c4countdown

Posted: **Fri Oct 27, 2023 9:36 am**

Ian Volante wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 12:07 pm I feel that some people need to look at the title of this thread, and maybe disappear off to the "interesting things that aren't necessarily completely obvious" thread.

NASA explored the idea of putting Big Bird on the Challenger space shuttle. You know, the one that exploded.

Posted: **Fri Oct 27, 2023 10:59 am**

"explored the idea"

Posted: **Fri Oct 27, 2023 12:41 pm**

Mark James wrote: ↑Fri Oct 27, 2023 9:36 am
Ian Volante wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2023 12:07 pm I feel that some people need to look at the title of this thread, and maybe disappear off to the "interesting things that aren't necessarily completely obvious" thread.
NASA explored the idea of putting Big Bird on the Challenger space shuttle. You know, the one that exploded.

I didnt know Big Bird exploded

Posted: **Fri Oct 27, 2023 12:44 pm**

The dude from The Bear on Disney plus is the grandson of Gene Wilder

Posted: **Fri Nov 24, 2023 12:53 pm**

Dutch is basically the same as English except they say "geezer" instead of "voter".

Posted: **Fri Nov 24, 2023 1:57 pm**

Montréal is well south of Paris, and about level with Bordeaux. Toronto is level with Nice and Monaco. New York is level with Madrid and Naples.

Chibougamau, which is basically the last northern outpost in Québec with good paved roads before you get into the endless boreal forest, is still south of all of mainland Britain.

Posted: **Thu Feb 29, 2024 4:41 pm**

I have loads of films recording off the tv on vhs tapes. Apparently it is possible to recover old teletext data from those tapes.

Posted: **Thu Feb 29, 2024 4:42 pm**

I think I did that once. Was quite low grade though.

Posted: **Thu Feb 29, 2024 5:27 pm**

Mark James wrote: ↑Thu Feb 29, 2024 4:41 pm I have loads of films recording off the tv on vhs tapes. Apparently it is possible to recover old teletext data from those tapes.

Back in the day when we used to roller skate the teletext before surfing the internet

Posted: **Sun Mar 31, 2024 12:35 pm**

The order of adjectives in English Grammar.
Opinions, size, age, shape, colour origin material and puepose
If you get them in the wrong order it doesn't sound right.
My fat, big Greek wedding being an example of getting it wrong

Edit : typically there are exceptions like big bad wolf but there is probably a reason behind this

Posted: **Wed Apr 24, 2024 10:10 am**

Kirstie Alley's parents died in a car accident on the way to a Halloween party. Her mother was dressed in black face and her father was in a ku klux klan outfit.

https://youtu.be/5EEYp-plTYk?si=rRVFf6sz0IY1IHgz

Posted: **Wed May 22, 2024 9:39 am**

Orange being used to describe the colour comes from the fruit , it used to be called red/yellow.

Posted: **Sat Jul 06, 2024 10:21 am**

The last time every human was on Earth was October 31st 2000. Since then there has always been someone in space.

Posted: **Sat Jul 06, 2024 3:30 pm**

Mark James wrote: ↑Sat Jul 06, 2024 10:21 am The last time every human was on Earth was October 31st 2000. Since then there has always been someone in space.

That got me wondering about how many dead people are floating in space.

Posted: **Sat Jul 06, 2024 3:41 pm**

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Sat Jul 06, 2024 3:30 pm
Mark James wrote: ↑Sat Jul 06, 2024 10:21 am The last time every human was on Earth was October 31st 2000. Since then there has always been someone in space.
That got me wondering about how many dead people are floating in space.

Not too many. Most probably got burnt up.

Posted: **Fri Jul 12, 2024 7:15 am**

I was thinking of starting a thread called Things I learned on tick tock.
Not that I go on tick tick but my FB feed shares loads of crap but some gems like :
Electric Showers didn't exist until the 1960s
Life Dysmorphia is a thing.
Saltburn is just a sick version of Kind Hearts and Coronets
When Spurs last won the league is nearer to Queen Victoria's Reign than King Charles lll reign.

Posted: **Fri Jul 12, 2024 3:43 pm**

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Sat Jul 06, 2024 3:41 pm
Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Sat Jul 06, 2024 3:30 pm
Mark James wrote: ↑Sat Jul 06, 2024 10:21 am The last time every human was on Earth was October 31st 2000. Since then there has always been someone in space.
That got me wondering about how many dead people are floating in space.
Not too many. Most probably got burnt up.

