Real-Life Weirdness

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Anders

Richmond girl learns that sea lions are actually large predators.

No one was harmed.

The real weirdness is that people are, as a result, taking their children to the docks to see the sea lion, and HOLDING THEM OUT OVER THE SIDE OF THE DOCK to get a better view.

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Bruno

The real weirdness is that people are, as a result, taking their children to the docks to see the sea lion, and HOLDING THEM OUT OVER THE SIDE OF THE DOCK to get a better view.

You should see what people do in the Colorado high country. There ain't no cure for stupid.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Bruno

The real weirdness is that people are, as a result, taking their children to the docks to see the sea lion, and HOLDING THEM OUT OVER THE SIDE OF THE DOCK to get a better view.

Cute means not dangerous.
Gross means dangerous. /S
People too often feel rather than think.

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by tshiggins

You should see what people do in the Colorado high country. There ain't no cure for stupid.

The thing is that I don't think it's 'stupid' (usually) so much as 'ignorant'.

Most people today, especially those who grew up in urban environments, are entirely clueless about animals. What they think they know is based on a mishmash of stories, TV shows, movies, etc. What experience they have with animals is usually with dogs and cats that have been bred for centuries to be amenable to safely interacting with people.

So they simply aren't aware, except in abstract theory, of how dangerous wild animals can be. So you get incidents like this, or tragedies when somebody takes a chimp or a python or a lion as a pet (usually in the animal's early youth) and has no idea how to cope when they grow up and start acting like a wild animal.

[Irish Wolf]

Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2

The thing is that I don't think it's 'stupid' (usually) so much as 'ignorant'.

Most people today, especially those who grew up in urban environments, are entirely clueless about animals. What they think they know is based on a mishmash of stories, TV shows, movies, etc. What experience they have with animals is usually with dogs and cats that have been bred for centuries to be amenable to safely interacting with people.

So they simply aren't aware, except in abstract theory, of how dangerous wild animals can be. So you get incidents like this, or tragedies when somebody takes a chimp or a python or a lion as a pet (usually in the animal's early youth) and has no idea how to cope when they grow up and start acting like a wild animal.

Or, as Chris Rock said about the Siberian tiger that mauled Roy (of Sigfried and Roy fame) a few years back, "That tiger didn't go crazy - that tiger went tiger!"

[Flyndaran]

Except the tiger was not acting aggressively. It was acting protectively when Roy had a violent stroke on stage. Protective tigers though are too strong to do much other than injure fragile people.

[Þorkell]

Originally Posted by tshiggins

You should see what people do in the Colorado high country. There ain't no cure for stupid.

As we have discovered here during recent years warnings good enough for locals aren't good enough for tourists. For example, there's this beach here and if you fall into the sea there the next time people will see you if at all would be at the funeral. For years there either wasn't a warning sign or there was a small one, then tourism exploded here. Currently the sign is a huge affair, and placed in such a way you can't get onto the beach without seeing it. It still isn't enough.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Anders

If you store tin at low temperatures, this happens.

"Tin rot" used to be fairly well known - northern European winter temperatures being low enough to trigger it. It's sometimes credited with Napoleon's defeat in Russia (uniform buttons were made of tin), though that's probably a legend, but it is still sometimes a problem with historical organ pipes.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Though that gene looks like it would be a negative in times of starvation where using fat is better.

Which is presumably why it's not widespread in the population. Fat contains more energy per carbon because it's not partly oxidized.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Anders

Which is presumably why it's not widespread in the population. Fat contains more energy per carbon because it's not partly oxidized.

I'm not well versed in biochemistry, though I know that fats and most proteins can be turned into glucose, but that it's a bit energy intensive. I don't know exactly how much energy is lost if a person were to require most final energy come from glucose. Though I suppose in that cold of an environment, waste energy is still very useful as heat.

I love how rechecking the net sources, I'm reminded that my diabetes med specifically slows down that process.
I wonder how their bodies resist developing diabetes.