Jump to content

Recommended Posts

This made me laugh.


My mate thought that reindeers didn't exist. He thought they were invented for Christmas!


I also knew someone that managed to convince his girlfriend that marshmallow comes from a plant called the mallow plant, which grows in marshes!


Anyone got or had any funny / stupid beliefs of a similar vein?

Not sure I can can beat either of those, but a lot of people believe they will go to heaven when they die and meet the (departed) family. I've often wondered what age will we all be if it were true, which is why I can't really believe it. You can't meet your mum and be older than her if you lived longer than her surely?
People's basic missunderstanding of probablility leads to some pretty stoopid believes. My uncle has 10 grand children his first 9 were girls, just before his 10th was born (a boy) he was saying to me "what are the odds of this one being a girl eh must be 200,000 -1!?" er, no uncle ,Evens
How do you actually know it's 'evens'? There are only two possibilities, yes. However maybe there are other forces at work that influence the outcome.My mother had a girl followed by 7 boys. Her sister had 4 girls. Evens doesn't explain it does it?

Peckhamgatecrasher Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> But marshmallows did originate from the mallow

> plant, though whether they grew in marshes, I have

> no idea.



That is True:-


Althaea officinalis (marshmallow, marsh mallow, or common marshmallow) is a perennial species indigenous to Africa, which is used as a medicinal plant and ornamental plant.


A confection made from the root since ancient Egyptian time evolved into today's marshmallow treat.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Althaea_officinalis


Marshmallow is a sugar candy that, in its modern form, typically consists of sugar, whipped to a spongy consistency, molded into small cylindrical pieces, and coated with corn starch. Some marshmallow recipes call for eggs. This confection is the modern version of a medicinal confection made from Althaea officinalis, the marshmallow plant.[1]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshmallow


DulwichFox

Alan Medic Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> How do you actually know it's 'evens'? There are

> only two possibilities, yes. However maybe there

> are other forces at work that influence the

> outcome.My mother had a girl followed by 7 boys.

> Her sister had 4 girls. Evens doesn't explain it

> does it?


It's probability, not explanation. all things being equal, the chance of a baby being born a girl is near enough 50:50, are you infact my Uncle AM, your grasp of probability is similar?

I told my kids about the haggis thing when they were little. Got away with it for years.


numbers Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> until I was about 13, I believed that haggis

> existed (one leg shorter than the other, running

> around the hills in circles etc)

???? Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Alan Medic Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > How do you actually know it's 'evens'? There

> are

> > only two possibilities, yes. However maybe

> there

> > are other forces at work that influence the

> > outcome.My mother had a girl followed by 7

> boys.

> > Her sister had 4 girls. Evens doesn't explain

> it

> > does it?

>

> It's probability, not explanation. all things

> being equal, the chance of a baby being born a

> girl is near enough 50:50, are you infact my Uncle

> AM, your grasp of probability is similar?


Some days it rains. Other days it doesn't. Does that mean that the probability of it raining on any given day is 50:50?

numbers Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------


> Reiki. WTF is that all about? What a load of shit

> & how can anyone possibly fall for it?


My OH has done reiki on people who claim to have felt better afterwards. Come to think of it one of them is a GP. My view of it is that if it works it must be doing something. If you can buy that our bodies are channels of energy which can get blocked in times of stress then you can fall for it. Didn't Jesus go around healing people by putting his hands on them according to the bible? This doesn't prove anything and you're entitled to call it a load of shit. I happen to think there is more to it without particularly wanting to explore it.

Wasn't the haggis thing in the Beano or Dandy (the one with Dennis the menace I think)?

I used to think that if you pressed the button on a pelican crossing multiple times then the green man would come up because it thinks lots of people are waiting......

I believe in The Line. Well there are infinite Lines..


It's like if you are scared of spiders. Then there is a line for that.


All lines start from a central point. The further down the Line the worst your fear gets.

All that a Psychiatrist does is take you back along one side of the Line and brings you back up the other side.

So you are no longer scared of spiders.


There is a line for everything ..