According to Wikipedia only three people have actually ever died in space, and they all came back to Earth anyway.

Posted: **Sun Aug 04, 2024 1:05 pm**

The 2024 Olympic mascot is based on the Liberty caps worn during called , bonnet rouge , the French revolution .
I thought it looks like a turd

Posted: **Thu Aug 08, 2024 7:12 am**

If you use a school globe of the earth and wanted to find out where the ISS is above it.
It's about a centmetre.
The moon is 10 metres away.

It's not very far in space at all

Posted: **Thu Aug 08, 2024 8:23 pm**

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2024 7:12 am If you use a school globe of the earth and wanted to find out where the ISS is above it.
It's about a centmetre.
The moon is 10 metres away.

It's not very far in space at all

I also discussed that here. The more I think about it, the more I think that the ISS is a waste of money, just based on the hubristic notion of always having someone in space. I simply don't believe that its value to science is worth the cost.

Posted: **Fri Aug 09, 2024 7:26 am**

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2024 8:23 pm
Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2024 7:12 am If you use a school globe of the earth and wanted to find out where the ISS is above it.
It's about a centmetre.
The moon is 10 metres away.

It's not very far in space at all
I also discussed that here. The more I think about it, the more I think that the ISS is a waste of money, just based on the hubristic notion of always having someone in space. I simply don't believe that its value to science is worth the cost.

You could say the same about the Moon landings beyond the first one.

Going g back to the ISS , I thought the idea behind a space station was to build space craft in space to travel further ad the energy needed to leave the earth's gravity is far greater than a rocket setting off from space

Posted: **Fri Aug 09, 2024 8:42 am**

Yeah, but you don't need a space station several decades before any real space travel actually happens. I think there's the argument that it's important to see the effects of zero gravity for extended periods on the human body.

Posted: **Fri Aug 09, 2024 10:45 am**

First space baby would be a milestone

Posted: **Fri Aug 09, 2024 11:30 am**

I'm surprised Elon Musk hasn't been.

Posted: **Mon Sep 02, 2024 7:51 pm**

Mark Labbett isn't called The Beast because of his physique. His surname is a homophone of la bête which is French for the beast.

Posted: **Fri Sep 06, 2024 11:25 am**

The end of a tape measure always seems a bit wobbly but it's not poor craftsmanship, quite the contrary.
If you use the tape measure to hook over, say a table tip the play on the end compensates for the thickness of the metal on the end.

Now I've typed this , it doesn't seem that interesting now

Posted: **Fri Feb 28, 2025 2:41 pm**

PROST, SENNA and PIQUET are all valid words.

Posted: **Fri Feb 28, 2025 3:54 pm**

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Fri Feb 28, 2025 2:41 pm PROST, SENNA and PIQUET are all valid words.

Also FARINA, ASCARI and HAWTHORN from the 1950s, and far less interestingly, HILL. PIQUET is also a card game.

Posted: **Wed Mar 05, 2025 7:54 pm**

Rabbits are not rodents.

Posted: **Sun Mar 09, 2025 8:02 pm**

Philip A wrote: ↑Fri Feb 28, 2025 3:54 pm
Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Fri Feb 28, 2025 2:41 pm PROST, SENNA and PIQUET are all valid words.
Also FARINA, ASCARI and HAWTHORN from the 1950s, and far less interestingly, HILL. PIQUET is also a card game.

Also STROLL. Let's not forget the greats here.

Posted: **Sun Mar 09, 2025 10:04 pm**

Let's not forget MOSS if we're doing 50s. BROOKS too.

Also BUTTON, HUNT, JONES, HERBERT, MASS, STUCK, COMAS, PALMER, BONNIER, SURER, PACE, GENE, SPEED, COURAGE, MARQUES to name some others.

Posted: **Mon Mar 10, 2025 9:14 am**

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Sun Mar 09, 2025 10:04 pm Let's not forget MOSS if we're doing 50s. BROOKS too.

Also BUTTON, HUNT, JONES, HERBERT, MASS, STUCK, COMAS, PALMER, BONNIER, SURER, PACE, GENE, SPEED, COURAGE, MARQUES to name some others.

And Schumaker ( in the German dictionary)

Posted: **Wed Mar 12, 2025 3:57 pm**

The word ‘cabaret’ originally meant a business serving liquor.

Posted: **Wed Mar 12, 2025 7:07 pm**

Philip A wrote: ↑Wed Mar 12, 2025 3:57 pm The word ‘cabaret’ originally meant a business serving liquor.

