+Team Noodles Posted February 9, 2013 Posted February 9, 2013 saw and was amazed by something in one of the frozen planet episodes, something Moth something? Quote
+Team Noodles Posted February 9, 2013 Posted February 9, 2013 Nope. More domesticated. lol, no clue then.. clearly a typical pub quiz question Quote
+RetallickRamblers Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 (edited) Thought someone here might know this. Is the latin name (but commonly used) for a particular breed of domesticated insect. Edited February 10, 2013 by RetallickRamblers Quote
+MTH Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 The only domesticated insect I can think of is the Honey Bee, possibly Apis something something? Quote
Pajaholic Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 (edited) Clutching at etymological straws, the only domesticated insect that I can think of is the honey bee and I suspect that the "A" comes from the same root as "Apiary", which is a "posh" name for a beehive, and that one of the "M"s comes from the latin for honey (Mellitus or something like that). Perhaps the other "M" comes from a region name (it won't be "west" as that's occidentus IIRC). Anyway, best guess is the honey bee. You said these creatures are confined to the margins of Britain, which tells me I'm wrong but hopefully it'll give someone else a clue? Edited to add: I see MTH pipped my guess to the post. (When will I learn to post first and add explanations after! ...) Edited February 10, 2013 by Pajaholic Quote
+RetallickRamblers Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 That'll do. Actually apis melifera melifera the black european honeybee. Now almost or completely lost to crossbreeding with other subspecies. So a ding to MTH. Quote
+MTH Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 Sticking with the animal kingdom, the Ratel is more commonly known in English by what name? Quote
+MTH Posted February 11, 2013 Posted February 11, 2013 Not even a guess? This is not entirely unconnected to the previous question... Quote
+Pharisee Posted February 11, 2013 Posted February 11, 2013 (edited) A guess you want... a guess you'll get! The only "Ratel" I can think of is a mechanised troop carrier used by the South African army. The British used something similar called a "Scorpion".... so is a Ratel a South African Scorpion? Edited cos I can't speel Edited February 11, 2013 by Pharisee Quote
+MTH Posted February 11, 2013 Posted February 11, 2013 I expect the SA troop carrier was named after this animal, but it's not a scorpion. There is a slight connection to the previous question. Quote
+civilised Posted February 11, 2013 Posted February 11, 2013 There is a slight connection to the previous question. A domesticated scorpion ? Quote
+Simply Paul Posted February 11, 2013 Author Posted February 11, 2013 Ha! The 'slight connection' made my penny drop. It's that charming creature that's usually known as the Honey Badger these days. Quote
+MTH Posted February 12, 2013 Posted February 12, 2013 Ding for the Honey Badger. Remarkable animals. Quote
+Simply Paul Posted February 12, 2013 Author Posted February 12, 2013 I first heard about them on Top Gear and it's all true; fearless and keen on going for the dangly bits. Thanks for the Ding. A change of direction... I've discovered a game called Kerbal Space Program (highly recommended) and it's taught me a lot about orbital mechanics in recent weeks. So here's a question about changing orbits. You may have heard of retro engines which face in the direction of travel. 'Retro-fire' is used to slow a ship by applying a retrograde force, perhaps to perform a 'de-orbit burn' to push a spacecraft into an atmosphere. Over the Earth that's reentry, over Mars or another planet with an atmosphere it would be aero-breaking (to change a fly-by orbit using friction) or aero-capture (to pull a fly-by into orbit or to slow an orbit enough that you're landing. It can't be reenty if you've never been in that atmosphere before) So! My question is this: What's the opposite of retrograde? Quote
+MTH Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 I always thouhht retrograde referred to the appatent backward motion of the planets when viewed from earth. The opposite I assume is simply forward motion. Quote
+Simply Paul Posted February 13, 2013 Author Posted February 13, 2013 (edited) Prograde.Gets a Ding. You thrust along your line of motion to raise your apsis (apogee, aphelion), or periapsis (pericentre, perihelion), or both. That's a prograde force. What MTH describes is apparent retrograde motion caused by one object 'over-taking' another in their orbits, but some bodies have true retrograde motion, where the secondary object (star, planet, moon) is orbiting in a direction opposite to the spin of its primary. In our solar system the biggest body to do this is Triton, the moon of Neptune. While Venus spins in the same direction as the other planets around the sun, it spins on its own 177-degree (upside-down) axis backwards. Pluto's 120-degree axis means it's technically spinning retrograde too, although it spends a long time with a pole pointing sunwards. And that's science Over to Betelgeuse. Edited February 13, 2013 by Simply Paul Quote
+Betelgeuse Posted February 14, 2013 Posted February 14, 2013 As well as some moons, many comets have a retrograde orbit especially those originating from the cometary body rich region of space toward the limits of the solar system. What is this region of space called? Quote
+Simply Paul Posted February 15, 2013 Author Posted February 15, 2013 I could jump in but I'll give it 24 hours. Looking forward to 2012DA14 tomorrow. I just hope the clouds part on time. Quote
