Why do ship's captains and airline pilots still use 'nautical' miles and 'knots' to indicate distance and velocity, instead of more modern, mostly universal, metric measurements?
Link for above: [quote]Why do sailors and air navigators use nautical miles? Aren't ordinary miles good enough?
THE ORDINARY, or statute mile is an arbitrary length of no particular significance in navigational calculations. However if I move one nautical mile along a meridian of longitude, the 'north south' lines on a map, my longitude changes by one minute of arc, which is one sixtieth of a degree. If I move along a great circle, the shortest distance between two points on the earth, one nautical mile again is one sixtieth of a degree. Over long distances this gives a link between distance and latitude and longitude. Over the short distances of weekend sailing or private pilot flying the link is rarely of any significance. One nautical mile is 1.15 statute miles, and a speed of one knot is one nautical mile per hour, or one degree along a meridian per hour ...
The big point about using nautical miles (and their corresponding speed unit, knots) is to make chart reading quicker. Charts use Latitude and Longitude, because, well, that's how you find things. Therefore they have the Latitude and Longitude grid printed on them. The grid spacing that equals one minute of latitude also equals one nautical mile. This means you can instantly judge multiples of miles off the chart with any handing measuring stick (such as a thumb). This is invaluable on a heaving chart table to a (probably heaving) navigator.[/quote] https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-2653,00.html
(gtho4)
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Jul 24 25 by odo5435
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Jul 24 25 by odo5435
What makes a 'homily' different from an 'aphorism'?
Homiletics is the study of the art of preaching. A homily is specifically an instance of preaching and can refer to an entire sermon or it can refer to a shorter discourse, typically edifying in nature, for spiritual uplift, rather than a theological discourse to communicate information. The word "homily" is also used pejoratively to refer to a preachy or judgmental spiritual message, or even "preaching to the choir".
Used in a sentence, one might say of a person, "He speaks in homilies instead of offering spiritually sound reasoning."
On the other hand, an aphorism is a short saying that communicates a general principle, such as, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." Aphorisms can be proverbs, witticisms, rules to live by, and observational. They are short and self-contained sayings with a point, while homilies can be short, or they can go on for hours. (TriviaFan22)
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Jul 24 25 by odo5435
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Jul 24 25 by odo5435
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Jul 24 25 by Thesuperyoshi
What were the primary reasons for the cancellation of the Woodstock 50th anniversary event in 2019? Did the trauma from the infamous 1999 event have anything to do with it?
The primary reason seems to be that the maximum crowd capacity was hotly disputed among the various authorities that were required to approve the event.[quote]Dentsu Aegis ceased its involvement after the organizers reduced the capacity of the festival grounds from 100,000 people to 75,000[/quote][quote]Superfly, a production partner [...], pulled out of the festival [...] also citing changes to the festival's capacity as a reason for its withdrawal.[/quote]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_50#First_cancellation_and_change_of_investors
In my --'OPINION'-- it is highly possible that the problems caused by overcrowding at the original event (whether or not they were 'traumatic') may have made financial investors and local authorities a little skittish and overcautious; even though the original event is still mostly remembered for its aspects of peace and love. (odo5435)
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Jul 24 25 by Thesuperyoshi
In September 1844, where was the world's first "international" cricket match played?
Canada won the first match, played in New York on 24-26 September 1884.
The return fixture was played in Montreal ten months later, on 30th July 1845.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/canada-tour-of-united-states-of-america-1844-318993/united-states-of-america-vs-canada-318995/full-scorecard
https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/united-states-of-america-tour-of-canada-1845-319282/canada-vs-united-states-of-america-319352/live-cricket-score
(gtho4)
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Jul 23 25 by odo5435
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Jul 23 25 by odo5435
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Jul 23 25 by odo5435
In September 1844, where was the world's first "international" cricket match played?
