Category: Misc

You probably never knew there were TWO Fitzgeralds, did you? No one did. See, that was the problem. If they had known about the first one, things might have been different. The first Fitzgerald survived thirteen years on the Great Lakes, the second one, seventeen years. One was made of wood, the other of steel. One was powered by wind. The other ran on oil-fired engines. But none of that mattered to the waters of the Great Lakes. Both boats were lost . . . just four days short of 92 years apart. One was lost on November 14, 1883. The other on November 10, 1975. Both went down near shoals. One was lost at Long Point, the other near Whitefish Point. Not a single member of the crew on either boat survived. Any sailor will tell you, you never name a boat after one that was lost. They shouldn’t have called the second one the Edmund Fitzgerald. That was bad luck. You don’t build another Titanic, if you know what I mean. (via Great Lakes People)

The secret of US hydrogen bomb research was leaked on a TV show by a senator

In September 1949, the United States detected radioactive residues which indicated that the Soviet Union had detonated their first atomic bomb. What should the US response be to the loss of its nuclear monopoly? This question raged in the weeks afterwards. This “H-bomb debate,” as it was called, was originally completely within the secret sphere. The fact that it was taking place was not known to the broader public. Eventually, on November 1949, it would leak to the public. The way in which that happened is one of the most bizarre and absurd situations in American nuclear secrecy. On November 1, 1949, at 8:00pm Eastern Time, a television show called “Court of Current Issues” aired on the WABD-TV and Dumont Television Network. The show was essentially a debate program, framed as a courtroom in which various experts would argue as if they were prosecuting the “current issue” as a court case. This episode’s subject was: “Is there too much secrecy in our atomic program?” (via Restricted Data)

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Continue reading “Two ships were named after Ed Fitzgerald and they both sank”

The quote below comes from an interview with the developer of a popular video game, and gives a thumbnail breakdown of how they decided what to charge for the game:

In a recent post at the blog Astral Codex Ten, a writer reviewed a book written by a young Catholic missionary about his time with a tribe in the Amazon rainforest whose language and culture are structured around lived experience rather than a discussion of things that might have theoretically happened (the Piraha language has other peculiarities as well, including the fact that they use no numbers or names for colours):

The men listening to me understood that there was a man named Jesus, and that he wanted others to do what he told them. “The Pirahã men then asked, “Hey Dan, what does Jesus look like? Is he dark like us or light like you?” I said, “Well, I have never actually seen him. He lived a long time ago. But I do have his words.” “Well, Dan, how do you have his words if you have never heard him or seen him?” They then made it clear that if I had not actually seen this guy (and not in any metaphorical sense, but literally), they weren’t interested in any stories I had to tell about him. This is because, as I now knew, the Pirahãs believe only what they see. Sometimes they also believe in things that someone else has told them, so long as that person has personally witnessed what he or she is reporting.

In the end, Everett never converted a single Pirahã. But he did even worse than converting zero people according to Scott Alexander — he lost his own faith after coming to believe that the Pirahã had a good point. After keeping this to himself for many years, he revealed his loss of faith to his family, which led to a divorce and his children breaking contact with him for a number of years afterward.

It almost seems like a parody of the British aristocracy: a gentleman named Sir Benjamin Slade, 7th Baronet, is advertising for a mate to give him an “heir and a spare” and to look after his two castles. According to a news article, he is advertising for applicants, offering a salary of £50,000 per year, along with accommodation, meals, and bonus perks, for a woman who “meets his detailed list of requirements.” These include:

• You must not be a Scorpio.
• You must not read The Guardian newspaper.
• You must not be from countries starting with “I” or with green in their flag
• Taller than 5ft 6in (167 cm)
• At least 20 years younger than him (he is 79, so preferably under 60)
• A helicopter licence, shotgun licence, driving licence, and legal or accountancy training are listed as bonuses.
• He also wants someone fit, socially active, and capable of managing his estates and staff.
• You must be of childbearing age and a “good breeder” capable of producing two sons (an heir and a spare)

Here’s what you are getting, according to his Wikipedia page: Slade was in a relationship with socialite Fiona Aitken, wife of George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon, for a few years during the 1990s. From 1995 to 2011, his partner was actress Kirsten Hughes until, in his words, she “run off with the handyman”. In 2017, he split from his partner, domestic worker Bridget Convey, because, at the age of 50, she had become too old to supply him with an heir. In the same year, he advertised for a wife, citing that she should have a shotgun licence, a driving license, a coat of arms, and be young enough to have sons. In addition to rejecting candidates from countries beginning with an ‘I’ or with green in the flag (with the exception of Italian and northern Indian women), he says he won’t accept any candidates who are Scottish, lesbians, and/or communists.

Target, just like many other retailers, has fallen victim to shoplifters, with almost a billion dollars in goods stolen from their stores in 2023. However, the numbers could have been much worse if it weren’t for their unique anti-shoplifting tactics. Target’s way of combating shoplifting was to establish a forensics lab in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that is more advanced and high-tech than many police departments’ forensics labs. The lab was developed in 2003 to give the company expertise when it came to analyzing surveillance footage from in and around the store. The lab hires specialists in analyzing video evidence from cameras and smartphone recordings to help identify shoplifters, frauds, and injuries inside Target stores, but it has also reportedly helped police forces solve murders, arsons, abductions, rapes, and mass robberies. In many cases, the Target lab has been able to solve cases that even the FBI can’t solve. (via The Horizon Sun)

For about 40 years this railroad crossing in Mississippi had the coolest warning sign ever

In the mid-1930s, a dangerous Illinois Central railroad crossing in Grenada, Mississippi, had claimed too many lives. Local inventor Alonzo Billups had seen enough, and his solution was gloriously excessive: a massive gantry spanning the highway, topped with a giant neon skull and crossbones that flashed “STOP – DEATH – STOP” in alternating blue and red whenever a train approached. The Billups Neon Crossing Signal was almost certainly the first gantry-style railroad crossing in America, predating the type now commonly used. But Billups wasn’t content with just dramatic signage. He added flashing neon arrows indicating the train’s direction and replaced the standard crossing bells with an air-raid siren. But World War II brought neon shortages, and the signal had a persistent problem: the siren would sometimes start wailing and refuse to stop until a maintenance crew arrived to shut it up. (via Boing Boing)

Note: This is a version of my When The Going Gets Weird newsletter, which I send out via Ghost, the open-source publishing platform. You can see other issues and sign up here.

Continue reading “Target has a forensic lab that is so good it does work for the FBI”