The many questions-not-worth-their-own-thread question thread XIV

[PeteAtoms]

Yes. I think it is denatured alcohol though, so it is pretty much incredibly unhealthy (more than regular drinkable alcohol anyway).

 

[Atlas14]

Can lab ethanol be drunk?

Sure, but you're likely to get acute ethanol poisoning, and soon die.

 

[Karalysia]

So this is false?

Last year when I was a TA for an engineering chem lab, the lab coordinator (prof) started getting really aggravated because the ethanol supply was clearly emptying faster than it should or any chemical in the lab should. That's right, some seriously cheap undergrads were actually drinking the stuff. Near the end of the term, the prof asked me if I had noticed that the thief had backed off. His solution? "5 or 6 drops of phenolphthalein was all it took." Poor kids.
Greg W.

http://www.collegehumor.com/article:1811053

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Let's hope they didn't drink that liquid.

 

[nonconformist]

Nah, phenylphtaline just makes you crap your guts out

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I saw this phrase in a Canadian-French newspaper:

"améliore tout en se gardant bein de succomber aux goûts du jour"

Google Translate says this means "improves while keeping bein succumbing to the tastes of the day." But what does "bein" mean?

I double-checked and thats what the newspaper says. In wiktionary, it says its Faroese, Icelandic, Norweigan and Scots but not French. I think it might be a misspelling... any ideas?

 

[really]

it's probably bien rather than bein

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

That worked, thanks.

Question: What does the Norweigan word "erkeamerikanske" mean? Google Translate says "Archbishop U.S." which makes no sense in the context. Was not in Wiktionary. Googled it and got a bunch of articles not saying what it meant.

EDIT: I think it's arch-American. Another question: I can't figure out the meaning of this sentence:
"I dag hører [Name] til på det amerikanske superlaget, uten at han derfor lager utpreget nyskapende musikk."

Any ideas?

 

[StittsvilleJame]

Why would anyone possibly watch the fireplace channel, aquarium channel, or cottage channel(picture of the sunset over a lake, with some adirondack chairs on a dock, sound of the occasional loon in the background...)??

 

[ParadigmShifter]

It's better than American Idol.

 

[Ajidica]

Why would anyone possibly watch the fireplace channel, aquarium channel, or cottage channel(picture of the sunset over a lake, with some adirondack chairs on a dock, sound of the occasional loon in the background...)??

I actualy know of someone who put their TV in front of their fireplace(which didn't work), put a space heater in front of it, and set the TV to the fireplace chanel so they could pretend to have a fireplace crackling in the background while they worked.
'nuff said.

 

[StittsvilleJame]

I actualy know of someone who put their TV in front of their fireplace(which didn't work), put a space heater in front of it, and set the TV to the fireplace chanel so they could pretend to have a fireplace crackling in the background while they worked.
'nuff said.

I had no idea people like that existed. lol
I suppose the aquarium channel is easier than feeding a fish every day...

 

[PeteAtoms]

Off the top of my head, I can't remember (and my google-fu fails me) where I heard about dark skinned individuals being racists against darker people (despite neither party being "white").

So, is this the white man's fault that dark-skinned individuals hate darker-skinned individuals, or does it play on some fear of darkness that humans evolved?

Does darkness always embody or represent some external force often labeled "evil" or sinister, in most or all cultures?

Or am I reading too much into it? I have a feeling I'm making shallow and sweeping generalizations here...

EDIT: Forget to mention that I might also be wrong in equating darkness with the color black (or dark colors), which might be my source of confusion as well.

 

[Xanikk999]

If college doesn't work out for me am I doomed to be a lowly wage slave for the rest of my existence?

 

[PeteAtoms]

If college doesn't work out for me am I doomed to be a lowly wage slave for the rest of my existence?

Statistically, yes.
Realisticall, there are cases of uneducated people becoming extremely wealthy.
Ambition and work ethic is a huge variable.

 

[Quackers]

You will still be a wage slave if you succeed at college.

 

[PeteAtoms]

But you can at least see that college grads have lower unemployment that non-grads.

So a meager wage is still better than no wage, I guess.

 

[Xanikk999]

My outlook on life is looking grim.

 

[Quackers]

Get a trade.

 

[W|M]

Become a steel worker, end up being leader of the trade union, found a political party and run for president!