Sources seem to agree it took place in New York. See:
https://www.sportsofyore.com/the-day-canada-beat-the-us-in-the-first-cricket-international/
And
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_cricket
However, this page says it took place in Toronto.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket
In either case, the US played Canada and Canada reportedly won both matches. But the first of the two matches appears to have taken place in New York and the second match in Toronto. (TriviaFan22)
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Jul 23 25 by odo5435
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Jul 23 25 by odo5435
The famously identical twin girls in blue dresses appear down a hall of the Overlook Hotel, just when young Danny is trying his best not see such spooky things. What movie showed us these ghostly (and uncredited) twins in 1980?
While Stephen King's "The Shining" is one of the greatest horror novels, Stanley Kubrick made several changes to the original material. Yet, the movie is considered one of the greatest horror movies of all time. The Grady sisters are portrayed by identical twins Lisa and Louise Burns.
Kubrick puts far more emphasis on the Grady sisters than King's novel. The girls, in the novel, are mentioned a few times but are never prominent - they are not named, but they are described as "cute as buttons." In the novel, the girls are sisters, not twins. The Grady girls are 8 and 10 years old in the novel. Kubrick cleverly changed the Grady sisters to identical twins, Alexa and Alexie. The sight of them speaking to Danny in unison and a monotone is one of the movie's creepiest images.
It was certainly a sharp move on Kubrick's part to change the girls to twins. Kubrick's change is likely because of a desire to add to the motif of doubles, which runs through the movie. The novel is full of characters who are paired with unsettling reflections of themselves.
The Grady sisters don't act like the other hotel ghosts present, who collectively, drive Jack Torrance into insanity replete with murderous intent. The twins, despite their sinister appearance (they are ghosts after all), try to help Danny by warning him. We find out they were killed after trying to burn down the Hotel because they knew it was full of dark power - they tried to end it once and for all.
https://screenrant.com/the-shining-twins-explained-grady-sisters-changes-movie.
https://stephenking.fandom.com/wiki/Grady_sisters
(1nn1)
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Jul 21 25 by strike3
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Jul 17 25 by pehinhota
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Jul 21 25 by strike3
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Jul 21 25 by strike3
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Jul 20 25 by pehinhota
Which city in South Yorkshire was ceded to the Kingdom of Scotland in the first Treaty of Durham of 1136, a move that was never formally reversed?
To add to the information given above:
The first treaty of Durham was a peace treaty arranged between King Stephen of England and King David I of Scotland in February 1136.
To prevent further military invasions, David was ceded Doncaster as well as small parts of Cumberland and Lancashire. His son and heir, Prince Henry of Scotland, formalised making Doncaster a Scottish borough.
Henry II, who succeeded King Stephen, regained control of Doncaster in 1157 but there is doubt Doncaster was officially returned to England or if it technically remains Scottish because of no formal handover.
Thise ambiguity about Doncaster's status caused Doncaster City FC to make an ultimately unsuccessful 2022 bid to join the Scottish Cup, based on the 1136 treaty.
https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2022-09-22/english-football-club-bids-to-play-in-scottish-cup-under-1136-treaty
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20211019-the-scottish-town-stranded-in-england (1nn1)
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Jul 19 25 by pehinhota
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Jul 19 25 by pehinhota
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Jul 17 25 by pehinhota
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Jul 15 25 by odo5435
When did the first aerial bombardment by a foreign power on the continental United States take place?
The 1929 Bombing of Naco Arizona...
[quote]One of the most bizarre incidents occurred during the 1929 Cristero Revolution when an Irishman named Patrick Murphy dropped his bombs on the border town of Naco. He was hired by the rebels to bomb federale trenches at Naco, Sonora.
