You've always wanted to know... useless information thread

[ChairmanOfTheBoard]

what is the science behind scissors gliding effortlessly through wrapping paper? https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimf ... rough_the/

Scissors work best when the faces of the two blades are as close as possible with as little play as possible. Cheap Scissors tend to have a little wiggle room and the blades will be spaced from each other further at some points than others.

If there's a gap between the blades rather than having the metal blades shear the paper it can just fold it until it tears. Additionally if your Scissors are dull you're going to have a bad time.

it's in the scissors; not the paper.

now you know.

[ChairmanOfTheBoard]

and what the hell is sans serif?

threshold question is- what is a serif?

a slight projection finishing off a stroke of a letter in certain typefaces.

thus, sans serif is font without the serif.

now you know.

[ChairmanOfTheBoard]

toilet paper- which way to load?

up until a few weeks ago, i always thought front-down. i still do. but i recently learned the reason for the back-loading: it's so you can rip it away without the unraveling.

there's a term for this: TPO
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilet_paper_orientation

what's your TPO?

doesnt matter; they're both right.

now you know.

[ChairmanOfTheBoard]

if you've ever accidentally hit ctrl+(arrow) on an excel, you've been sent to the very depths of a spreadsheet that no one has hopefully had the pleasure to populate.

but why does it stop at 1048576 rows?
and columns end at XFD?

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/mso ... b930773a5e

because excel supports 2^14 columns (16384), * 26 letters. with using triple-digit headers, you can get to 78 "letters", like AAA, AAB, etc.

column 16384 equals: XFD

for rows, excel supports 2^20 rows (1048576).

now you know.

[Nigel]

Makes total sense.



now you know

[ardilla secreta]

and what the hell is sans serif?

threshold question is- what is a serif?

a slight projection finishing off a stroke of a letter in certain typefaces.

thus, sans serif is font without the serif.

now you know.

I thought he was Omar Serif’s brother.

[Brooklyn]

I believe this will break a record for most useless information of all time.

First some background: you may have encountered an online ad which challenges you to look up your own name and to see what it reveals. One day, having nothing better to do I decided to do just that and was amazed at what I saw.

The data disclosed listed me as a registered Republican who espoused moderate-conservative viewpoints. It listed me as a member of NRA as well as several pro life groups while being active in both movements . It accurately revealed that I widely traveled, am a published author and researcher, and that I have a long history of involvement in political lobbying and in sports.

Hmmm ~ evidently somebody has been keeping tabs on me though some of them are not entirely accurate.

[ChairmanOfTheBoard]

I believe this will break a record for most useless information of all time.

First some background: you may have encountered an online ad which challenges you to look up your own name and to see what it reveals. One day, having nothing better to do I decided to do just that and was amazed at what I saw.

The data disclosed listed me as a registered Republican who espoused moderate-conservative viewpoints. It listed me as a member of NRA as well as several pro life groups while being active in both movements . It accurately revealed that I widely traveled, am a published author and researcher, and that I have a long history of involvement in political lobbying and in sports.

Hmmm ~ evidently somebody has been keeping tabs on me though some of them are not entirely accurate.

careful there Brooks... there's a lot of time with everyone home these days!!!

i'm glad you clicked on those because i wouldnt- fear of spyware and spam email.

that is scary though how it can be inaccurate- OR, is my buddy Brooks moonlighting as a right wing delusional???

[Brooklyn]

Me, a Republican?






Heaven forbid!

[Nigel]

I believe this will break a record for most useless information of all time.

First some background: you may have encountered an online ad which challenges you to look up your own name and to see what it reveals. One day, having nothing better to do I decided to do just that and was amazed at what I saw.

The data disclosed listed me as a registered Republican who espoused moderate-conservative viewpoints. It listed me as a member of NRA as well as several pro life groups while being active in both movements . It accurately revealed that I widely traveled, am a published author and researcher, and that I have a long history of involvement in political lobbying and in sports.

Hmmm ~ evidently somebody has been keeping tabs on me though some of them are not entirely accurate.

I'm wondering if they're aware of your LP/FL alias of Brooklyn? Once our keyboard names get discovered we could all be in trouble (some more than others)!

[Brooklyn]

I'm wondering if they're aware of your LP/FL alias of Brooklyn? Once our keyboard names get discovered we could all be in trouble (some more than others)!

That would be true of everybody here!

