I bet you didnt know that

Ipso

There is a "comet" named after a group of historic Scots/North of Ireland folk.
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/3753_Cruithne

Duckworth_Luas

Ten of Swords wrote: »

GEBCO ... named several geographic features of the Rockall Plateau ... after locations in the works of JRR Tolkien.

There are areas of the plateau now officially called Edoras, Eriador, Fangorn, Gondor, Isengard, Lorien and Rohan

Sorry Legolas, it's "They are taking the halibut from Isengard!"

New Home

cdeb

And she was a Corkie too.

gozunda

There is evidence that both the Stirrup and Gunpowder were first developed between the 2nd and 8th century AD

The stirrup, which gives greater stability to a rider, has been described as one of the most significant inventions in the history of warfare, prior to gunpowder. As a tool allowing expanded use of horses in warfare, the stirrup is often called the third revolutionary step in equipment, after the chariot and the saddle. 

The Romans had neither.

476 AD marked the end of the Western Roman Empire and the fall of Ancient Rome when the last Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus was defeated by the German Goth Odoacer and signaled the start of the Dark Ages in Europe. 

What if ....

Franz Von Peppercorn

Who’d want the Roman Empire to continue? Sure it was better than what followed immediately but not better than now.

sbsquarepants

Squall Leonhart wrote: »

The Michelin Man, first introduced in 1894, has a name, it's Bibendum!

I just had a thought to check out the marshmallow guy from ghostbusters to see which came first (one clearly being a rip off of the other) Turns out the marshmallow guy was actually just created for the film - all these years I'd just assumed he was an actual advertising logo for some beloved American sweet company!

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

Muahahaha wrote: »

The same Michelin Man inspired Irish born modernist architect and designer Eileen Gray to create the Bibendum chair

Now that is one (well 2 actually) beautiful chairs!

Wibbs

gozunda wrote: »

T
476 AD marked the end of the Western Roman Empire and the fall of Ancient Rome when the last Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus was defeated by the German Goth Odoacer and signaled the start of the Dark Ages in Europe. 

If only ....

I would suggest that the rise of Rome was one of the most advantageous drivers of Europe as a continent, but its fall was another. Empires inevitably stagnate, which is what happened to the surviving Eastern Roman empire. Plus the Roman church took over as a de facto Roman empire that spanned an even larger geographical area than Rome ever did, while nation states under it competed and innovated.

lawred2

New Home wrote: »

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/features/the-anatomy-of-a-lie--the-irish-woman-who-lived-as-a-man-to-practice-medicine-277445.html

It's an amazing story. I love how her family conspired with her.

gozunda

Wibbs wrote: »

I would suggest that the rise of Rome was one of the most advantageous drivers of Europe as a continent, but its fall was another. Empires inevitably stagnate, which is what happened to the surviving Eastern Roman empire. Plus the Roman church took over as a de facto Roman empire that spanned an even larger geographical area than Rome ever did, while nation states under it competed and innovated.

Not what was or what is but what could have been ...

New Home

I was pretty sure, too, that the Ghostbuster "monster" was a character for a ready-to-bake dough. Go figure.

Baggly

New Home wrote: »

I was pretty sure, too, that the Ghostbuster "monster" was a character for a ready-to-bake dough. Go figure.

Thats what the characters in the movie referenced it as anyway.....would it not be a generic knock off of the pilsbury dough boy?

ohnonotgmail

New Home wrote: »

I was pretty sure, too, that the Ghostbuster "monster" was a character for a ready-to-bake dough. Go figure.

You're thinking of the Pillsbury Doughboy

New Home

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

You're thinking of the Pillsbury Doughboy

That's it exactly, I couldn't think of the name! I just thought that they had altered the character enough not to have to risk being sued, while still making the character recognisable.

Baggly

Which makes sense really, since Marshmallows dont need to 'Stay Puft' whereas baked goods do.

gozunda

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

Who’d want the Roman Empire to continue? Sure it was better than what followed immediately but not better than now.

That misses the point of the post. Nothing stays the same. If it had not been brought down Roman civilisation would have evolved and changed. Would that have been better than a millennia of dark ages and 500 years of western civilisation? Maybe - maybe not.

And yet Rome did fall and the scraps of what remained of Roman civilisation became the ideal upon which Western civilization later shaped itself. Many Roman principles are embodied in modern institutions and governance.

It is also usefull to look at why the Roman empire fell and what might have helped to prevent that fall. It may even highlight weaknesses of Roman civilization, perhaps similar to our own which could eventually lead to our own civilisation coming to an end and the loss of all that it entails.

Grayson

gozunda wrote: »

There is evidence that both the Stirrup and Gunpowder were first developed between the 2nd and 8th century AD

That reminds me. Arabs used mould that grew under saddles to help heal wounds. The mould was a fungus which contained antibiotics. A young french doctor discovered this and sent a report but it was ignored.

Bedouins tribesmen in North Africa have made of healing ointment from the mold on donkey harnesses for more than a thousand years.

In 1897 a young French doctor Ernest Duchesne rediscovered this by observing Arab stable boys used the mold from damp saddles to treat saddle sores.
He conducted thorough research identifying the mold as Penicillium glaucum.
Used it to cure typhoid in guinea pigs, and noted its destructive effect on E. coli bacteria. It was the first clinically tested use of what came to be called penicillin.

He send his research as his doctoral thesis, arguing further study, but the Institut Pasteur did not even acknowledge receipt of his work, perhaps because he was only twenty three and a completely unknown student.

https://www.sleepandhealth.com/do-you-know-who-discovered-penicillin/

Franz Von Peppercorn

gozunda wrote: »

That misses the point of the post. Nothing stays the same. If it had not been brought down Roman civilisation would have evolved and changed. Would that have been better than a millennia of dark ages and 500 years of western civilisation? Maybe - maybe not.

