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13.01.2021, 14:24
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist | Quote: | |  | | | Many phenomena aren't independent of scale, it just appears like that because the average human only sees a limited range of scales.
Your example of oscillation isn't a good one - "oscillation" just means stuff changing between states periodically, the underlying scientific cause may be radically different.
Laws of science may cease to work at very small scales - a standard undergraduate problem when comparing classical laws with quantum mechanics etc.
Or at "larger" scales, for example the strong nuclear force has a clear maximum range beyond which it is not effective, it is bound within that range. | | | | | In all of these cases laws do not cease to function.
Rather there are effects that for practical purposes we can safely ignore in certain cases because they are totally insignificant. But they still exist.
There is a big difference between saying, say, "an architect can safely ignore the curvature of the earth because any effects thereof will be well within the margin of error relevant to the construction business", and say, "all architects are flat-earthers, and so she everybody else be who isn't a pilot or a navigator".
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13.01.2021, 15:53
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist | Quote: | |  | | | So people who take bath, aren't they really in water that is contaminated by water that is touching their asshole and circulating on to their face and body? Irrespective of how good you wipe your ass? | | | | | Yes
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13.01.2021, 19:21
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist | Quote: | |  | | | I am a shower guy, but I have a bath and backside related question! So people who take bath, aren't they really in water that is contaminated by water that is touching their asshole and circulating on to their face and body? Irrespective of how good you wipe your ass?
The Exception would be if you take a full soap shower and then have a bath. | | | | | Yes, of course, although you'd have to be a pretty ineffectual and unhygienic butt-wiper to leave enough faeces around your anus to cause any sort of a problem. Also, whatever dirt was on your skin remains in the closed system of the bath plus your body, so some of it is just redistributed on your skin.
But a bathtub holds on average around 94.6 litres of water (allowing room for the bather to enter and displace water); regrettably I couldn't find any academically robust data on the average quantity of faeces available post-toilet-use for dispersion in the bath, but I am confident that whatever minute quantity of faeces remains after you empty your bowels and wipe your anus would be diluted to homeopathic levels in a bath.
If you're truly concerned about this issue, use a bidet instead of toilet paper (I have no idea what you're supposed to do with that little towel after using the bidet), or better yet, take showers instead of baths. But for the sake of the environment, limit the shower to 10 minutes maximum, as showers use on average 9.5 litres of water per minute and it would be great to save water as well as improve hygiene, compared to using a bath.
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13.01.2021, 19:37
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist
Everybody uses wet toilet paper wipes. Like..for centuries. Ok, for a long time. Flushable, biodegradable. It is practical, TTYL, for you goat shed with a tub.
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13.01.2021, 21:28
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist
When undergarments or pants aren't washed for a long time, the bacteria will reach a higher equilibrium - harmless + stinky. https://globalnews.ca/news/107083/no...-months-study/ | 
13.01.2021, 21:32
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist | Quote: | |  | | | | | | | | Does Uni of Alberta have too much cash to spare....really??
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13.01.2021, 21:47
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist | Quote: | |  | | | Yes | | | | | Don't we all need a bit more dirt in our lives?
Sterility is critical in many processes at work, but do we really need to take it home with us - especially during these 'End Days'?
Let's raise a glass to keeping a good healthy balance.... here's mud in your eye! | 
14.01.2021, 07:44
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist
I will stick with shower then, even though I have probably the cleanest ass in Switzerland
Ok next one! I made a very large pot of mixed vegetable soup to last me 3 days at 17:00 yesterday. The soup stayed warm for a couple of hours out in the kitchen. I forgot to put the soup in the fridge last night. At 05:00 this morning I put it in the fridge.
What is bacteria situation with it? Keep on consuming it fearlessly as long as I heat it up properly? What if it had been a non-veg soup?
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14.01.2021, 08:50
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist | Quote: | |  | | | even though i have probably the cleanest ass in switzerland | | | | | tmi
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14.01.2021, 09:57
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist | Quote: | |  | | | I will stick with shower then, even though I have probably the cleanest ass in Switzerland 
Ok next one! I made a very large pot of mixed vegetable soup to last me 3 days at 17:00 yesterday. The soup stayed warm for a couple of hours out in the kitchen. I forgot to put the soup in the fridge last night. At 05:00 this morning I put it in the fridge.
What is bacteria situation with it? Keep on consuming it fearlessly as long as I heat it up properly? What if it had been a non-veg soup? | | | | | It's fine, you killed any bacteria that was in it when you cooked it. Vegetables aren't generally a source of food poisoning/bacterial contamination anyways (at least, not in Switzerland).
If you had left out raw meat it would be a different story, as it could very likely have had living bacteria on it, which would have had all night to multiply at room temperature.
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14.01.2021, 10:48
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist | Quote: | |  | | | It's fine, you killed any bacteria that was in it when you cooked it. Vegetables aren't generally a source of food poisoning/bacterial contamination anyways (at least, not in Switzerland). | | | | | Ouch! Aldi and Migros recall salads for listeria contamination https://www.nau.ch/news/schweiz/ruck...uruck-65849196 | 
14.01.2021, 10:49
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist | Quote: | |  | | | It's fine, you killed any bacteria that was in it when you cooked it. Vegetables aren't generally a source of food poisoning/bacterial contamination anyways (at least, not in Switzerland). | | | | | Quite.
But, if you leave in uncovered for long enough, like a couple of days, or even if it's covered but has been left exposed at some point, it may start to develop mould. Normally this would be obvious, but it's possible that a slimy surface layer might not be noticed, particularly if you've liquidised the soup. I don't think it would kill you, but your digestive system may not like it very much.
We often make soup in the pressure cooker that will be reheated two or three times over the next couple of days, but not refrigerated. Just bringing it back to pressure each time seems to do the job.
