Weird Questions in the Middle of the Night

Purple Fairy Tree

brianlux said:

Do you ever get those weird burning questions in the middle of the night that make you wonder? Sometimes I do, like this: Are people who are heavy black tea drinkers stained on the inside? Lol   @brianlux   What's your burning the midnight oil question?

I woke up about 3am the other night thinking Excel spreadsheets, pivot tables, data but I think that is because that day I gave a mini teach on MS teams, to my colleagues and I was doing the same the next day (which fortunatly went better than the first one!)

Last night I dreamt of getting some OJ and fresh croissants for breakfast but that was more of a dream than a question. I think that's because that is what someone left in an Adidas sports bag for our homeless guy in my front patio behind the brick wall. I havent seen him for a few days though. I hope he didnt leave that for me.

I do have a general 'why' question though, when I feed the birds in the back garden why do they always eat the black seeds first then leave the corn coloured ones, why is this? Is it because there are less of them so they seem more rare and interesting and that is why they are eaten first?  Can I go somewhere and buy just the black seeds only? (This question would probably work better with before and after photos but we have had a lot of rain lately).

hedonist

brianlux said:

^^^ Wow!  Over a year I've been waiting for an answer to that question and all I get is silence!  I thought we had some sharp cookies around here! 

OK, then put that cookie down and answer this for me:

Few animals, in any, continue to grow their hair throughout their life.  Why is that?

For example:  If I had never cut my hair in all these years, I would be tripping over it.  In fact, because my hair grows fairly quickly, the end of some of it would be down the hall and in the kitchen (where I just grabbed a cookie.)  What if Fido's hair kept growing.  "Here boy!"  Oh damn, the dog tripped on his hair again.  Or if a giraffe's hair kept growing.  It would starve because it wouldn't be able to hold its nick up to get to those leaves. 

So why us? 

In a word, evolution.

Google can be quite useful

brianlux

hedonist said:

brianlux said:

^^^ Wow!  Over a year I've been waiting for an answer to that question and all I get is silence!  I thought we had some sharp cookies around here! 

OK, then put that cookie down and answer this for me:

Few animals, in any, continue to grow their hair throughout their life.  Why is that?

For example:  If I had never cut my hair in all these years, I would be tripping over it.  In fact, because my hair grows fairly quickly, the end of some of it would be down the hall and in the kitchen (where I just grabbed a cookie.)  What if Fido's hair kept growing.  "Here boy!"  Oh damn, the dog tripped on his hair again.  Or if a giraffe's hair kept growing.  It would starve because it wouldn't be able to hold its nick up to get to those leaves. 

So why us? 

In a word, evolution.

Google can be quite useful

So true!  And some interesting answers found there:

The "save the baby factor:

-Infants, in order to hold onto their mothers in the water, would latch onto her hair. Limiting separation from the mother & increasing chances of survivability.

And the :ooh la la! factor (more related to why we are not hairy all over):

The view held by many of the Darwin school of thought (I do not mean that as a derogatory), is that at first, "hairiness" was sexually attractive, but eventually "hairlessness" became more sexually attractive in most places.

And the heads up factor:

Heightened "Situational Awareness" through "Touch sense." A concept that may seem silly at first but has some evidence to support the theory. Though the hair is not "alive," it is connected to the follicles & your nerves. In a nutshell, it may help to increase "sensory awareness" & "data gathering" of your environment, which would favor longer hair. This would be an asset in survivability."

https://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/5676/why-does-human-facial-and-head-hair-continue-to-grow

Fifthelement

brianlux said:

Is the exact second it turns midnight part of the day the just ended, part of the day that just started, or some nebulous microsecond of time in which nothing is?

Good question Brian.  I would say that midnight,  00h00,  is the start of the new day using the 24h clock. 

brianlux said:

^^^ Wow!  Over a year I've been waiting for an answer to that question and all I get is silence!  I thought we had some sharp cookies around here! 

OK, then put that cookie down and answer this for me:

Few animals, in any, continue to grow their hair throughout their life.  Why is that?

For example:  If I had never cut my hair in all these years, I would be tripping over it.  In fact, because my hair grows fairly quickly, the end of some of it would be down the hall and in the kitchen (where I just grabbed a cookie.)  What if Fido's hair kept growing.  "Here boy!"  Oh damn, the dog tripped on his hair again.  Or if a giraffe's hair kept growing.  It would starve because it wouldn't be able to hold its nick up to get to those leaves. 

So why us? 

