Things you've always wondered about but couldn't be bothered to find out

[redm]

how come all Japanese people look alike?v

 

I don't know the specifics of this but I did read an article some time ago about how it's established fact that one race finds it very difficult to distinguish (or even notice) the variety of physical characteristics in another. They can that into consideration as part of the evidence quality in legal trials where a person of one race has been asked to identify a person of another race in line-ups apparently.

[redm]

I was discussing this with a canadian friend, about how lots of american draft dodgers were tested in canada by reciting the alphabet as canadians say Zed rather than Zee, and we went on to discuss other shibboleths as passwords - lollapolooza etc. She went back to work and was discussing this with a colleague, who it turns out is in the masons. When the word shibboleth came up he got quite snarky and defensive as, apparently, the word Shibboleth itself is an actual password in the masons. I lost respect for them as a secret society when i discovered that one of their passwords is effectively password.

 

I'll bet their amazon acccount password is Amazon1

 

Canadians are easy, just wait until they say the word "about" and then you know.

Or at least, that's how I've always done it. Worked a treat too, never got it wrong yet.   Scientific.

 

Unless they're from Minnesota or some other state with mad vowels actually, then it might be more tricky.

[Tazio]

I don't know the specifics of this but I did read an article some time ago about how it's established fact that one race finds it very difficult to distinguish (or even notice) the variety of physical characteristics in another. They can that into consideration as part of the evidence quality in legal trials where a person of one race has been asked to identify a person of another race in line-ups apparently.

 

Guilty. 

 

A few years ago I got chatting to a Chinese girl I had met a couple of times (very drunk at the time) quite merrily asking about mutual friends, work etc. All good until I addressed her by her name and it turned out she wasn't who I thought she was. Both girls had a fairly unusual job and the chances of 2 Glaswegian women with Chinese heritage, the same age, with the same dress sense, having the same job in the same place must have been tiny. In my defence we were standing side by side at a bar and I didn't see her properly.

 

She took serious umbrage when she worked out the situation, one of the few occasions in my life when I've wanted the ground to open up and swallow me.

[Tazio]

Canadians are easy, just wait until they say the word "about" and then you know.

Or at least, that's how I've always done it. Worked a treat too, never got it wrong yet.   Scientific.

 

Unless they're from Minnesota or some other state with mad vowels actually, then it might be more tricky.

 

I got a bit of good advise from a Canadian friend, if in doubt ask if they are Canadian. If they are Canadian they will be happy you recognised their accent, if they are American they won't be too upset at your mistake.

[2NaFish]

I don't know the specifics of this but I did read an article some time ago about how it's established fact that one race finds it very difficult to distinguish (or even notice) the variety of physical characteristics in another. They can that into consideration as part of the evidence quality in legal trials where a person of one race has been asked to identify a person of another race in line-ups apparently.

 

I was just mimicking earlier posters who couldn't fathom how they could tell the difference between a scousers and a geordie accent, but not an auckland or a wellington accent. But you are correct that different cultures struggle; i guess the interesting part would be where and how we all perceive eachother on this strata.

[Guest Bilel Mohsni]

Certain ethnicities carry genes that have proven to be historically advantageous, and have then been inbred over thousands of generations over prehistory. If you come from an ethnic group that has survived prehistoric Times on the other side of the world with very little contact with the other group, then when you look at members of that group, you are drawn towards the differences in their appearance that you are not used to seeing in your own group. After long enough exposed to features which jump out at you as different to those you are more used to seeing every day, you begin to notice the less obvious differences in appearance from individual to individual.

[2NaFish]

nah, its just cos they all lookalike, m8

[FWJ]

How come when a small island like the UK has so many distinctively different accents only a small distance from each other such as Edinburgh, Weegie, Geordie,Scouser, Manc, Cockney etc, do you then get a giant land mass like Australia say where by in large the accent is similar across the country. Even New Zealand, which is a different country, although slightly different is very similar to Australian.

