Stupid question thread

Why does the Atkins diet work? Erm, because you have to give up alcohol for the first month? Anyone could lose weight on almost any crackpot scheme by giving up alcohol for a month, because we just have a blind spot on liquids being calories. How it scientifically works is that the body burns carbs as a fuel and keeps fat in reserve. Proteins are crap fuels. So if you eat no carbs at all, or hardly any, your body will have to firstly burn any fat that you eat, which is not as efficient a fuel as carbs, and then the fat reserves in your body. So you would lose fat, by a process called ketosis (which is what tends to kill diabetics who don't eat, oh dear), which is why your breath tends to smell like ammonia if you are on the diet. Here's a newsflash on weight loss - if you exercise more and eat less, you'll lose weight. Anything that claims to circumvent these two pretty horrid choices (it is not easy and it takes far longer than it should) is either fraudulent or a short-term fix that isn't going to keep the weight off.

Charge is not measured in Amperes, charge is measured in Coulombs and current is measures in Amperes.

stephen, it may be coming down but it's still not in my price range and anyway I'm not good with heights. I had palpitations in the space simulator at the science museum the other day.

now Ely that is the most sensible answer so far - not sure about allowing jelly babies drive though - wouldn't they have a little trouble reaching the pedals?

I can't reverse park; I just won't do it, I'll park at the very far end of the supermarket car park and walk in the rain to the main entrance if it means I can go across two spaces without reversing. Even if I muddy my tights and ruin my hairdo.

I agree with all that you say Andrew, it's just that so far scientific evidence disputes Atkins' 'ketosis' theory (according to the recent TV prog.). My favourite quote was from some nutrition 'expert' who questioned Atkins' competence because he wasn't a fellow nutrition expert (after all Atkins was only a heart specialist) but couldn't explain how the diet worked. The fact that the diet allows a high intake of fatty foods yet lowers cholesterol levels flies in the face of everything these nutrition ‘experts’ have been drilling into to us for at least the last decade. It’s just another example of a science ridiculing something (for over 30 years) that it can’t understand but will undoubtedly later incorporate, like hypnotism, acupuncture etc. and claim as its own :)

I am an excellent reverse parker... but then, you all knew that didn't you?

The Scientific method requires falsification Mykle. You should know that? So why now do you attempt to miss represent it?

it's not a euphemism... but then, you knew that didn't you?

John, you are a typical scientist in that you argue in circles. As an example: First you argue “S.d. You said boiled water is the 'Purist form of water. It isn't, Pure water is extremely poisonous.” Then to clarify you say “The more water is distilled, the more contaminant residue it will absorb from the human body and from trace gasses in the atmosphere.” Surely absorbing contaminant residue from the body has the OPPOSITE effect to a poison and does what Stephen suggested in the first place - which you were supposed to be arguing with ;o)

Mykle. You are distracting from my question. Do you agree that any scientific theory, should be falsefiable?

I seem to remember that there is a scientific theory that states that not all scientific theories are falsifiable - but maybe it's false ;o)

Bloody Nora this is worse than Maths.

Is that a yes or a no Mykle? *Smiles*

Latest question from youngest daughter... it's not a stupid question, but I don't know the answer... why don't penguins feet get stuck to the ice?

Oops :)

Hey is it true that if you get stung by a jellyfish, the best thing to do is to pee or get someone to pee on the on the affected part of the body??? Might be tricky? I saw this on a science program called 'Friends,' the other day.

So, since we have engineering specialists on board, could somebody please explain Euler's formula to me. I've never found a use for it?

Li, Why don't penguins feet stick to the ice? - Received February 8/00 from Mike Smith in Georgia. Q: Why dont penguins feet stick to the ice? A: Interesting question. Penguins are unique in that they are more completely covered in feathers than almost any other bird. This indeed includes their feet. When a penguin's feathers are lying flat, the scale-like exposed parts overlap and form a surface that is practically impermeable to wind and water. Furthermore, the shafts below them are tufts that form an insulating layer. On top of all this, penguins secrete oil into their feathers, as do other birds, to prevent water penetration. I believe, and I'm only speculating here, that the insulating properties of the penguins feet, tight-knit feathers and secreted oil, would prevent their feet from sticking to the ice when they hop out of the water.

Cheers ... will pass it on.

*smiles smugly and waits for the inevitable informed explanation*

well, thanks for clearing that whole 'lieutenent' thing up. I feel better now

Ely, I think it's an English holdover from a French spelling of the word lieutenant.

I wish I knew the answer Ely. Just seems to be one of those strange things we Brits do, like why do we pronounce Bicester as Bister, or Somerset as Summerset, or London as Lundin? Let's face it we're just weird.

Lundin? Are we Dick Van Dyke?

As there appears to be no responses. Yes. Flash. It is also true that Distilled water absorbs Carbon dioxide, which happens to be extremely potions to living organisms like S.D. There are a good many other things that are true about the acidity of Distilled water, the lake of nutrients, the absorption of trace gasses from the atmosphere and more.

What if a Jellyfish pees on you?

and what about Gasometers? What stops the gas farting out ?

And do Spiders have flyups for breakfast?

Then i be haveing Jellyfish pie fro me supper mate'y... Aharrrr..

Good to see you have re-gained your normal level of interaction. (Still waiting for the Googlemeister's report)

I sat and watched a programme with Honour where they gave the answer to this question - says something for our respective attention-spans that neither of us remember the answer. I reckon Radio is probably right.