Animals shed whether it’s fur, hair, or skin.  Breeds of dogs that don’t shed require grooming or they will become so matted that they would be incapacitated.  

brianlux

Fifthelement said:

brianlux said:

Is the exact second it turns midnight part of the day the just ended, part of the day that just started, or some nebulous microsecond of time in which nothing is?

Good question Brian.  I would say that midnight,  00h00,  is the start of the new day using the 24h clock. 

brianlux said:

^^^ Wow!  Over a year I've been waiting for an answer to that question and all I get is silence!  I thought we had some sharp cookies around here! 

OK, then put that cookie down and answer this for me:

Few animals, in any, continue to grow their hair throughout their life.  Why is that?

For example:  If I had never cut my hair in all these years, I would be tripping over it.  In fact, because my hair grows fairly quickly, the end of some of it would be down the hall and in the kitchen (where I just grabbed a cookie.)  What if Fido's hair kept growing.  "Here boy!"  Oh damn, the dog tripped on his hair again.  Or if a giraffe's hair kept growing.  It would starve because it wouldn't be able to hold its nick up to get to those leaves. 

So why us? 

Animals shed whether it’s fur, hair, or skin.  Breeds of dogs that don’t shed require grooming or they will become so matted that they would be incapacitated.  

Good answer about the time, Fifth, thanks!

As for the dog...

This guy agrees.  "I'm half way there!  Don't stop cutting!"

brianlux

Do you ever stay up really late on a Sunday night into Monday morning and wonder how many miles it is to the nearest person to you who is not sleeping?  My guess (by the lack of light out there): 3.5 miles (5.6327km).

Purple Fairy Tree

brianlux said:

Do you ever stay up really late on a Sunday night into Monday morning and wonder how many miles it is to the nearest person to you who is not sleeping?  My guess (by the lack of light out there): 3.5 miles (5.6327km).

No, but that is frickin hilarious @brianlux

For me, id never ask that question as i know the answer would be- my bloke sitting downstairs in front of the xbox or other human life can be found few doors away in the crappy pub.  It sounds like you live in the middle of nowhere, must be nice, no people.

brianlux

West Coast Dreamgirl said:

brianlux said:

Do you ever stay up really late on a Sunday night into Monday morning and wonder how many miles it is to the nearest person to you who is not sleeping?  My guess (by the lack of light out there): 3.5 miles (5.6327km).

No, but that is frickin hilarious @brianlux

For me, id never ask that question as i know the answer would be- my bloke sitting downstairs in front of the xbox or other human life can be found few doors away in the crappy pub.  It sounds like you live in the middle of nowhere, must be nice, no people.

It is what we call semi-rural here.  A lot of the time it's nice and a lot of the time for me it's hell because occasional noise issues that trigger my anxiety.  Number one trigger (ironic to use that term) is that because we are outside city limits, it is legal for people to target practice with their guns.  When that happens, my anxiety goes out the roof.  The other noises that get to me are chain saws and barking dogs, both quite common. 

But then I've also lived in cities which of course have their own noise issues.  It's a noisy world!

Purple Fairy Tree

I really can't imagine I'd enjoy hearing gunshot noises.  Sometimes during fireworks night I hear noises like that which make me jump. But the real worst thing for me is when I've had little sleep, the sound of toddlers screatching and screaming (e.g., at the supermarket or GP waiting room) just cuts right through me, so i can sympathise. I'm  quite noise sensitive too. 

I hope you can have a pleasant evening, it's nice and quiet where I am, so Im enjoying watching snooker and sewing bright colours into a massive embroidery love heart with psychedelic flowers and butterflies xxx

brianlux

West Coast Dreamgirl said:

I really can't imagine I'd enjoy hearing gunshot noises.  Sometimes during fireworks night I hear noises like that which make me jump. But the real worst thing for me is when I've had little sleep, the sound of toddlers screatching and screaming (e.g., at the supermarket or GP waiting room) just cuts right through me, so i can sympathise. I'm  quite noise sensitive too. 

I hope you can have a pleasant evening, it's nice and quiet where I am, so Im enjoying watching snooker and sewing bright colours into a massive embroidery love heart with psychedelic flowers and butterflies xxx

Thanks, Dreamgirl.  Good to hear it's nice and quiet where you are. 
Your embroidery sounds an excellent creative outlet.  Nice!

Purple Fairy Tree

Thanks @brianlux  
I've taken some time of work until tomorrow and it's been heavely xxx

brianlux

West Coast Dreamgirl said:

Thanks @brianlux  
I've taken some time of work until tomorrow and it's been heavely xxx

Nothing beats a little down time to relax and re-coop.  Enjoy!