Maybe it's because when places like Australia, Canada and New Zealand were being settled people were already quite mobile - travelling all over the country and so accents got mixed up and lost - or were ironed out so people could make themselves understood.

 

In places like the UK or France for hundreds of years few people travelled more than a few miles from where they were born and so accents became deeper - even sometimes becoming mutually unintelligible.

Edited January 28, 2015 by FWJ

[GlasgoJambo]

I was discussing this with a canadian friend, about how lots of american draft dodgers were tested in canada by reciting the alphabet as canadians say Zed rather than Zee, and we went on to discuss other shibboleths as passwords - lollapolooza etc. She went back to work and was discussing this with a colleague, who it turns out is in the masons. When the word shibboleth came up he got quite snarky and defensive as, apparently, the word Shibboleth itself is an actual password in the masons. I lost respect for them as a secret society when i discovered that one of their passwords is effectively password.

 

I'll bet their amazon acccount password is Amazon1

Naw, WATPFTP

[Boof]

http://youtu.be/7Bg586-wl38

[tian447]

http://youtu.be/7Bg586-wl38

That was funny for about 3 seconds.

[Bert Le Clos]

Guilty. 

 

A few years ago I got chatting to a Chinese girl I had met a couple of times (very drunk at the time) quite merrily asking about mutual friends, work etc. All good until I addressed her by her name and it turned out she wasn't who I thought she was. Both girls had a fairly unusual job and the chances of 2 Glaswegian women with Chinese heritage, the same age, with the same dress sense, having the same job in the same place must have been tiny. In my defence we were standing side by side at a bar and I didn't see her properly.

 

She took serious umbrage when she worked out the situation, one of the few occasions in my life when I've wanted the ground to open up and swallow me.

 

There are quite a few of them.

 

Not that weird IMO.

[Bindy Badgy]

I don't know the specifics of this but I did read an article some time ago about how it's established fact that one race finds it very difficult to distinguish (or even notice) the variety of physical characteristics in another. They can that into consideration as part of the evidence quality in legal trials where a person of one race has been asked to identify a person of another race in line-ups apparently.

 

I think it's more accurate to say that you learn to distinguish the differences in the race that you're surrounded by when you grow up.  If a white person was adopted by a black couple and grew up in Africa he would be able to tell black people apart and would have difficulty telling white people apart.

[Paolo]

I think it's more accurate to say that you learn to distinguish the differences in the race that you're surrounded by when you grow up. If a white person was adopted by a black couple and grew up in Africa he would be able to tell black people apart and would have difficulty telling white people apart.

So going by this theory, if someone says 'they all look the same', is there an argument to say that it is not racist? Or is it racist regardless?

[chuck berrys hairline]

Are wild animals selective in what they eat?

 

Like tony the tiger turns to his bursd and says 'fancy a bit of hippo the night, gaun fetch one for me hen'!

[Tazio]

Are wild animals selective in what they eat?

 

Like tony the tiger turns to his bursd and says 'fancy a bit of hippo the night, gaun fetch one for me hen'!

 

 

Are wild animals selective in what they eat?

 

Like tony the tiger turns to his bursd and says 'fancy a bit of hippo the night, gaun fetch one for me hen'!

 

To which Tony's bursd would reply, "dinnae be daft Tony. Where the feck am I going to find a hippo in Asia outside zoos?"

[essexjam]

How did Bruce Lee really die?

[essexjam]

Also, where was Charlie Chaplin actually born? I know he grew up in London when young but there are no birth records. This fuelled the story he was born a Romany gypsy on a site in Birmigham.

[Guest Bilel Mohsni]

What is the universe expanding in to?

[tian447]

What is the universe expanding in to?

 

The Hibs trophy cabinet.  Plenty of room in there

[michael_bolton]

They don't and they don't, according to my Australian Mrs.

She struggles to understand strong Glasgow and Scouser accents but can understand most others easily. She can also tell the difference between Geordies, Irish, Northern Irish etc quite easily.

