Today I Learned #4: Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.

[Samson]

It is the tetrodotoxin that makes fugu (pufferfish) such a sort after sushi. Just the right amount gives a pleasant tingle when eating it, a bit too much and you die. Also why you cannot farm them (easily at least), you need the bacteria that they acquire in the wild.

They also have a really compressed genome, with the same number of genes as us in only 400,000,000 bases, compared to humans at 3,000,000,000.

 

[The_J]

Ah, I wasn't aware that there'd be Tetrodotoxin in fugu-sushi. I thought the art of preparing it included to make sure everything's removed, and wouldn't have thought that some remainders would for sure be there.

Interesting with the genome (well, for me, at least).


One more TIL: Heavy water (radioactive water) is so heavy, that ice made out of it will actually sink in water and not float, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium#Physical_properties .

 

[Takhisis]

Only greek people and britivy league would know it ^_^

Or anybody in Latin America, where ‘nosocomio’ and ‘manicomio’ are words still in use.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

TIL that Quebec Maple flavored Coke does not taste anything like maple.

 

[Takhisis]

Does it taste, at least, like maple-flavoured coke?

 

[Arakhor]

I prefer the term iatrogenic, meaning anything that is caused by medical intervention or neglect.

 

[Samson]

I prefer the term iatrogenic, meaning anything that is caused by medical intervention or neglect.

That is different though. Hospital aquired infection is very specific, a whole lot of things can be iatrogenic, like any drug side effects.

 

[Takhisis]

If you want to go Greek, Arakhor, just call it ‘nosocomic’.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Does it taste, at least, like maple-flavoured coke?

It tastes like coke with some kind of vague lemony flavor in it.

I might try again - it came in a 4-pack so there are 3 left.

I also had a 4-pack of raspberry coke. That one is very good, very fruity taste.

 

[Samson]

TIL that more than a third of all Justices (41/115) in the United States Supreme Court's history had no prior judicial experience before their appointment. More than half (9/17) Chief Justices had no prior judicial experience before appointment to the court.

 

[The_J]

That's appalling!

 

[EgonSpengler]

TIL that more than a third of all Justices (41/115) in the United States Supreme Court's history had no prior judicial experience before their appointment. More than half (9/17) Chief Justices had no prior judicial experience before appointment to the court.

That's appalling!

I guess I can see how judicial experience might not be crucial, since the Supreme Court is such a different kind of court. One of its most important tasks is to interpret the US Constitution, particularly where there's a conflict between two seemingly-legitimate positions. The Supreme Court is also one of our government "watchdogs", serving in a kind of oversight role, where people can exercise their First Amendment right to "petition the government for a redress of grievances." I think it's deliberate that we don't call people who sit on the Supreme Court "judges." A near-comprehensive understanding of the law, particularly Constitutional law, would be vital, and being a judge on one of the lower courts would certainly be one way to get that (and to demonstrate that you have it, I suppose).

 

[Kyriakos]

Didn't know that Venezuela means "Little Venice".

 

[elmurcis]

TIL that Vikings lived in Azores long before Portuguese got there (between approxemetely 700 and 850 AD).

 

[The_J]

TIL: While smallpox was eradicated more than 40 years ago, the FDA still approved last year a new drug for its treatment. Based on data from similar viruses. Source: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/news-events-human-drugs/fda-approves-drug-treat-smallpox
I'm bewildered and amazed at the same time.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

TIL: While smallpox was eradicated more than 40 years ago, the FDA still approved last year a new drug for its treatment. Based on data from similar viruses. Source: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/news-events-human-drugs/fda-approves-drug-treat-smallpox
I'm bewildered and amazed at the same time.

If any of it (smallpox) have been kept as samples, it's prudent to have a cure just in case the conspiracy theorists are right and it gets out either accidentally or on purpose.

 

[The_J]

Yes, I agree.
I am amazed, because I didn't think the government was potentially planing ahead for such cases.
I'm bewildered, because I think you can't really test it without having the right virus around.

 

[Samson]

I'm bewildered, because I think you can't really test it without having the right virus around.

Yeah, but that also means that no one can disprove it either. Sounds like winner for your career. I am going to patent a cure for cooties and Greyscale. Perhaps I could jump on the ivermectin bandwagon.

 

[The_J]

Just need to get it approved, which wouls seem to be the hardest part.

 

[Kaitzilla]

TIL that George Washington is the reason why the U.S. Presidency gets paid a big fat salary.

During the Revolutionary War, he declined a salary in favor of an expense account.
Then he racked that card up to an unbelievable amount.

Later when elected the 1st President, he again offered to work for free if he could get that expense account, but Congress refused and made him take a salary.

https://www.accountingin.com/accoun...-number-1/george-washingtons-expense-account/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005R17ZNM/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=