Mildly interesting

[jon-nyc]

I stumbled upon the Wikipedia entry for Kmart.

This is remarkable:

At its peak in 1994, Kmart operated 2,486 stores globally, including 2,323 discount stores and Super Kmart Center locations in the United States. As of April 16, 2022, that number was down to nine, including just three in the continental United States.

[mark]

@jon-nyc Huh. I thought it was all gone long ago.

[jon-nyc]

@mark

That’s part of what’s remarkable. Why keep 3 stores around?

[LuFins Dad]

@jon-nyc @mark I was doing a little shopping at a Kmart in Herndon, VA as recently as 10 years ago. They replaced it with a Big Lot’s I believe.

The experience was much more low rent than Walmart, though they had many of the same goods.

[George K]

Does that mean he has 3 lives left?

[LuFins Dad]

@George-K said in Mildly interesting:

Does that mean he has 3 lives left?

I mean, if I was a sailor on a ship, we brought the cat on board, and saw on it’s collar how many ships sank with it on board, I’d be chucking that beast 50 yards over the port gunwale…

[George K]

Farrier work.

[mark]

Can you freeze a hamster solid then bring it back it to life using microwaves?

Link to video

[mark]

@George-K How often is that performed on a horse's hoof? I bet it stinks something awful when they apply the heated shoe.

What happens to wild horses hooves over time?

[George K]

@mark said in Mildly interesting:

@George-K How often is that performed on a horse's hoof? I bet it stinks something awful when they apply the heated shoe.

We had Simon seen by the farrier about every six weeks. It's another of those horse-owning expenses that add up, as @jodi can verify!

YEs, it stinks like a MoFo - nothing like it in the world, LOL.

What happens to wild horses hooves over time?

Domesticated horses live a very different life. They spend a lot of time in a stall where the ground is soft, or covered with hay. In the wild, the hooves are constantly being worn down by rocky and rough terrain.

Simon had arthritis problems and the farrier suggested that he go barefoot so that the natural "spring" and give of the hoof would be less stressful on his joints. It seemed to make a difference.

Being a farrier is hard, physical work. You have to have a furnace for heating the shoe, an anvil for pounding the shoe into shape to fit that horse's hoof, etc.

Go to about 5:25.

Link to video

And then, there are some horses that can be "less than cooperative."

It's also very much precision work. A poorly-fitting shoe can really make a horse miserable - just like a poorly fitting shoe in a human.

[mark]

@George-K what is the cost of new set of shoes every 6 weeks?

[George K]

@mark in 2005, I was paying $110 - $150 depending on what needed to be done.

[mark]

@George-K Just thinking, who decided to try this first? Then to know what to cut, how deep etc. Ugh. I feel bad for the first horses that went through that.

[jon-nyc]

@mark

I also feel bad for the early farriers that dug too deeply and got the shit kicked out of them

[George K]

@mark said in Mildly interesting:

who decided to try this first

Probably the same guy who looked at a cow, saw the udder and said, "Let's squeeze that and drink what comes out, m'kay?"

[mark]

@George-K lol

[mark]

a stack of 32 shots taken over 40 minutes during a lightning storm in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia.

[Catseye3]

From https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/species/blue-morpho-butterfly/ The blue morpho butterfly’s wings are bright blue, edged with black. The blue morpho is among the largest butterflies in the world, with wings spanning from five to eight inches. Their vivid, iridescent blue coloring is a result of the microscopic scales on the backs of their wings, which reflect light.

[LuFins Dad]

@mark said in Mildly interesting:

Can you freeze a hamster solid then bring it back it to life using microwaves?

Link to video

I am not sure that I want to watch this video… If it doesn’t have a happy ending, I don’t… And if it DOES have a happy ending, I still don’t think I want to know, LOL.

[LuFins Dad]

@Catseye3 said in Mildly interesting:

From https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/species/blue-morpho-butterfly/ The blue morpho butterfly’s wings are bright blue, edged with black. The blue morpho is among the largest butterflies in the world, with wings spanning from five to eight inches. Their vivid, iridescent blue coloring is a result of the microscopic scales on the backs of their wings, which reflect light.

Where’s Cano?

@Aqua-Letifer should get that one, at least…