As for variations in the Australian accents, she thinks Australians from WA sound more English and less nasal than the rest of the country but other than that there's only a neddy sort of accent (bogan in her words) and normal Australian. Go figure.

 

I think djh83 has a point. New Zealand does sound like Australia until they say certain words and then you can hear it. Most Scots or British wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

 

They sound similar until you spend time around them (sounds obvious, I know, but it's true).

 

Australians tend to say seeexty seeex whereas Kiwis will say suxty sux. Australians also raise the intonation at the end of a sentence which makes everything sound like a question. Many of them also add 'k' onto the end of -ing words. For example, someone defending himself against an allegation may say "I didn't do anythink!". My burd is Australian and I work alongside a few others as well as 5 Kiwis. With a bit of exposure the differences are quite clear.

 

Agree there's little difference between regional Australian accents. Australians themselves acknowledge that and a few have commented to me on how incredible they find the number of varied accents in a space as small as the UK.

[Guest Bilel Mohsni]

The Hibs trophy cabinet. Plenty of room in there

[FWJ]

What is the universe expanding in to?

The universe isn't expanding into anything. The universe is *all* that there is. Similarly there was no 'before' the Big Bang. There was nothing and no time.

 

"The universe is not only queerer than we suppose, it is queerer than we can suppose"

[FWJ]

They sound similar until you spend time around them (sounds obvious, I know, but it's true). Australians tend to say seeexty seeex whereas Kiwis will say suxty sux. Australians also raise the intonation at the end of a sentence which makes everything sound like a question. Many of them also add 'k' onto the end of -ing words. For example, someone defending himself against an allegation may say "I didn't do anythink!". My burd is Australian and I work alongside a few others as well as 5 Kiwis. With a bit of exposure the differences are quite clear. Agree there's little difference between regional Australian accents. Australians themselves acknowledge that and a few have commented to me on how incredible they find the number of varied accents in a space as small as the UK.

I find Kiwis tend to say 'Yis' rather than 'Yes' - a bit like South Africans.

[Guest Bilel Mohsni]

The universe isn't expanding into anything. The universe is *all* that there is. Similarly there was no 'before' the Big Bang. There was nothing and no time.

 

"The universe is not only queerer than we suppose, it is queerer than we can suppose"

Love the last quote. Who was that?

[FWJ]

JBS Haldane.

 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._B._S._Haldane

[iantjambo]

Is the zombie apocalypse possible?

[bn jambo]

Is the zombie apocalypse possible?

I'm predicting Hampden Park on Sunday . So yes

[scott herbertson]

The universe isn't expanding into anything. The universe is *all* that there is. Similarly there was no 'before' the Big Bang. There was nothing and no time.

 

"The universe is not only queerer than we suppose, it is queerer than we can suppose"

 

 

had a huge 'late night' argument about this with a science boffiny mate about 20 years ago. My claim was that it was not logical there should be only one universe (I know, the word itself, but hear me out) . The idea that the Universe was expanding outward but it was impossible there could be other things beyond it did not compute with me. He's a good mate (still) but I was somewhat offended that my theory was shot down on the basis of my physical state at the time and the amount of alcohol etc consumed.

 

I took great pleasure in listening to Brian Cox, being interviewed by Nicky Campbell state this morning that one of the most interesting new 'facts to amaze you' was that the theory is now that it is likely our 'universe' is just one of many

 

 

so that's for you Gordy - the podcast is on its way.....

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02hyym5

Edited January 30, 2015 by scott herbertson

[FWJ]

But are those "other" universes beyond ours or are they in ours but in another dimension (or some such)?

 

What is a bit freaky is that we could be in a 'false vacuum' and with a wee bit of quantum tunnelling the entire universe could drop to a lower energy state and vanish as we know it.

[scott herbertson]

But are those "other" universes beyond ours or are they in ours but in another dimension (or some such)?

