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π Nothing about us without us
"Nothing about us without us" (Latin: Nihil de nobis, sine nobis) is a slogan used to communicate the idea that no policy should be decided by any representative without the full and direct participation of members of the group(s) affected by that policy. In its modern form, this often involves national, ethnic, disability-based, or other groups that are often marginalized from political, social, and economic opportunities.
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- "Nothing about us without us" | 2025-02-16 | 38 Upvotes 7 Comments
π State Capture
State capture is a type of systemic political corruption in which private interests significantly influence a state's decision-making processes to their own advantage.
The term was first used by the World Bank in 2000 to describe certain Central Asian countries making the transition from Soviet communism, where small corrupt groups used their influence over government officials to appropriate government decision-making in order to strengthen their own economic positions.
Allegations of state capture have led to protests against the government in Bulgaria in 2013β2014 and in 2020β2021 and Romania in 2017, and have caused an ongoing controversy in South Africa beginning in 2016. Turkey is considered as a post-2002 example of state capture. The term has also been used against Elon Musk by critics of U.S. President Donald Trump.
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- "State Capture" | 2025-02-14 | 67 Upvotes 41 Comments
π Half Cent Coin
The half cent was the smallest denomination of United States coin ever minted. It was first minted in 1793 and last minted in 1857. It was minted with five different designs.
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- "Half Cent Coin" | 2025-02-10 | 26 Upvotes 6 Comments
π Go Away Green
Go Away Green refers to a range of paint colors used in Disney Parks to divert attention away from infrastructure. It has been compared to military camouflage like Olive Drab.
Imagineer John Hench wrote about developing such colors, "We chose a neutral gray-brown for the railing, a 'go away' color that did not call attention to itself, even though it was entirely unrelated to the Colonial color scheme."
Large attraction buildings visible either inside or outside a park such as Soarinβ at California Adventure or Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland are often painted a muted green. Necessary in-park infrastructure like speakers, lamp posts, fences, trash cans, and the former entrance to Club 33 are also painted various shades of green.
This concept also extends to grays, browns, and blues for spaces with less greenery or buildings that extend above the tree line, such as Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
Discussed on
- "Go Away Green" | 2025-02-09 | 93 Upvotes 31 Comments
π Perpetual Stew
A perpetual stew, also known as hunter's pot or hunter's stew, is a pot into which whatever one can find is placed and cooked. The pot is never or rarely emptied all the way, and ingredients and liquid are replenished as necessary. The concept is often a common element in descriptions of medieval inns. Foods prepared in a perpetual stew have been described as being flavorful due to the manner in which the foodstuffs blend together, in which the flavor may improve with age.
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- "Perpetual Stew" | 2025-02-06 | 53 Upvotes 63 Comments
- "Perpetual Stew" | 2024-03-27 | 14 Upvotes 5 Comments
- "Perpetual Stew" | 2022-03-13 | 18 Upvotes 2 Comments
- "Perpetual Stew" | 2019-08-16 | 13 Upvotes 7 Comments
π Expert Wizard Amendment
The expert wizard amendment was a proposed amendment by New Mexico state senator Duncan Scott, which would require psychologists and psychiatrists to dress up as wizards when they were in court proceedings providing expert testimony regarding a defendant's competency. The amendment, proposed in 1995, passed New Mexico's Senate unanimously. Scott revealed the amendment was satirical prior to a vote in New Mexico House of Representatives following which it was removed and thus never signed into law.
Scott said that he crafted the amendment because he felt that there were an excessive number of mental health practitioners acting as expert witnesses.
π 2024YR4 Collision Chance is now 1.9%
2024 YR4 is an asteroid between 40 and 90 metres (130 and 300Β ft) in diameter, classified as an Apollo-type (Earth-crossing) near-Earth object. It was discovered by the Chilean station of the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) on 27 December 2024. As of 5Β FebruaryΒ 2025, 2024 YR4 was rated 3 on the Torino scale with a 1 in 53 (1.9%) chance of impacting Earth on 22 December 2032. NASA gives a Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale rating of β0.40 for 2024 YR4, which corresponds to an impact hazard of 39.8% of the background hazard level. The discovery has triggered the first step in planetary defense responses, in which all available telescopes are asked to gather data about the object and United Nations-endorsed space agencies are prompted to begin planning for asteroid threat mitigation.
Preliminary analysis of spectra and photometric timeseries of this asteroid suggests it is a stony S-type or L-type asteroid with a rotation period near 19.5 minutes. The asteroid previously made a close approach of 828,800 kilometres (515,000 miles; 2.156 lunar distances) to Earth on 25 December 2024 (two days before its discovery), and is now moving away from Earth. It will make its next close approach around 17 December 2028. By early April 2025 and until June 2028, 2024 YR4 will have moved too far away from Earth to be observed by ground-based telescopes. Space-based infrared telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope may be able to observe 2024 YR4 when it is far from Earth.
Discussed on
- "2024YR4 Collision Chance is now 1.9%" | 2025-02-05 | 13 Upvotes 4 Comments
π Maria Montessori
Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori ( MON-tiss-OR-ee, Italian:Β [maΛriΛa montesΛsΙΛri]; August 31, 1870 β May 6, 1952) was an Italian physician and educator best known for the philosophy of education that bears her name, and her writing on scientific pedagogy. At an early age, Montessori broke gender barriers and expectations when she enrolled in classes at an all-boys technical school, with hopes of becoming an engineer. She soon had a change of heart and began medical school at the Sapienza University of Rome, where she graduated β with honors β in 1896. Her educational method is in use today in many public and private schools globally.
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- "Maria Montessori" | 2025-02-05 | 82 Upvotes 47 Comments
- "Maria Montessori" | 2012-08-31 | 34 Upvotes 19 Comments
π The King in Yellow
The King in Yellow is a book of short stories by American writer Robert W. Chambers, first published by F. Tennyson Neely in 1895. The British first edition was published by Chatto & Windus in 1895 (316 pages).
The book contains nine short stories and a sequence of poems; while the first stories belong to the genres of supernatural horror and weird fiction, The King in Yellow progressively transitions towards a more light-hearted tone, ending with romantic stories devoid of horror or supernatural elements. The horror stories are highly esteemed, and it has been described by critics such as E. F. Bleiler, S. T. Joshi, and T. E. D. Klein as a classic in the field of the supernatural. Lin Carter called it "an absolute masterpiece, probably the single greatest book of weird fantasy written in this country between the death of Poe and the rise of Lovecraft", and it was an influence on Lovecraft himself.
The book is named for the eponymous play within the stories which recurs as a motif through the first four stories, a forbidden play which induces madness in those who read it.
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- "The King in Yellow" | 2025-02-05 | 79 Upvotes 62 Comments
π Nellie Bly
Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman (born Elizabeth Jane Cochran; May 5, 1864 β January 27, 1922), better known by her pen name Nellie Bly, was an American journalist who was widely known for her record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days in emulation of Jules Verne's fictional character Phileas Fogg, and for an exposΓ© in which she worked undercover to report on a mental institution from within. She pioneered her field and launched a new kind of investigative journalism.
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- "Nellie Bly" | 2025-02-05 | 87 Upvotes 14 Comments