+MTH Posted February 15, 2013 Posted February 15, 2013 Would that be the Ort Cloud? Some interesting pictures from Russia on the news this morning. Quote
+MTH Posted February 15, 2013 Posted February 15, 2013 Link http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21468116 Quote
+Betelgeuse Posted February 15, 2013 Posted February 15, 2013 Would that be the Ort Cloud? Some interesting pictures from Russia on the news this morning. DING! Oort cloud. Named after the dutch astronomer Jan Oort who posited its existence in 1950. He was a remarkable chap who also discovered the galactic halo, the direction and distance of galactic centre and, although it wasn't postulated at the time (1920s), the evidence for dark matter. The Oort cloud itself is thought to be the remnants of the protoplanetary disc that formed the solar system. The CCTV video of the fireball over Russia was incredible I would have loved to have seen that first hand! I'll be out tonight with my telescope if the skies clear. Over to you... Quote
+MTH Posted February 15, 2013 Posted February 15, 2013 On to heavenly bodies of a different sort The Misfits is well known to be Marilyn Monroe's last completed film. But the question isn't about her. Which other Hollywood icon was also making his last appearance in the same film? Quote
+Simply Paul Posted February 15, 2013 Author Posted February 15, 2013 Fun fact: He was married to the first female war-related US casualty of World War II. Quote
+civilised Posted February 16, 2013 Posted February 16, 2013 On to heavenly bodies of a different sort The Misfits is well known to be Marilyn Monroe's last completed film. But the question isn't about her. Which other Hollywood icon was also making his last appearance in the same film? Clark Gable - King of Hollywood Quote
+civilised Posted February 16, 2013 Posted February 16, 2013 Fun fact: He was married to the first female war-related US casualty of World War II. Carole Lombard - very up to date actress Quote
+MTH Posted February 16, 2013 Posted February 16, 2013 Ding for Clark Gable. 'Working with Marilyn Monroe on "The Misfits" nearly gave me a heart attack. I have never been happier when a film ended.' Amazing what you can learn from an in-flight magazine! Quote
+civilised Posted February 16, 2013 Posted February 16, 2013 Of the 19 9/11 hi-jackers, how many were Saudi Arabian ? Quote
+Team Noodles Posted February 19, 2013 Posted February 19, 2013 it was definitely the bulk of the lot, so guestimating 14 Quote
+civilised Posted February 19, 2013 Posted February 19, 2013 It's close enough - 15 out of 19. DING to Team Noodles Quote
+Team Noodles Posted February 19, 2013 Posted February 19, 2013 It's close enough - 15 out of 19. DING to Team Noodles Cheers! I'll stick with the theme, what are the names of the airlines the 4 hijacked planes belonged to? Quote
+Simply Paul Posted February 19, 2013 Author Posted February 19, 2013 I'll stick with the theme, what are the names of the airlines the 4 hijacked planes belonged to?United Airlines and American Airlines? Quote
+Team Noodles Posted February 19, 2013 Posted February 19, 2013 I'll stick with the theme, what are the names of the airlines the 4 hijacked planes belonged to?United Airlines and American Airlines? That's a DING! Quote
+Simply Paul Posted February 19, 2013 Author Posted February 19, 2013 That's a DING! Thanks very much. I knew United Airlines (from the United 93 film) but American Airlines was a semi-guess. Ok, what would I mean by "cum hoc ergo propter hoc"? Quote
+welshsprite Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 That's a DING! Thanks very much. I knew United Airlines (from the United 93 film) but American Airlines was a semi-guess. Ok, what would I mean by "cum hoc ergo propter hoc"? with this, therefore because of this ? Quote
+Betelgeuse Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 You'd be pointing out a logical fallacy - correlation doesn't imply causation. Quote
+Simply Paul Posted February 21, 2013 Author Posted February 21, 2013 Both answers are correct, but welshsprite gets the Ding for the literal translation. Over to you! (Housepoint to Betelgeuse) Quote
+welshsprite Posted February 24, 2013 Posted February 24, 2013 This is my first attempt at this so be gentle with me... How many letters in the Welsh alphabet? Quote
Pajaholic Posted February 24, 2013 Posted February 24, 2013 IIRC, the 'proper' letters are: A B C Ch D Dd E F Ff G H I J L Ll M N O P R S T U W Y. So there are 25 of those. However, there are also soft and nasal mutations (ph, rh, th, ng), which might be considered letters. So I'll try 25 without mutations and 29 with. Quote
+TheOldfields Posted February 24, 2013 Posted February 24, 2013 I'll take a guess at 22. The usual less the vowels plus the 'clearing your throat' noise. Quote
+welshsprite Posted February 24, 2013 Posted February 24, 2013 IIRC, the 'proper' letters are: A B C Ch D Dd E F Ff G H I J L Ll M N O P R S T U W Y. So there are 25 of those. However, there are also soft and nasal mutations (ph, rh, th, ng), which might be considered letters. So I'll try 25 without mutations and 29 with. DING! Correct. As a primary school teacher we say there are 29 letters to the alphabet. Quote
Pajaholic Posted February 24, 2013 Posted February 24, 2013 Diolch yn fawr! Staying with all things Celtic. What is the Scots Gaelic equivalent of a "Twmpath"? Quote
+welshsprite Posted February 25, 2013 Posted February 25, 2013 I know, I know (jumping up and down with my hand up). However I'm going to leave it to someone else because I don't want to embarrass myself with my attempt to spell it! Quote
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