And yet Rome did fall and the scraps of what remained of Roman civilisation became the ideal upon which Western civilization later shaped itself. Many Roman principles are embodied in modern institutions and governance.

It is also usefull to look at why the Roman empire fell and what might have helped to prevent that fall. It may even highlight weaknesses of Roman civilization, perhaps similar to our own which could eventually lead to our own civilisation coming to an end and the loss of all that it entails.

I think you are falling for a fallacy here - that the industrial revolution had to happen sometime around when it did. But the Romans (or the Chinese or other civilisations) had the ability to move to something like an industrial society but never did. The best counter factual history, the most probable, is that had Rome continued we would now be in a Roman Empire with largely the same technology.

Depending on when you end the Roman Empire it did last 1-2 thousand years.

Quazzie

Why was it called gunpowder when the gun wasn't invented yet?

Shpud2

Quazzie wrote: »

Why was it called gunpowder when the gun wasn't invented yet?

Maybe the gun was named after it. Or else they didn't call it gunpowder back before the gun was invented.

sbsquarepants

Pter wrote: »

Which makes sense really, since Marshmallows dont need to 'Stay Puft' whereas baked goods do.

Surely marshmallows need to stay puffed more. When's the last time you enjoyed a nice puffy ginger nut!:D

He does look more like the doughboy figure alright (who I'd never seen before looking up the marshmallow man!)

gozunda

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

I think you are falling for a fallacy here - that the industrial revolution had to happen sometime around when it did. But the Romans (or the Chinese or other civilisations) had the ability to move to something like an industrial society but never did. The best counter factual history, the most probable, is that had Rome continued we would now be in a Roman Empire with largely the same technology.

Depending on when you end the Roman Empire it did last 1-2 thousand years.

No you've missed the point again. It's the story of 'what if' ...

Shpud2

gozunda wrote: »

It's the story of 'what if' ...

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

gozunda

Shpud2 wrote: »

Maybe the gun was named after it. Or else they didn't call it gunpowder back before the gun was invented.

It might help if we could read Chinese or at least 2nd century Chinese...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_gunpowder_age

Fourier

Just from a bit of research it seems the Chinese name for Gunpowder has always been something meaning "fire medicine", with the idea being that 'medicine' is mentioned because it was discovered by Taoist alchemists who also functioned as a sort of doctor/chemist.

Chinese Medical Characters Volume 3 - Nigel Wiseman, Paradigm Publications (2006)

Baggly

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Surely marshmallows need to stay puffed more. When's the last time you enjoyed a nice puffy ginger nut!:D

He does look more like the doughboy figure alright (who I'd never seen before looking up the marshmallow man!)

Well my point is that marshmallows DO stay puft. So naming a marshmallow product 'stay puft' would be like naming cola 'stay sweet'. The cola isnt going to go sour, so why would you promote its sweetness.

Dough can deflate, thus having a dough mascot that promotes a product as staying 'puft' means its a better product.

gozunda

Fourier wrote: »

Just from a bit of research it seems the Chinese name for Gunpowder has always been something meaning "fire medicine", with the idea being that 'medicine' is mentioned because it was discovered by Taoist alchemists who also functioned as a sort of doctor/chemist.

Chinese Medical Characters Volume 3 - Nigel Wiseman, Paradigm Publications (2006)

Also came across some wonderful translations from the 'Wujing Zongyao' or Complete Essentials for the Military Classics, compiled during the Northern Song Dynasty which lists various types of gunpowder weapons with an assortment of interesting names such as:

"flying incendiary club for subjugating demons," "caltrop fire ball," "ten-thousand fire flying sand magic bomb," "big bees nest," "burning heaven fierce fire unstoppable bomb," "fire bricks" which released "flying swallows," "flying rats," "fire birds," and "fire oxen". 

See: https://books.google.ie/books?id=1jRJCgAAQBAJ&lpg=PA16&ots=thYxET89o5&dq=flying%20incendiary%20club%20for%20subjugating%20demons'&pg=PA16#v=onepage&q=flying%20incendiary%20club%20for%20subjugating%20demons'&f=false

My favourite one is the 'flying incendiary club for subjugating demons'

I wonder do Amazon deliver ... :pac:

the purple tin

Ulysses by James Joyce was banned in the UK, Australia and the US but contrary to popular belief it has never been banned in Ireland.

Skylinehead

Henry Gunther was an American soldier in WW1. On the morning of November 11, 1918 (Armistice Day) his unit came across a German roadblock. With a minute to go until the armistice took effect, he decided to charge the position with a bayonet. The Germans were well aware of the impending peace so tried to ward him off, but he kept coming. Eventually, they killed him. He was the last soldier to die during WW1.

Harasrailltub

if you cycle a bike the chain will start to wear out .Once its worn past a certain point after say a few 1000 Kilometers it starts to eat away at the cogs on the front and at the rear and so it'll end up thrashing your bike if you keep using it .

Eventually the chain will snap under load and you'll have to buy a new chain . Then you'll discover that the new chain wont work as the cogs on the bike have been destroyed by the old stretched chain so you'll have to fork out more dough for chainrings and rear cogs.

You can buy a simple device called a chain checker for 5 euro that you pop on your chain and it'll show if its gone into the danger zone so you can get it changed before it wrecks your bike .

your chain lasts much longer if you clean it and re oil it every so often too