Somewhat Useful Facts Thread

[ChronowerX_GT]

That SO looks photoshopped!

I dunno, look at the reflections on the tank thingy where the fella has got his arm. So cool if it is real.

[Senator]

It is real, and I know it is from a digger, the problem is I can't find the blog I found it from again.

I *think* it might be from this:


And to understand the scale of this...


The yellow thing near the top of this picture:


Is a bulldozer that got accidentally scooped off.


Which of course makes it totally awesome!

Tracks look a bit different to me though, but the point is that there are things that are moving and are that big.
Another one that comes to mind is the Space Shuttle launch pad.

[MLeo]

It isn't the Space Shuttle launch pad, though I'm sure they shared a few components (more like, they used "off the shelve" components where reasonable). I mean, you just won't see a quarry and a space shuttle at the same time. It's just way too hard to get a space shuttle in there (well, the helper rockets anyway).

[Senator]

Plus the digger is actually from Germany.

[ChronowerX_GT]

It isn't the Space Shuttle launch pad, though I'm sure they shared a few components (more like, they used "off the shelve" components where reasonable). I mean, you just won't see a quarry and a space shuttle at the same time. It's just way too hard to get a space shuttle in there (well, the helper rockets anyway).

He didn't say the first one was a launch pad he said it was a digger. The second one was and isn't in a valley.

[MLeo]

It isn't the Space Shuttle launch pad, though I'm sure they shared a few components (more like, they used "off the shelve" components where reasonable). I mean, you just won't see a quarry and a space shuttle at the same time. It's just way too hard to get a space shuttle in there (well, the helper rockets anyway).

He didn't say the first one was a launch pad he said it was a digger. The second one was and isn't in a valley.

He didn't know exactly what the first one was, so he showed a second one and I said that the first one certainly wasn't the the shuttle launch pad.

[ChronowerX_GT]

It is real, and I know it is from a digger, the problem is I can't find the blog I found it from again.

I *think* it might be from this:


And to understand the scale of this...


The yellow thing near the top of this picture:


Is a bulldozer that got accidentally scooped off.



Which of course makes it totally awesome!

Tracks look a bit different to me though, but the point is that there are things that are moving and are that big.
Another one that comes to mind is the Space Shuttle launch pad.

It was built for the job of removing overburden prior to coalmining in Hambach, Germany. It can excavate 240,000 tons daily?the equivalent of a football field dug to 30 meters (98 ft) deep. The excavator is approximately 240 m long and 96 m high. To run, the Bagger requires 16.56 megawatts (22,207.33 HP) of externally-supplied electricity, it can travel 2-10 m per minute (0.6 km/h). The chassis of the main section is 46 metres wide and sits on 3 rows of 4 caterpillar track assemblies, each 3.8 m wide. It has a minimum turning radius of approximately 100 metres

[Senator]

Huh, it's electric!

[ChronowerX_GT]

Yep, built in 1978 it is the biggest moving machine built by Humans. It's called the Bagger 288 and is built by Krupp.

Click this for more info.
http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2006/11/biggest-and-hungriest-machines.html

Check this one out:
http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2006/11/even-bigger-machines-dig-bigger-holes.html

[1DeadlySAMURAI]

Gustav Gun. The worlds biggest cannon.

[Mustang]

The movie "Cloverfield" was an (excellent) attempt to give the United States its own monster. An example would be Japan's "Godzilla". Sequels are to be expected, there's one planned for 2009.

Jurassic Park IV was delayed because of the STUPID FREAKING WRITER'S STRIKE.

[Ambassador]

The Writer's Strike of 2007-2008 result in a loss of 1.5 BILLION dollars.

[Mustang]

It also pissed off thousands of people. Myself included.

[Armondikov]

Gustav Gun. The worlds biggest cannon.

It's quite hard to believe that thing is real. It looks like a concept from Warhammer 40,000 (and I'm sure Forgeworld are thinking about it).

[Weasel]

Yep. Now, can you imagine London getting blasted by that monster? Just one of those monstrous shells could have demolished a city block.

You just have to appreciate German engineering and craftsmanship- and make sure you bomb it into oblivion before it gets used on you.   

*edit: Case in point, a German company recently designed and built this:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352477,00.html

Fortunately, Ze Germans are back on our side again, and I'm sure that the US DOD will be taking a very close look at this amazing little toy.

[Senator]

Eiffel tower, and Eiffel tower, and Big Ben, bah buh.
Belgium's landmarks need some love too. Behold, THE ATOMIUM.



Like the Eiffel tower it was built for an expo, and like the Eiffel tower it was supposed to be temporary, (for six months specifically) but people kind of liked it. And so it has been there for 50 years. Doesn't seem to be very famous though.

But if somewhere along a conversation someone says to a Belgian, "I bet your city doesn't have a depiction of an iron crystal in 165billion:1 scale" he can always answer "as a matter of fact, it does". oh, snap.

[Senator]

Just a quick one.

UK banknotes, say the 10 pound one write on them: "I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of ten pounds", signed by the chief cashier of the Bank of England.
So haven't you ever wondered, 10 pounds of what?
And the answer is that the phrase means gold. So technically you can go to the Bank of England and say: "Hi, I came across this receipt, can I have some of my gold please"

But here is the funny bit, apparently you can't. It doesn't apply any more, one nice day they simply said "nah, j/k, lol" for all the banknotes simultaneously. The fun bit is that they still write it though.

B...but you proooooooomised.

[MLeo]

A believe isn't a fact, well, that you believe is a fact, but not the thing you believe.


Anyway, Senator, you ought to read the Discworld novel "Making Money" where the "hero" (a conartist actually) must run a bank and make it profitable again. In it, he replaces the previous money (coins that are exactly as valuable in their weight, but the bank loses money on that due to fabrication cost) with notes. These notes are the reciept of the "promis" to hand over gold (or labour in the end, but you will have to read that).

[Ambassador]

Having too much meat increases the chance of colon cancer.

Eating raw fish in the Great Lakes will likely result in a very long tape worm in your gut.

[Armondikov]

Just a quick one.

UK banknotes, say the 10 pound one write on them: "I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of ten pounds", signed by the chief cashier of the Bank of England.
So haven't you ever wondered, 10 pounds of what?
And the answer is that the phrase means gold. So technically you can go to the Bank of England and say: "Hi, I came across this receipt, can I have some of my gold please"

But here is the funny bit, apparently you can't. It doesn't apply any more, one nice day they simply said "nah, j/k, lol" for all the banknotes simultaneously. The fun bit is that they still write it though.

B...but you proooooooomised.

If you read Prachett's Making Money, the joke is that it's very much accurate to how banks work and were developed. Paper money was originally designed as essentially a contract that allowed you to exchange it for the specific amount of gold mentioned on the contract. Eventually, it's developed to what we see now.

And while bank notes are mentioned, ever wondered why some programs don't let you scan bank notes?: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EURion_constellation