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14.01.2021, 12:24
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist | Quote: | |  | | | tmi | | | | | The things people announce to the entire world.. I wonder how many people just read TTYL's post. A couple hundreds?
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14.01.2021, 12:40
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist | Quote: | |  | | | The things people announce to the entire world.. I wonder how many people just read TTYL's post. A couple hundreds? | | | | |
They will all know that it is safe to let me have a bath in their castle | Quote: | |  | | | We often make soup in the pressure cooker that will be reheated two or three times over the next couple of days, but not refrigerated. Just bringing it back to pressure each time seems to do the job. | | | | | My soup was nicely covered when accidentally out for the night. So your pressure cooked soup you leave out for 2-3 days and just keep cooking it? Wow! I learnt something new
Boiling it, so many times surely must reduce the nutritional content of that soup though?
Normally I cook the soup in a huge container. Let it cool down for 2hrs, then put it in the fridge. For the next few days I just take one bowl worth out and lightly warm it up.
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14.01.2021, 12:53
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist | Quote: | |  | | | So your pressure cooked soup you leave out for 2-3 days and just keep cooking it? Wow! I learnt something new | | | | | I'm not advocating it as a best practice, but it's been done that way for hundreds of years. Pottage, in English (from French potage) was traditionally cooked up with whatever additional ingredients came to hand each day, so statistically some of it could be weeks or months old | Quote: | |  | | | Boiling it, so many times surely must reduce the nutritional content of that soup though? | | | | | Not sure about that. Pressure cooking was always supposed to be better than boiling, as nothing escapes. First ddg hit I found was this.
Your refrigerate policy is obviously better though, it's just about having enough space. We'll often freeze it if we're not going to finish it in a couple of days.
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14.01.2021, 13:39
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist | Quote: | |  | | | I'm not advocating it as a best practice, but it's been done that way for hundreds of years. Pottage, in English (from French potage) was traditionally cooked up with whatever additional ingredients came to hand each day, so statistically some of it could be weeks or months old
Not sure about that. Pressure cooking was always supposed to be better than boiling, as nothing escapes. First ddg hit I found was this.
Your refrigerate policy is obviously better though, it's just about having enough space. We'll often freeze it if we're not going to finish it in a couple of days. | | | | |
All clear | 
15.01.2021, 20:17
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist | Quote: | |  | | | I am a shower guy, but I have a bath and backside related question! So people who take bath, aren't they really in water that is contaminated by water that is touching their asshole and circulating on to their face and body? Irrespective of how good you wipe your ass?
The Exception would be if you take a full soap shower and then have a bath. | | | | | | Quote: | |  | | | Yes, of course, although you'd have to be a pretty ineffectual and unhygienic butt-wiper to leave enough faeces around your anus to cause any sort of a problem. Also, whatever dirt was on your skin remains in the closed system of the bath plus your body, so some of it is just redistributed on your skin.
But a bathtub holds on average around 94.6 litres of water (allowing room for the bather to enter and displace water); regrettably I couldn't find any academically robust data on the average quantity of faeces available post-toilet-use for dispersion in the bath, but I am confident that whatever minute quantity of faeces remains after you empty your bowels and wipe your anus would be diluted to homeopathic levels in a bath.
If you're truly concerned about this issue, use a bidet instead of toilet paper (I have no idea what you're supposed to do with that little towel after using the bidet), or better yet, take showers instead of baths. But for the sake of the environment, limit the shower to 10 minutes maximum, as showers use on average 9.5 litres of water per minute and it would be great to save water as well as improve hygiene, compared to using a bath. | | | | |
All this talk of butt bacteria and baths - and people go swimming happily in the lake, where fish and birds and other animals wee and poo all the time! Not to mention small humans ...
Of course, being a swimming instructor for years, you get a bit blasé about stuff in water - I mean, there are very good reasons why public pools are chlorinated.
Oh, and for a longer shower: get a low-flow shower head. Despite what some people believe, getting clean is more down to the application of soap/shampoo/body wash than the pressure of the water. Temperature helps a bit, but not enough to make it viable to discontinue soap or some form of detergent.
Still, head lice die at about 50 degrees C, so if you run your water above that you'll rarely have lice, no matter how often you come in contact with infected people.
Last edited by Ace1; 16.01.2021 at 10:36.
Reason: Removing the part copied to the other thread.
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16.01.2021, 12:07
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist
The water in the lake gets zapped by the sun's UV rays all day round, at least during the swimming season.
And then there is more of a balanced ecosystem, with other bacteria that are harmless to us digesting any bits of poo etc etc.
Also despite the kids and birds peeing in it, the overall mass of water is huge so the dilution level should be far greater.
They take our drinking water out of the lake you know ...
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28.01.2021, 14:05
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist
I have 2 powerful PCs with 1000W power supply and multiple GPUs, powerful CPUs, multiple HDs etc. My yearly electricity bill is around CHF850.
My PCs are left ON 24/7. If I switch them off at night, how much money could I potentially save on my electricity bill? Just an educated guess?
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28.01.2021, 14:15
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| | Re: Ask a Scientist | Quote: | |  | | | The water in the lake gets zapped by the sun's UV rays all day round, at least during the swimming season.
And then there is more of a balanced ecosystem, with other bacteria that are harmless to us digesting any bits of poo etc etc.
Also despite the kids and birds peeing in it, the overall mass of water is huge so the dilution level should be far greater. They take our drinking water out of the lake you know ... | | | | | Yes, and I'm quite content with that - they do filter and treat it before it gets to our taps, after all. Also, as you said, the amount of nasty bacteria would be insufficient to overcome our systems, especially with the good bacteria we have within us helping out.
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