Weekend Open Thread

Did you know …

… the most difficult character in Chinese writing uses 62 strokes to write? The character, pronounced “biang,” has no actual meaning. (Seems to make sense that the most complicated character is basically meaningless.)

… you may have something – or someone – in your house that’s peely-wally? Ah, I can hear you now, asking, “What’s peely-wally?” Well, peely-wally is a Scottish term for pale or off-color. Used to describe items, the term can also describe the appearance of a person who looks unwell. (I always thought peely-wally was that fellow who played Mr. Peepers, but what do I know?)

… the human brain is much more active at night than it is during the day? (That explains a lot, if you ask me.)

… the Soviet Union had a major nuclear accident before the 1986 Chernobyl disaster? The Kyshtym disaster happened in 1957 at a plutonium production plant in Ozyorsk, Russia. An explosion at the plant caused 22 nearby villages to be contaminated by radiation, and an estimated 10,000 people had to be evacuated. The Soviet government turned the 22,000-square-kilometer area into a nature preserve in order to cover up the accident. In the United States, the CIA knew about the incident, but also agreed to keep it secret in an effort to protect the fledgling U.S. nuclear industry.

… the characters in Scooby-Doo all have full names? The cartoon show, which began on CBS in 1969 and has continued in some form ever since, features four humans and an anthropomorphic Great Dane who go around solving mysteries. The humans are Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Norville “Shaggy” Rogers. The dog, of course, is Scooby-Doo. Shaggy is Scooby’s owner. In 1979, the additional dog character of Scrappy-Doo was added, but he proved to be the least popular of all the characters. Additional trivia note:  Many adult viewers of the show believe the character of Shaggy is actually a user of marijuana. The creators of the show, Joe Ruby (1933-2020) and Ken Spears (1938-2020), vehemently denied that Shaggy uses drugs of any kind, and very vocally opposed the use of that theme in the live-action 2002 movie. (It does, however, make you wonder what’s really in those Scooby Snacks, doesn’t it?)

… North Dakota and South Dakota were admitted to the Union on the same day? Both states were admitted on November 2, 1889, the bills signed by President Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901). Each of the two states wanted to be admitted before the other, and Harrison shuffled the statehood papers for both states and signed them without knowing which one was first. Nobody knows today which one Harrison signed first, but because North Dakota is alphabetically ahead of South Dakota, it is the 39th state, and South Dakota is the 40th.

… between one-fourth and one-third of people who are exposed to light sneeze when they see it? (I’m one of them … achoo!)

… the first time boxing was an Olympic sport, Americans took all the medals? Boxing became a sport in the Olympics in 1904, with the third games in St. Louis.  The United States was the only country that entered boxers in the games that year, so naturally, they took the bronze, silver, and gold medals. (These days, that’s called fixing the fight.)

… the electric discharge of an electric eel is powerful enough to start 50 automobiles? (Pretty shocking, if you ask me.)

Worked at Benning with a guy that had the same type of deal; back wonky, docs f’ing up, two painful admin leaps forward to be pushed back by bureaucracy.
It’s awfully heartbreaking to see otherwise healthy and strong people in such a state.

I wish we had better systems for our Warriors.

My prayers for ‘im, and all y’all at AA Graybeard.