Spanning The Globe To Bring You The Constant Variety Of ONTs

Hello Horde! It's Thursday night, welcome to the ONT. Let's start with a meme that escaped from tomorrow's post:

Imagine Finding This In The Attic

Cut-price Magna Carta 'copy' now believed genuine

A manuscript once considered an unofficial copy of Magna Carta is now believed to be a genuine version and ''one of the world's most valuable documents'', according to UK academics. Harvard Law School paid $27.50 (then about £7) for it in 1946 and for years it has remained tucked away in its library, its true identity unknown.

But two medieval history professors have concluded it is an extraordinarily rare and lost original Magna Carta from 1300, in the reign of King Edward I, that could be worth millions.

''This is a fantastic discovery," said Prof David Carpenter from King's College London, who began analysing it after seeing digitised images of it on the US university's website.

Of course it's at * spit * Harvard. Why couldn't Hillsdale have found a copy?

The Internet Is For Porn

New Bill Would Make All Pornography a Federal Crime in the U.S.

Republican Senator of Utah Mike Lee introduced a bill that would effectively ban porn at the federal level in the United States. The Interstate Obscenity Definition Act (IODA), introduced by Lee and Illinois Republican Rep. Mary Miller on Thursday, aims to change the Supreme Court’s 1973 “Miller Test” for determining what qualifies as obscene. “Obscenity isn’t protected by the First Amendment, but hazy and unenforceable legal definitions have allowed extreme pornography to saturate American society and reach countless children,” Lee said in a press release. “Our bill updates the legal definition of obscenity for the internet age so this content can be taken down and its peddlers prosecuted.”

The site I use to get around paywalls is down, so I don't have any more than that. Anyone know about this bill? If it passes, but stock in VPN companies.

I Was Told That There Would Be No Math

Mathematician Finds Solution to One of The Oldest Problems in Algebra

As you might expect, understanding how this works isn't easy for the non-algebra geniuses amongst us. Essentially, polynomials are equations that include variables raised to non-negative powers (e.g. x3). When those powers are five or above, that's a higher-degree polynomial.

Mathematicians have figured out how to solve lower-degree versions, but it was thought that properly calculating the higher-degree ones was impossible. Before this new research, we've been relying on approximations.

Wildberger and Rubine took a new approach to the problem, which is based on Catalan numbers. These numbers are used in advanced number counting and arrangements, including counting how many ways polygons can be subdivided into triangles.

By extending the idea of Catalan numbers, the researchers were able to demonstrate that they could be used as a basis for solving polynomial equations of any degree. Part of the clever method involved extending polygon counts to other shapes besides triangles.

It's beyond me, but I bet there are some of y'all who understand it.

Dudes Being Dudes

The True North Comes To Me

Will Danielle Smith steer Alberta away from separation, or will this train keep gathering steam?

Alberta's leader told Postmedia this week that many disaffected Albertans see the threat coming from the east, like other Canadians perceive the threat from the south.

"As scared as these people are of what Donald Trump is going to do to their economy, that's how scared Albertans are of what the Liberals are going to do to the Alberta economy," Smith said.

And just as heightened anti-American feelings have risen broadly — including in Alberta — the separatist movement is aiming to transform the long-brewing anti-Ottawa sentiment into an anti-Canada sentiment.

I don't know if Alberta could make it as a stand alone country, but as the 51st state? It would be nice to be a fan of an American hockey team.

These People Are Insane

Three siblings rescued from house of horrors after ‘COVID syndrome’ parents kept them locked inside since 2021

Three children were dramatically rescued from a COVID lockdown house of horrors after being forced for years to stay inside and wear face masks long after pandemic restrictions ended.

The siblings — 8-year-old twins and a 10-year-old — were finally freed from the home in Oviedo in Spain’s northwest on Monday after being locked inside since 2021, local outlet El Comercio reported.

“As soon as we got them out, all three children began to breathe deeply, as if they had never been outside before,” an investigator said.
Harrowing photos published by Spanish media showed the kids, who are German, emerging from the home wearing face masks.
Immediately after stepping outside, cops said, the children appeared to be amazed and went to touch the grass.

Child abuse, nothing but.

High On Life

Brazilian Psychedelic Plant Emerges as Potential Depression Treatment

Long used in Indigenous Brazilian rituals, the jurema preta plant, which contains a potent psychedelic, is gaining ground as a potential treatment for depression.

At street stalls where medicinal herbs are sold, customers can buy the plant's root which contains dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a hallucinogenic substance that researchers say could be used to alleviate symptoms.

Following instructions he found on the internet, Guaracy Carvajal extracted DMT at home in 2016 from roots he bought on the street.

The 31-year-old software programmer, who had tried various treatment for chronic depression he has suffered since adolescence, said the drug makes it "feel like you've solved something in your life."

I dunno. If it helps folks with depression, that would be a boon for mankind.

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posted by WeirdDave at 10:00 PM

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