Random Thought Thread: The Sequel

[Rev. Powell]

https://zombo.com/ is still online!

[Leah]

Today at work I wanted to punch the main deli guy in the face......Did I say that work at a grocery store yet? Been there nearly a year.

[ER]

I was pondering something and even mentioned when I woke up this morning. If thinking about food can make you hungry, and thinking about sexual things can arouse you, and thinking about something funny can make you laugh, and thinking about something frightening can scare you, I wonder if anyone has ever done a study in which someone thinks intensely about exercise, and then measured to see if that has any effect on the subject's metabolism and physique?

[lester1/2jr]

"I'm gonna tell you how it's gonna be ....you're gonna give your blood to me"

- vampire Buddy Holly

[ER]

I hope everyone had a grand Valentine's Day, spent with your beloved squeeze, or at least your favorite b-movie sweetheart. We didn't go anywhere, wasn't feasible for a lot of reasons, plus I didn't want to, I'm away too often anyway, so I guess our old '00s tradition of going to the Hyatt Regency in Chicago for the holiday is just a memory, but it was still a sweet day spent with my family, waiting for the snow to fall, and I enjoyed it.

When I was in Catholic high school they used to tell us every year not to forget Valentine's Day began as a commemoration of when the Romans shot Saint Valentine full of arrows for....I dunno, not renouncing Christ or some such, and not to forget that when we celebrated the day, but that killjoy attitude always reminded me that religious celibates were sour-graping the rest of us who stood a chance of getting a romantic kiss on February 14th. (Something I was destined not to get til I was mid-way through their tyrannical hold anyway.)

So, may we all have the Valentine's Day we desire next year, in sweeter times. 

[Alex]

I wonder what the correct term for the exact opposite of Renaissance man would be?

[ER]

I wonder what the correct term for the exact opposite of Renaissance man would be?

A "Dark Age Dude"

[claws]

I wonder why people don't spontaneous combust anymore. Is it because of junk food?

[RCMerchant]

I wonder why people don't spontaneous combust anymore. Is it because of junk food?

In December 2010, the death of Michael Faherty, a 76-year-old man in County Galway, Ireland, was recorded as "spontaneous combustion" by the coroner. The doctor, Ciaran McLoughlin, made this statement at the inquiry into the death: "This fire was thoroughly investigated and I'm left with the conclusion that this fits into the category of spontaneous human combustion, for which there is no adequate explanation."

[claws]

I wonder why people don't spontaneous combust anymore. Is it because of junk food?

In December 2010, the death of Michael Faherty, a 76-year-old man in County Galway, Ireland, was recorded as "spontaneous combustion" by the coroner. The doctor, Ciaran McLoughlin, made this statement at the inquiry into the death: "This fire was thoroughly investigated and I'm left with the conclusion that this fits into the category of spontaneous human combustion, for which there is no adequate explanation."

Ah ok. It just seems like this sort of thing doesn't happen as much anymore.

-edit to add-

Benjamin Radford, science writer and deputy editor of the science magazine Skeptical Inquirer, contends, "Faherty's case may not be as mysterious as it looks. There was, after all, an open fire close to his burned body. It seems likely that a spark or ember might have popped from the fire onto his clothing, and caught his clothing on fire. It's not clear why the coroner conclusively ruled this explanation out." Radford also casts doubt on the plausibility of spontaneous human combustion, "If SHC is a real phenomenon (and not the result of an elderly or infirm person being too close to a flame source), why doesn't it happen more often?"

[ER]

In college I read a Skeptical Inquirer article that shot holes in the idea of spontaneous human combustion. I'm not saying TSI is the last word in every topic but I do think the researchers provided more reassuring theories than the unsettling idea that any of us could at any time erupt from the inside out in flames.

I agree though, SHC isn't something you heard about much anymore.

[RCMerchant]

It's not something happens every day. It happened then just as often as it does now, I reckon. How many times has this been reported to happen in the last 200 years?  I'm sure some sorry soul exploded into flames for some reason we don't understand. Charles Fort started documenting it in the 1920's.
My opinion on it? I have no clue why someone would burst into flames. One theory is it only happens to drunks.
I hope not!

[ER]

It's not something happens every day. It happened then just as often as it does now, I reckon. How many times has this been reported to happen in the last 200 years?  I'm sure some sorry soul exploded into flames for some reason we don't understand. Charles Fort started documenting it in the 1920's.
My opinion on it? I have no clue why someone would burst into flames. One theory is it only happens to drunks.
I hope not!

Ha!!!!

[indianasmith]

Been a crazy week in Texas.  Ice storm last Thursday shut down schools and roads for 2 days, then a snowstorm rolled in Saturday and Sunday, and another one last night - we're getting an unscheduled winter break!

Of course, having no running water at the house sucks, and being on intermittent power blackouts isn't much better.

[RCMerchant]

^ you folks ain't used to that , I reckon!
Ain't it groovy?  

Put heat tape on your pipes. Buy lots of candles and blankets. That's what I do.