back alive, and become extinct again.

Such a majestic animal, too.

[Spike]

10 minutes ago, Gunnersaurus said:

I just googled ABC and it seems as if it is funded through tax. So you are still paying for it just in a different way.  If anything a tv licence is fairer because if someone doesn't want to watch tv they dont pay for it. I dont know how all the other channels are funded but someone pays for it. Nothing is free 

Andd I just googled that only 3/4 of the BBC is funded by license. So no, it isn't fairer because you are paying for it regardless.

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8101/

Quote

The remaining 26% or £1.31 billion came from commercial and other activities (such as grants, royalties and rental income).

And the ABC is funded significantly less than the BBC is. https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/BudgetReview201819/Fundingfornationalbroadcasters

[Gunnersaurus]

28 minutes ago, Spike said:

Andd I just googled that only 3/4 of the BBC is funded by license. So no, it isn't fairer because you are paying for it regardless.

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8101/

And the ABC is funded significantly less than the BBC is. https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/BudgetReview201819/Fundingfornationalbroadcasters

But it still needs money to fund the 3/4. And if it was paid for though income tax it would still mean people are paying for it who dont watch it. If ABC have found other ways to generate income that is great but that's not always possible. 

[Gunnersaurus]

@Spike I do think it would interesting to look at the ABC model though. Maybe put the tv licence fees down and the BBC has the generate more  money other ways.

[Spike]

7 minutes ago, Gunnersaurus said:

But it still needs money to fund the 3/4. And if it was paid for though income tax it would still mean people are paying for it who dont watch it. If ABC have found other ways to generate income that is great but that's not always possible. 

Haha why does the BBC need £4billion a year? As if  It is a total rort and you are trying to justify £160 a year fee. They’ve got you in a Stockholm’s Syndrome. 

The ABC gets AUD$3 billion over three years. A billion a year by 25,000,000 Australians is about $40 p/a per person which is about £23. I know what I prefer!

[Gunnersaurus]

17 minutes ago, Spike said:

Haha why does the BBC need £4billion a year? As if  It is a total rort and you are trying to justify £160 a year fee. They’ve got you in a Stockholm’s Syndrome. 

The ABC gets AUD$3 billion over three years. A billion a year by 25,000,000 Australians is about $40 p/a per person which is about £23. I know what I prefer!

I don't know what they spend it on. But it can cost over £200 million to make a 2 hour film so a few billion doesn't look like to much when you compare it. How much does ABC cost to run though? And what is the quality like? I'm sure the BBC wasts money because it has that guaranteed income. Which is why I said perhaps we should look at cutting the tv licence fee and making them generate more of their income. But I doubt they could run a channel with no adverts completely by other means. I don't entirely know what you are arguing against I prety much agree with you 

Edited October 2, 2022 by Gunnersaurus

[Spike]

4 minutes ago, Gunnersaurus said:

I don't know what they spend it on. But it can cost over £200 million to make a 2 hour film so a few billion doesn't look like to much when you compare it. How much does ABC cost to run though? And what is the quality like? I'm sure the BBC wasts money because it has that guaranteed income. Which is why I said perhaps we should look at cutting the tv licence fee and making them generate more of their income. But I doubt they could run a channel with no adverts completely by other means. I don't entirely know what you are arguing against I prety much agree with you 

I am not arguing against you, just the idea that the fee needs to be so high or that a public broadcaster should be making Hollywood costing movies on the taxpayer’s expense. I know why it exists and it would have been a great idea in the 1920s but I really doubt the rate of TVs in homes hasn’t been over 95% since the 80s.

ABC is fine if unspectacular, for the most part it probably needs more original programming but it used to have a very down to earth feel to it, not so much these days but it used to feel pretty sincere. 

[Gunnersaurus]

52 minutes ago, Spike said:

I am not arguing against you, just the idea that the fee needs to be so high or that a public broadcaster should be making Hollywood costing movies on the taxpayer’s expense. I know why it exists and it would have been a great idea in the 1920s but I really doubt the rate of TVs in homes hasn’t been over 95% since the 80s.

ABC is fine if unspectacular, for the most part it probably needs more original programming but it used to have a very down to earth feel to it, not so much these days but it used to feel pretty sincere. 

There has been a lot of debate about the salaries.  The bbc does provide a lot of quality stuff. Perhaps the bbc could have a free service and put the good stuff on a paid service. From what I read ABC had a news channel which is paid for?? One thing about it though is that it would need to have free channels to be able to show certain sporting events which have to be on free to view tv.

[Spike]

6 minutes ago, Gunnersaurus said:

There has been a lot of debate about the salaries.  The bbc does provide a lot of quality stuff. Perhaps the bbc could have a free service and put the good stuff on a paid service. From what I read ABC had a news channel which is paid for?? One thing about it though is that it would need to have free channels to be able to show certain sporting events which have to be on free to view tv.

No, the ABC is free, there is like 6 of them now. You might be mixing it up with the American broadcast company with the same name.

[Azeem]

The Great Hedge was literally a hedge made as a custom line by British in colonial India to stop smuggling of salt so people couldn't avoid salt tax. What's with Brits and weird tax tactics ?

 

 

 

[Spike]

1 hour ago, Beelzebub said:

The Great Hedge was literally a hedge made as a custom line by British in colonial India to stop smuggling of salt so people couldn't avoid salt tax. What's with Brits and weird tax tactics ?

 

 

 

I'm sure you can find weird tax shit in most country's histories. I think Imperial Russia had a 'beard tax'. Jizya tax would blow a lot of people's minds.

[Azeem]

3 minutes ago, Spike said:

I'm sure you can find weird tax shit in most country's histories. I think Imperial Russia had a 'beard tax'. Jizya tax would blow a lot of people's minds.

Alexander and number of others too they say because it was a weak point in battle for soldiers apparently.