How did the cigarette snail get so named?
It is a nickname given to a highly venomous marine gastropod, so-called because if a person were to be stung by one they would only have time to smoke a cigarette before dying.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conus_geographus
(elvislennon)
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Feb 08 26 by serpa
What is a Cyr wheel?
It is a variation on the German wheel gymnastic / acrobatic apparatus. Instead of the double rim of the German wheel, the Cyr wheel consists of a single metal ring, similar to an oversized Hula Hoop with a diameter a bit larger than the user is tall.
Due to its narrow design, it is hard to balance, but also very flexible in the terms of movements and tricks it can do.
The wheel was developed as a circus apparatus by Daniel Cyr in the late 1990s. Official gymnastics championships using it have been held since the early 2010s, with the first World Championship in 2013.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyr_wheel (WesleyCrusher)
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Feb 07 26 by serpa
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Feb 07 26 by pehinhota
The so-called "quietest place on Earth" has something in common with the site of Earth's loudest noise. What is it?
The loudest noise is a volcano. The Krakatoa eruption was famously heard for thousands of miles away. At it's source it was 310 decibels (enough to shatter eardrums and shatter windows for miles around). So, the connection is Volcano.
The quietest place on earth is also...in a volcano (albeit a dormant one):
https://www.npr.org/2022/08/25/1119484767/experience-the-quietest-place-on-earth
https://www.audiology.org/the-loudest-known-sound-ever/ (maripp2002)
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Feb 06 26 by etymonlego
Why is January 1st considered to be the first day of a new year? Why not April 1st? Or October 15th?
1 January was traditionally used as the first day of the year from the period of the use of the Roman calendar, which was believed to have been established by the legendary first King of Rome, Romulus. Originally featuring ten months of 30 or 31 days, this was revised into a 12 month calendar that roughly corresponded to the solar year. In 46BC, the calendar was amended by Julius Caesar, creating the Julian calendar. This continued to have 1 January as the first day of the year. However, although other states began to align their calendars to the new Julian, many maintained their old customs of beginning the year on different dates - the Alexandrian calendar used in Egypt for example started the year on 29 August.
By the Middle Ages, European nations had begun to accept 1 January as their official first day of the year, many of them doing so before the adoption of the new Gregorian calendar. One of the major outliers was England, and subsequently Great Britain, who kept their official start of the year as 25 March, which corresponded with the start of the legal year. By this system, the date would change from (for example) 24 March 1707 to 25 March 1708. It was the passing of the Calendar (New Style) Act in 1750, which mandated the change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendars in Great Britain and its colonies, that also brought about the change to the start of the calendar year. The provisions of the Act came into force following "the last said day of December 1751", meaning that, as 1752 officially began on 1 January, 1751 officially lasted for 281 days. Despite this, some areas of the UK continue to celebrate the new year on dates based on earlier calendars, with the Gwaun Valley in Wales, and the island of Foula in the Shetlands still having new year celebrations on 13 January, which is the corresponding date from the Julian calendar. (Red_John)
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Dec 31 25 by odo5435
As traditionally draped garments, do the Sari and Toga share techniques for construction or wear?
Not exactly. They may look similar, but there are significant differences.
First, the shape of the sari fabric is rectangular, while the shape of the toga fabric was more or less semi-circular. (It took a lot of effort and experimentation for a researcher to figure that out some decades ago, because the ancient sources do not tell us.)
In addition, a sari can be draped in several different ways, depending on the look you want, whereas there was only one really correct way to drape a toga. The main differences between togas involved colors (mostly variations on white) and borders. Sari fabric can be pinned in place, over a blouse and petticoat, but the toga was simply supposed to be draped over a tunic. However, given the annoyances of having to wear a toga, I wouldn't be surprised if some men occasionally used pins to help hold them in place. They were certainly used in other ancient garments.
Finally, of course, the sari is a garment for women, while the toga was for men. Roman women wore a garment called a "stola" over a long dress.
The sites below are instructive:
https://www.singhanias.in/blogs/singhanias-saree-journal/how-to-wear-a-saree-step-by-step-guide-to-draping-a-saree-perfectly?srsltid=AfmBOorORapQK1uAo78qjy0Qm1bpGxqIz4RcAodgKp76YJZnt2b4u2dH
https://www.tastesofhistory.co.uk/post/the-toga (lanfranco)
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Jan 29 26 by maripp2002
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