 

What is a bit freaky is that we could be in a 'false vacuum' and with a wee bit of quantum tunnelling the entire universe could drop to a lower energy state and vanish as we know it.

 

 

Incidentally. Spock never said 'It's life Jim, but not as we know it'

 

 

Also, Jim never said "Beam me up Scotty" - if only I'd known that in primary school

[151]

The universe isn't expanding into anything. The universe is *all* that there is. Similarly there was no 'before' the Big Bang. There was nothing and no time.

 

"The universe is not only queerer than we suppose, it is queerer than we can suppose"

What went 'bang' then? Like what caused the explosion?

[scott herbertson]

What went 'bang' then? Like what caused the explosion?

[Bindy Badgy]

So going by this theory, if someone says 'they all look the same', is there an argument to say that it is not racist? Or is it racist regardless?

 

Whether or not it's racist depends on the context really.

 

There's certainly some truth to the statement.  When I went to Angkor Wat the tuk tuk driver that I'd hired for the day dropped me off then told me that he would pick me up at spot where all the drivers were parked.  Took me ages to find my tuk tuk driver as they all looked similar to me.  A Cambodian person would have probably found the driver much more easily.

 

I would assume the tuk tuk driver probably had the same problem with me.

Edited January 31, 2015 by Stokesy

[RobboM]

What went 'bang' then? Like what caused the explosion?

 Was it Rangers going into liquidation?

[FWJ]

Was it Rangers going into liquidation?

No, no. That's how the universe was going to end.

 

The fact it hasn't has sent the scientists at their Hampden headquarters scurrying back to their calculators.

[Pennywise]

What does NAP mean?

[Kmeister]

What does NAP mean?

Network Access Problem.

[BoJack Horseman]

What does NAP mean?

 

It's a short sleep.

[peter_hmfc]

What does NAP mean?

New Age Production.

[2NaFish]

what's Napoleon short for?

[Paolo]

What does NAP mean?

It's a horse that I back, that is supposedly sure to win, only for it not to.

[Boof]

what's Napoleon short for?

 

He's only got wee legs?

[Pennywise]

No! Like, "Hearts to win league, NAP!"

 

Im sure it's a horse racing thing, but what is NAP?

[Ricardo Quaresma]

What went 'bang' then? Like what caused the explosion?

A collision between 2 membranes in the 11th dimension is one theory

[Jambos_1874]

This is a pretty ridiculous question but I'll ask it anyway. Do Hearts (or any team for that matter) players get a new jersey after every few games? You see some players hand their jersey to fans in the crowd every so often and if they did this every game they'd go through a stack of shirts. Do they just get a massive stock of shirts from Adidas at the start of the season?I know there aren't anymore available in the shop so was just curious.

[jamboz]

No! Like, "Hearts to win league, NAP!"

 

Im sure it's a horse racing thing, but what is NAP?

 

A tipsters choice for an almost cerain winner.

[Brian Whittaker's Tache]

http://www.lbc.co.uk/what-is-the-nap-in-betting-38637

[Unknown user]

How many directions can an object move in, at the same time?

One, but describing it can be tricky

[Disco Dave]

This is a pretty ridiculous question but I'll ask it anyway. Do Hearts (or any team for that matter) players get a new jersey after every few games? You see some players hand their jersey to fans in the crowd every so often and if they did this every game they'd go through a stack of shirts. Do they just get a massive stock of shirts from Adidas at the start of the season?I know there aren't anymore available in the shop so was just curious.

I would guess that we get given x number of strips as part of our deal and anything over and above is purchased. If a player launches their shirt into the crowd, they probably get billed for it. I watched a program about Man City a while back and I cant remember the exact number but the guy said they go through something like 3,000 strips a year throughout the club.

 

Did you know that the strips the players wear are not the same as the replica shirts you or I can buy in the shops? Only found this out recently myself but the "real" strips are made of different material, have laser cut holes for ventilation and such like.

Edited February 3, 2015 by Disco Dave