Just Plain WEIRD #2

Quantum time travel doesn’t follow Back to the Future rules

A “quantum time travel simulator” suggests that the butterfly effect doesn’t apply to the quantum realm.  MikhailLeonov/Depositphotos – By Michael Irving 2020 Jul 29 – Time travel movies have different rules about what happens when you start messing around with the timeline. If you’ve …

 

Eyes painted on cow butts thwart lion attacks

An experiment in Botswana suggests a non-lethal deterrent for predatory lions.  Image source: Ben Yexly/UNSW – By Robby Berman 2020 Aug 12 – Lions help maintain balance in their ecosystems, but they also kill cattle. The big cats are ambush predators who depend …

The messed up truth about the Radium Girls

Vintage woman – Shutterstock – By Debra Kelly/Updated: 2020 Jul 14 – History is filled with episodes that prove mankind is just sort of making everything up as it goes. There’s no shortage of things that can kill us or do horrible, terrible …

Aussie slang no one else understands

We have developed a very unique way of expressing ourselves. – If you’re talking to someone from another country and they’re looking at you like you’re a few roos loose in the top paddock, it’s likely they literally have no idea what you’re …

Phrases you didn’t know were racist

These commonly-used expressions may seem innocent in Australia. But their origins are surprisingly sinister.  – by Gavin Fernando 2018 Sep 10 – YOU’RE walking down the street and run into an old mate you’re morally obligated to say hello to. “Oh my God, …