I think you are getting mixed up with carbon MONoxide John - carbon dioxide (CO2) is used to make fizzy drinks etc. and though Coke isn't good for you I don't think you should go around saying that it's poisonous or you may end up in very expensive litigation ;o)

Dyslexia exempts me from defamation Mkyle..

Reminds me of the old joke - have you tried snorting coke? No, I can't stand the bubbles up my nose!

Very funny. Any way, you are right, S.D's constant un informed digs at Science is beginning to get under my skin. I don’t mind when the argument has substance, I can hold my own when i have to. But it realy fucks me of when some one constantly criticizes something that is very important to me. Yes S.d, I’m very fucking pissed of! *Has another snort of coke*

Hahaha.. she is a flea and so are you. I just reminded her of that and she looked at me as though I were mad. She also looks deeply suspicious of the feather theory, but I think it's right as well...

Right, stupid question time. Why do banks still keep heaps of gold bars stashed away in safes? In fact the whole issue of our species' propensity to mine for precious metals and stones baffles me. Yes, I know the obvious about rarity and bartering and power and all that, but this weird solidity of gems and gold that we dress our fingers with. I just don't get it. Why does it still seem to have such a grip on people?

....and why do hairdressers, when told "just an inch off all over please?" get a manic look in their eyes are start chopping away in a frenzied manner? Why can't they do as they're told?

Er....maybe she's been mislead by her partner....about how big an inch really is.

Andrew knows everything about hairdressers. In his novel hairdressers are unable to open love letters, and pass them on - too hot to handle. I've been meaning to ask him this for ages... A few weeks back when I was having my haircut...I was most likely raging with passion for my girlfriend at the time...well, my hairdresser cut her hand...just as she was hovering there over my head...so...do you think she was damaged by my burning thoughts???

Okay, the whole purpose of a monetary system is that the currency itself should have no intrinsic value, otherwise you are just bartering. And bartering causes problems because one day you go to market with your five chickens wanting to buy a pig and the pig-farmer doesn't want chickens any more. So we invent currency - something that you can get in exchange for your chickens and then pay to a pig farmer to buy a pig. It is an understanding and a promise that when you go along with your farthings or whatever that they will still be worth something and will be accepted as payment. Initially the coins themselves were made of gold, something precious that would hold its worth, even if the coin itself stopped being currency. But the longer currency was around, the more trust people had in it and they realised that it was stupid to make the coins out of something valuable when it was really just an IOU in coin form, make them out of something that isn't expensive to make, instead. But the people producing the money still have to have something to back it up, and for most countries, that is still gold. If every customer in any bank went in to that branch and tried to withdraw their money, there wouldn't be enough money in the bank to pay it to all of them. (Economic theory says that for every pound in a savings account, the bank will lend that pound out to fourteen different people - this works because most people write cheques, pay by Switch or electronic transfer. The actual amount of wealth in any economy, add up everyone's bank accounts, is fourteen times the amount of hard cash in note and coin) This is shown very dramatically in It's a Wonderful Life. The gold reserves are therefore a way of the banks and Government reassuring people that in the event of a run on the bank, that there is something of intrinsic value backing up that currency. Look at it this way - the Government collect taxes and have to pay for stuff like roads, schools, hospitals. Putting taxes up is unpopular. But the Government also control the Bank of England (not as directly as they used to, but they could still theoretically order Bank of England to produce an extra hundred million in tenners and hand it over to them, rather than raising the money in tax) . The reason they can't do that is that in order for currency to hold its notional value (remember it has no worth on its own.If we stopped using the pound, your fiver would be worth cock-all) it has to be backed at least in part by something which does have real value. Gold is the globabally accepted commodity which has intrinsic value but is not actually useful - there'd be no point keeping loads of oil, which is valuable, in bank vaults because we need to use oil. We don't NEED to use gold. You need something which keeps its worth, and is scarce, but is not in itself inherently useful. That's quite a difficult thing to find, which is why we've stuck with gold. If a country has no gold in reserve, or a bank has no gold reserves, then their currency (which is a promise that the notes they issue have some worth) would be in Biblical terms a house built upon sand. If consumers lost confidence in the notes, there'd be no gold to prop it up with. So the monetary system would collapse. Ta-da! And managed to do it without outlining the difference between M0 and M2.

It was a 'he' Flash. You are probably right in a way though, everyone knows that men have no idea of the *real* size of an inch. *ducks*

A fab answer, Andrew...and it is deeply fascinating...taking it that step further, that 'intrinsic value' is a solid thing we dig out of the ground. How about you write me a piece...a bit like the one you wrote about a world with no moon...in which the thing we build our world upon is something other than gold...leave you to think of an alternative.

The Aztecs and Incas considered gold little more than a pretty metal to make ornaments out of and couldn't understand why the spanish wanted it so badly. Appartently Montezuma asked Cortez and Cortex told him they suffered from a disease of the heart that only gold could cure. Which, from a certain poitn of view, was the truth. The golgafrinchams (?) used leaves I believe.

Wow, Dan...I love that.

hey dublin i was looking at one of my older posts about selfharm-in-scotland and seen a message from you that wished me good luck with my project. Sorry i never reposted something but i just looked at it now, so thanks for that.

'(Still waiting for the Googlemeister's report)' You're actually longing to hear from Mykle? AWWW!! That is so sweet. Nice to see you pair of wacky old crusties have made up at last.

George I've sucked all of my jelly babies it had no effect and they wouldn't say what sex they were - what I do now?

I'm short of piss-taking fodder, that's all. My relationship with him is in the same category as yours of late, with Lesley.