[ChairmanOfTheBoard]

what the hell is a mailer daemon?

or just a daemon in general?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_(computing)

it's from Greek mythology- a "supernatural being working in the background, with no particular bias towards good or evil". so it's a background program that the cpu user has no real control over.

so when it's the mailer daemon, it's a bounced back email, that's all.

now you know.

[RedFromMI]

what the hell is a mailer daemon?

or just a daemon in general?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_(computing)

it's from Greek mythology- a "supernatural being working in the background, with no particular bias towards good or evil". so it's a background program that the cpu user has no real control over.

so when it's the mailer daemon, it's a bounced back email, that's all.

now you know.

Usage has been around for over 30 years as well - the old Unix mail program sendmail is a good example.

[Brooklyn]

Okay, so you wanna know which is the most widely used word in the world spanning just about every known language?

It's (you guessed it) OK!

[ChairmanOfTheBoard]

you've always wanted to know- gluten edition- why is one side of an english muffin always larger than the other???

https://www.quora.com/Why-does-the-Bays ... the-middle

Probably because english muffins aren’t supposed to be sliced through the middle. They are supposed to be pierced all around with a fork, then pulled apart with your fingers. This creates that wonderful irregular surface that crisps on the top edges and says soft in the dimples, and provides all kinds of little pools of honey or butter when you eat them. A flat surface on an english muffin would be a major disappointment.

hardly and authoritative source, but...

now you know.

[Brooklyn]

you've always wanted to know- gluten edition- why is one side of an english muffin always larger than the other???

https://www.quora.com/Why-does-the-Bays ... the-middle

Probably because english muffins aren’t supposed to be sliced through the middle. They are supposed to be pierced all around with a fork, then pulled apart with your fingers. This creates that wonderful irregular surface that crisps on the top edges and says soft in the dimples, and provides all kinds of little pools of honey or butter when you eat them. A flat surface on an english muffin would be a major disappointment.

hardly and authoritative source, but...

now you know.

Gee, I can't honestly say that is "useless" info.

[ChairmanOfTheBoard]

hehehh that made me laugh out loud!

i know, it's not really useless!

that's just my lure to get people into the thread.

years ago i learned about the serif and never forgot it, precipitating this thread.

as it happens- i've been doing the sourdough starter for about 2-3 weeks now. i used some this morning to make the dough, fried up crumpets, and they were great! not perfect though, needed a better rise. i did let the dough sit too long- damn job thing got in the way.

[Nigel]

Colored Squares On Toothpaste

Ever take a close look at a tube of toothpaste and noticed a colored block toward the bottom? Most of the time it’s blue, red, green, or black. It’s not an aesthetic choice by the toothpaste manufacturer, nor is it a hidden signal about the chemicals used to make the toothpaste. Those are two or the more popular explanations. However, these colored blocks on the tube are actually called “eye marks.” They tell the machines on the assembly line where to cut and fold the packaging. Without it, tubes of toothpaste would be attached to one another, making it awfully difficult to apply any to your toothbrush. If you’re worried about any toxic chemicals being in your toothpaste, the colored block tells you nothing, just read the ingredients on the back.



now you know

[Nigel]

Metal And Black Diamond Markers On Measuring Tape

There comes a time in every person’s life when a parent or guardian has forced them to hold the end of measuring tape. At this time, you probably noticed a small piece of metal at the end of the measuring tape. Well, technically at the beginning. In any event, there are multiple reasons why that metal end exists. For starters, there’s a little slot that can be placed around a nail to help hold the measuring tape in place on the off chance that no one is around to hold the other end. Also, you probably noticed that the edge is a little serrated. This makes it easy to mark a wall or other surface in case you can’t seem to locate the pencil that’s tucked behind your ear to mark your measurement that way.

As for those black diamonds you see printed on nearly all standard measuring tape? Consider them “Stud Finders”. They can show you the exact center between 2 studs in your wall. The first black diamond is at 19.2” on the tape measure, and then repeats at 38.4”, 57.6”, 76.8” and finally 96” inches. In other words, if you know your home was built using standard 16″ stud spacing, you can simply pull out a tape measure instead of an electronic stud finder!



now you know

[ChairmanOfTheBoard]

never saw either- thanks!

and yes, i got up, found toothpaste and measuring tape, found both.

you are correct; i was on the other end of the measuring tape quite a few times.