Mildly interesting

[Catseye3]

Strangers still saying “bless you” when someone sneezes, it's a leftover from the bubonic plague. “Don’t die,” they are saying.

[George K]

@Catseye3 said in Mildly interesting:

Strangers still saying “bless you” when someone sneezes, it's a leftover from the bubonic plague. “Don’t die,” they are saying.

"Gesundheit" means "Health."

But you knew that, right?

https://www.gotquestions.org/God-bless-you-sneeze.html

The saying God bless you in response to a sneeze is of ancient origin, and there are a variety of stories about where it first came from. The practice of saying, “God bless you,” when someone sneezes does not come from the Bible, nor is there any mention of the practice in the Bible. However, the saying God bless you was used both by Hebrews (Numbers 6:24) and the early Christians as a benediction.

The practice of blessing someone after a sneeze is probably as old as the first century. The origin of the practice is most likely rooted in superstition: the belief that a sneeze is the body trying to rid itself of evil spirits, the thought that the heart stops beating when a person sneezes, or the fear that a sneeze somehow opens the body to evil spirits. In these cases, saying, “God bless you,” was a kind of protection or good luck charm that shielded the sneezer from being invaded by spirits or affected by evil. Other cultures have a similar response to sneezes, believing that a sneeze could signal ill health: they might say, “Salud” (Spanish for “health”) or “Gesundheit” (German for “health”) or “Sláinte” (Irish Gaelic for “good health”) or “Jeebo” (Bengali for “stay alive”).

During a plague that occurred in Italy in AD 590, sneezing was, or was thought to be, a sign that someone was getting sick with the plague. There is a legend/tradition that Pope Gregory I commanded that, any time a sneeze was heard, the sneezer was to be blessed by saying, “God bless you,” (and making the sign of the cross over his mouth) as protection against the plague. Again, there is no biblical validity to such superstition. At the same time, there is no biblical reason to believe it is sinful to bless someone after a sneeze—in fact, it might just be a good time to extend a kind word and say, “God bless you.”

In Arabic, one says, "Allah!"

[taiwan_girl]

How they put in brick roads in the Nederlands! Call me stupid, but I just assumed it was done by hand. 555

[bachophile]

[Catseye3]

@taiwan_girl

Doggone it, TG, why'd you have to post this??? Now Trump is gonna wanna buy the Netherlands.

Grump.

[George K]

[taiwan_girl]

A hedge cut in half

A bicycler legs after the Tour de France

[jon-nyc]

Wow. I’ll never complain again after my 25mi rides.

[Aqua Letifer]

@jon-nyc said in Mildly interesting:

Wow. I’ll never complain again after my 25mi rides.

DVT is a big worry amongst professional riders, too. A co-worker of mine had an issue with it on a flight once. Not pleasant.

[Ivorythumper]

@George-K said in Mildly interesting:

Turtles all the way down!

[George K]

@Ivorythumper said in Mildly interesting:

Turtles all the way down!

LOL

[jon-nyc]

[jon-nyc]

[Klaus]

@jon-nyc said in Mildly interesting:

I wonder how small a moon/planetoid/... would have to be such that one can escape with a jump.

[jon-nyc]

@Klaus Would depend on the density, of course. The mass is easy enough to calculate assuming 1200 Nm force and say 82kg average mass.

[Klaus]

@jon-nyc of course it turns out there is an escape velocity calculator...

Looks like a planet needs to be pretty heavy before it can prevent you from jumping into the universe.

[jon-nyc]

[bachophile]

[taiwan_girl]

The inside of the leaning tower of pisa is empty.

[Axtremus]

@jon-nyc said in Mildly interesting:

Just straight forward gravity calculations? Doesn’t appear to take into account the fact that some planets do not have solid crust on the surface.