The barnstormer was hired by to fly bombing missions over the federale lines. For reasons known only to Murphy, he flew unloaded his bombs on Naco, Arizona. One bomb landed on Newton's Garage where it destroyed a Dodge touring car belonging to a federale general who'd stored it on the American side for safekeeping while another hit the Phelps Dodge Mercantile Store. Then an unidentified federale grabbed his .30-06 rifle and took a pot shot at Murphy's plane just as it was making another bombing run. A trail of white smoke unraveled from the plane as it headed down for a crash landing. Murphy escaped to the rebel lines then into the United States where he was quickly arrested by American soldiers, taken to Nogales and locked in jail but was never charged. And he never revealed his reasons for dropping his bombs on Arizona but it did mark the first time the United States had been bombed by someone in the employ of a foreign power.[/quote]
https://truewestmagazine.com/article/the-bombing-of-naco/ (elburcher)
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Jul 15 25 by pehinhota
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Jul 15 25 by odo5435
When Alaska was sold in 1867, the Russian Tsar is said to have first made a sale offer to the which European ruler before making an offer to the USA?
Russia offered to sell Alaska to Great Britain in 1859, following its defeat in the Crimean War (1853-1856), which had highlighted the vulnerability of its Alaskan territory. Located far from the Russian mainland, it was easily accessible to potential enemies, particularly Great Britain, via Canadian soil. Russia initially offered to sell Alaska to Great Britain in 1859 but Great Britain refused the offer. Because, like Russia, the US had animosity towards Great Britain, and the Russians wanted to prevent British expansion in the Pacific, Russia approached the United States. This resulted in the Alaska Purchase treaty, which was signed on March 30, 1867. The United States agreed to purchase Alaska from Russia for $US7.2 million.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/alaska-purchase
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Purchase (1nn1)
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Jul 12 25 by pehinhota
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Jul 09 25 by odo5435
If arithmetic is only one branch of mathematics, how many other branches of mathematics are there?
There are different ways of answering this question, but to put it simply, I would break it down like this (and others can add to this list if they like):
Algebra: Subcategories of this topic include linear algebra, abstract algebra, multilinear algebra, commutative algebra, etc.
Analysis: Includes harmonic analysis, functional analysis, etc.
Topology: point-set topology, low-dimensional topology, differential topology, algebraic topology, etc.
Geometry: Euclidean geometry, non-Euclidean geometry, discrete geometry, etc.
Number theory: elementary number theory, analytic number theory, algebraic number theory, etc.
Applied math: statistics, probability theory, numerical analysis, etc.
Combinatorics: graph theory, coding theory, etc.
In addition, there are some areas that combine methods from different areas of mathematics. For example, algebraic topology takes methods from algebra to solve problems in topology. We can probably stick this under topology but that wouldn't exactly be correct. Another obstacle to creating neat divisions between branches of math is category theory, which could be thought of as existing above all of the other branches.
So in this framework, we have six branches with their varying subtopics, and some subtopics belong to one or more branches, and some, such as category, not belonging to any branch. This list could be criticized for being incomplete or grossly generalistic, but is probably sufficient for someone who is a high school student or first-year college student thinking about deeper study of math. (TriviaFan22)
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Jul 09 25 by odo5435
If arithmetic is only one branch of mathematics, how many other branches of mathematics are there?
How long is a piece of string? Seriously, the answer is constantly changing, from the pre-Renaissance idea that there were two fields (arithmetic and geometry) to the 2020 classification of mathematical topics used by people producing research papers to identify the field in which their work fits. It has 63 top-level groupings, each of which has multiple subcategories. These are listed here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics_Subject_Classification#First-level_areas (looney_tunes)
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Jul 09 25 by odo5435
Which African head of state sold the government's fleet of expensive Mercedes cars in the 1980s and made a Renault 5 the ministers' official car?
Thomas Sankara, at the age of 33, became the President of the Republic of Upper Volta after a military coup in 1983 and made a long list of series of social, ecological, and economic reforms. He renamed the country as Burkina Faso ('land of the upright people'), and wrote the new national anthem himself. His many radical reforms were aimed at making his country more self-sufficient. Among his more populist reforms, he sold off the government fleet of Mercedes vehicles and made the cheapest car sold in Burkina Faso at that time, the Renault 5, the official vehicle for ministers. He was assassinated in 1987.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Sankara
https://www.thomassankara.net/?lang=en (1nn1)
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Jul 09 25 by pehinhota
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Jul 09 25 by Thesuperyoshi
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