In French, alongside its familiar meaning, it also means a cafeteria food tray

Posted: **Fri Mar 21, 2025 9:00 pm**

I've known about this for a while but when they tell you at school that the three primary colours of pigment are red, yellow and blue, they're wrong. It's yellow, cyan and magenta, which you might have noticed from printer ink.

Edit - actually this is old news.

Posted: **Mon Mar 24, 2025 9:48 am**

The Sun is actually white. It only appears red due to atmospheric scattering.

Posted: **Mon Mar 24, 2025 12:03 pm**

The only channel island actually in the channel is Alderney

Posted: **Mon Mar 24, 2025 1:17 pm**

Fiona T wrote: ↑Mon Mar 24, 2025 12:03 pm The only channel island actually in the channel is Alderney

I can't find a definition of the English Channel which excludes any parts of it that are between its defined eastern and western extremities?

Posted: **Mon Mar 24, 2025 1:51 pm**

Ian Volante wrote: ↑Mon Mar 24, 2025 1:17 pm
Fiona T wrote: ↑Mon Mar 24, 2025 12:03 pm The only channel island actually in the channel is Alderney
I can't find a definition of the English Channel which excludes any parts of it that are between its defined eastern and western extremities?

Was told it at the weekend and at least one source appears to concur, but yeah other sources describe the bay of St Malo as part of the channel

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Alderney

As you were then

Posted: **Tue Mar 25, 2025 12:29 pm**

Fiona T wrote: ↑Mon Mar 24, 2025 1:51 pm
Ian Volante wrote: ↑Mon Mar 24, 2025 1:17 pm
Fiona T wrote: ↑Mon Mar 24, 2025 12:03 pm The only channel island actually in the channel is Alderney
I can't find a definition of the English Channel which excludes any parts of it that are between its defined eastern and western extremities?
Was told it at the weekend and at least one source appears to concur, but yeah other sources describe the bay of St Malo as part of the channel

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Alderney

As you were then

Ah, pedantry. Like saying Heligoland is in the North Sea and not the Atlantic Ocean

Posted: **Tue Mar 25, 2025 9:03 pm**

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Fri Mar 21, 2025 9:00 pm I've known about this for a while but when they tell you at school that the three primary colours of pigment are red, yellow and blue, they're wrong. It's yellow, cyan and magenta, which you might have noticed from printer ink.

Edit - actually this is old news.

With printer ink, the combined initials are generally CMYK. Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, blacK. Why the K? Presumably to avoid confusion with blue. If they used all the last letters, the initials would be N, A, W and K.

Posted: **Tue Mar 25, 2025 9:17 pm**

Jon O'Neill wrote: ↑Tue Mar 25, 2025 9:03 pm
Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Fri Mar 21, 2025 9:00 pm I've known about this for a while but when they tell you at school that the three primary colours of pigment are red, yellow and blue, they're wrong. It's yellow, cyan and magenta, which you might have noticed from printer ink.

Edit - actually this is old news.
With printer ink, the combined initials are generally CMYK. Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, blacK. Why the K? Presumably to avoid confusion with blue. If they used all the last letters, the initials would be N, A, W and K.

K is Key not blacK.

According to google

"The letter "K" stands for "key," a term used for the black plate in traditional printing. This key plate provided the sharpest details and defined the darkest areas of the image. As a result, the term "key" became associated with black in the printing industry. It also helps avoid any confusion with other colors (sic) or terms like blue."

Posted: **Fri Mar 28, 2025 8:06 pm**

Posted: **Mon May 26, 2025 8:02 am**

Philip A wrote: ↑Fri Feb 28, 2025 3:54 pm
Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Fri Feb 28, 2025 2:41 pm PROST, SENNA and PIQUET are all valid words.
Also FARINA, ASCARI and HAWTHORN from the 1950s, and far less interestingly, HILL. PIQUET is also a card game.

Minor wrinkle: ASCARIS is valid, ‘ascari’ is not.

Posted: **Wed Jun 04, 2025 6:42 am**

On a Boxing Day walk, Elisabeth Beresford’s daughter said, “Ma, isn’t it great to be on Wombledon Common?”. This mispronunciation of Wimbledon Common was how the Wombles got their name.

Posted: **Wed Jun 04, 2025 4:01 pm**

Philip A wrote: ↑Wed Jun 04, 2025 6:42 am On a Boxing Day walk, Elisabeth Beresford’s daughter said, “Ma, isn’t it great to be on Wombledon Common?”. This mispronunciation of Wimbledon Common was how the Wombles got their name.