If you believe in the Line too then it exists..


If you do not believe in the Line, it still exists.


It's just that you are on the other side of the LINE.


DulwichFox

Alan Medic Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> numbers Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

>

> > Reiki. WTF is that all about? What a load of

> shit

> > & how can anyone possibly fall for it?

>

> My OH has done reiki on people who claim to have

> felt better afterwards. Come to think of it one of

> them is a GP. My view of it is that if it works it

> must be doing something. If you can buy that our

> bodies are channels of energy which can get

> blocked in times of stress then you can fall for

> it. Didn't Jesus go around healing people by

> putting his hands on them according to the bible?

> This doesn't prove anything and you're entitled to

> call it a load of shit. I happen to think there is

> more to it without particularly wanting to explore

> it.


There is more to it - it's the placebo effect. Scientifically proven.


I think in made-up Jesus land, it wasn't intended to be the placebo effect, it was something quite other - god being omnipotent and all, and Jesus being the son of god, he actually cured people - in the manner of Wolverine actively self-healing, rather than just having some hot hands near him (sadly, not mine).


But I'm enjoying the notion that reiki woo merchants are the messiah in disguise. To paraphrase One Night in Bangkok, One woo's very like another, when your head's down over your patients, brother.

steveo Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> The water company came to sort out a leak in the

> front garden and to locate it they used dowsing

> rods. Y'know two bent coat hangers. I swear.

>

> They were spot on and I now believe in dowsing



http://www.thamesdiscovery.org/frog-blog/dowsing-for-history


Dowsers are used for other findings as well as water.

Magpies. If I see one alone I tip my invisible hat to him/her. I'll also try and follow a "natural order" that involves a kind of harmony with people, nature, things....sounds weird but it has generally served me well so far. Is this a kind of Buddhism?

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • Yes, these are all good points. I agree with you, that division has led us down dangerous paths in the past. And I deplore any kind of racism (as I think you probably know).  But I feel that a lot of the current wave of xenophobia we're witnessing is actually more about a general malaise and discontent. I know non-white people around here who are surprisingly vocal about immigrants - legal or otherwise. I think this feeling transcends skin colour for a lot of people and isn't as simple as, say, the Jew hatred of the 1930s or the Irish and Black racism that we saw laterally. I think people feel ignored and looked down upon.  What you don't realise, Sephiroth, is that I actually agree with a lot of what you're saying. I just think that looking down on people because of their voting history and opinions is self-defeating. And that's where Labour's getting it wrong and Reform is reaping the rewards.   
    • @Sephiroth you made some interesting points on the economy, on the Lammy thread. Thought it worth broadening the discussion. Reeves (irrespective of her financial competence) clearly was too downbeat on things when Labour came into power. But could there have been more honesty on the liklihood of taxes going up (which they have done, and will do in any case due to the freezing of personal allowances).  It may have been a silly commitment not to do this, but were you damned if you do and damned if you don't?
    • I'd quit this thread, let those who just want to slag Labour off have their own thread.  Your views on the economy are worth debating.  I'm just stunned how there wasn't this level of noise with the last government.  I could try to get some dirt on Badenoch but she is pointless  Whilst I am not a fan of the Daily Mirror at least there is some respite from Labour bashing. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/grenfell-hillsborough-families-make-powerful-36175862 https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/nigel-farage-facing-parliamentary-investigation-36188612  
    • That is a bit cake and eat it tho, isn’t it?    At what point do we stop respecting other people’s opinions and beliefs  because history shows us we sometimes simply have no other choice  you are holding some comfort blanket that allows you to believe we are all equal and all valid and we can simply voice different options - without that ever  impacting on the real world  Were the racists we fought in previous generations different? Were their beliefs patronised by the elites of the time? Or do we learn lessons and avoid mistakes of the past?   racists/bigots having “just as much to say” is both true and yet, a thing we have learnt from the past. The lesson was not “ooh let’s hear them out. They sound interesting and valid and as worthy of an audience as people who hold the opposite opinion” 
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...