Also in the song I always thought there was a pause (comma) between the Wombles of Wimbledon, Common are we

Posted: **Tue Jun 17, 2025 3:52 pm**

Humans first arrived in New Zealand in the 13th century AD.

Posted: **Fri Jul 11, 2025 11:50 am**

The reversed initials of Georges Remi in French are pronounced ‘Herge’, hence his pseudonym (used in his Tintin books).

No-one actually knows why Tintin’s name came to be, although the ‘-tin’ suffix was common in names in French (and English) at the time.

Posted: **Sun Jul 20, 2025 8:42 pm**

Asterix and the Normans, the 9th Asterix book, was first published in Pilote on the 900th anniversary of the Norman invasion.

Posted: **Tue Jul 22, 2025 3:44 pm**

i (the square root of -1) and minus i have exactly the same properties and are indistinguishable.

Posted: **Mon Jul 28, 2025 7:53 pm**

Disney LAnd
Disney wORLd

Posted: **Mon Jul 28, 2025 9:58 pm**

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Tue Jul 22, 2025 3:44 pm i (the square root of -1) and minus i have exactly the same properties and are indistinguishable.

Not true, surely? i + i = 2i. i + (-i) = 0.

Posted: **Tue Jul 29, 2025 12:17 am**

David Williams wrote: ↑Mon Jul 28, 2025 9:58 pm
Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Tue Jul 22, 2025 3:44 pm i (the square root of -1) and minus i have exactly the same properties and are indistinguishable.
Not true, surely? i + i = 2i. i + (-i) = 0.

Possibly I didn't word it in the best way. If you square root -1 you get i or -i. But neither of these is intrinsically the "positive" one. They are exactly the same other than the fact they are the negative versions of each other. If someone decided that what is now considered to be -i should actually be i, it would change nothing.

Posted: **Sat Aug 02, 2025 10:56 pm**

In about 60 years of the Red Arrows, according to Wikipedia, there have been 12 pilot fatalities, so about one every 5 years.

Apparently they have 9 pilots at a time who are with the team for 3 years each. This gives each pilot about a 1 in 15 chance of dying.

OK, so that assumes a constant chance of dying throughout its history, and it seems there were 6 deaths in 1971 alone. But it's still pretty bad.

Edit - Given that six people died in two separate accidents in 1971 (4 and then 2), I'm actually amazed that they just carried on with this insane endeavour, which purely exists as to impress large crowds with their coloured trails of pollution.

Posted: **Mon Aug 04, 2025 2:45 pm**

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Sat Aug 02, 2025 10:56 pm In about 60 years of the Red Arrows, according to Wikipedia, there have been 12 pilot fatalities, so about one every 5 years.

Apparently they have 9 pilots at a time who are with the team for 3 years each. This gives each pilot about a 1 in 15 chance of dying.

OK, so that assumes a constant chance of dying throughout its history, and it seems there were 6 deaths in 1971 alone. But it's still pretty bad.

Edit - Given that six people died in two separate accidents in 1971 (4 and then 2), I'm actually amazed that they just carried on with this insane endeavour, which purely exists as to impress large crowds with their coloured trails of pollution.

Just playing devil's avacado here but look at motorsports.
The TT has a lot of fatalities over the years and far too many spectators too.
Speedway and other 2 wheeled motorsports too
Your beloved formula 1 and my (Formally) beloved boxing. Though that's not a motorsport.

Posted: **Mon Aug 04, 2025 3:50 pm**

Yeah, but people talk about the risks in these sports and some people would say they shouldn't continue as they are.

People don't really talk about the Red Arrows in this way, and it comes across to me as altogether more frivolous but getting away with it by hiding behind the seriousness of the armed forces.

Posted: **Tue Sep 02, 2025 2:07 pm**

Conchiglie should be pronounced "kon-kee-liuh", not "kon-chee-lieh".

Conch can be pronounced with a "kh" ending or a "ch", thereby the plural can be conchs or conches.

Posted: **Wed Oct 15, 2025 9:14 pm**

The term "hat-trick" originally came from cricket, not football as I originally thought. When an adept bowler named H H Stephenson took wickets in three consecutive deliveries in 1858, many supportive fans presented him with a hat, which is how the term stuck and spread towards other sports.

c4countdown

Interesting things that aren't necessarily completely obvious

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