The No Stupid Questions Thread

[Cincydawg]

Around 5000 years ago, Sumerians, who lived in ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), revolutionized how we perceive and measure time. They developed a sophisticated numerical system based on the number 60, known as the sexagesimal system. This unique system led to the division of an hour into 60 minutes and a minute into 60 seconds, concepts that are still in use today.
Sumerians' need for precise timekeeping was driven by their agricultural society. Accurate calendars were essential for planting and harvesting crops. They also needed to coordinate their complex religious ceremonies and administrative activities.
To aid their timekeeping, the Sumerians made significant advancements in astronomy. They observed the movements of celestial bodies and used this knowledge to create a lunar calendar with 12 months, which closely aligned with the agricultural seasons.
The division of the day into 24 hours, each hour into 60 minutes, and each minute into 60 seconds was a monumental achievement. These divisions were not arbitrary but were designed to be practical and easily divisible, reflecting the Sumerians' advanced understanding of mathematics.
This innovative approach to time had a profound impact on later civilizations, including the Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans, who adopted and further developed the Sumerian system. The legacy of the Sumerians' timekeeping system is evident in our modern clocks and calendars, demonstrating the enduring influence of their ingenuity on our daily lives.

[MrNubbz]

This isn't the weird history thread
If you were going to shoot a mime, would you use a silencer?

[LittlePig]

OK, I get that we are not allowed to use the internet to look up answers,   but can we use it to check our spelling? 

[MrNubbz]

Why? none of these learn-ed men notice

[LittlePig]

OK I have a stupid question.  

In baseball,  if nobody is on base,  and there are less than 2 strikes,  does a catcher need to actually sit behind the plate to catch the pitch?  

[Brutus Buckeye]

• Position
  The catcher must be behind home plate in the catcher's box. 
  
• Leaving the box
  The catcher can leave the box to make a play or catch a pitch, except when the batter is being given an intentional base on balls. 
  
• Intentional base on balls
  When the batter is given an intentional base on balls, the catcher must stay in the box with both feet until the ball is released by the pitcher. This is sometimes called a "catcher's balk", though it's not an official term. 
  
• Blocking the runner
  The catcher can't block the runner's path to the plate unless they have the ball. If the umpire thinks the catcher violated this rule, the runner can be called safe. However, blocking the runner to receive a throw is not considered a violation.

[LittlePig]

Thanks. 

Can somebody explain what is an official assist in basketball?  What counts and doesn't count as an assist? 

[Hawkinole]

Going back to the time question, there were obviously clocks before trains. It was the advent of train travel in the 1800s, at least in the United States, that evolved in us a uniform system of time, with time zones. People needed to know when to go to the train station to catch the train, or meet their loved ones.

I had no idea the Sumerians 5,000 years ago developed a system for measuring time. But, how could they measure it? Did a village time keeper count 0-60 all day, and announce the time?

[Gigem]

Going back to the time question, there were obviously clocks before trains. It was the advent of train travel in the 1800s, at least in the United States, that evolved in us a uniform system of time, with time zones. People needed to know when to go to the train station to catch the train, or meet their loved ones.

I had no idea the Sumerians 5,000 years ago developed a system for measuring time. But, how could they measure it? Did a village time keeper count 0-60 all day, and announce the time?

It was more to do with train safety is my understanding. At one time, every town kept their own time. Then when trains came along, they found themselves heading in opposite directions on the same track, often with disastrous results. In the past, it hardly mattered if one towns time was 15-20 minutes different from the next. 

A few minutes mattered when the need arose to keep trains from colliding. 

[FearlessF]

[OrangeAfroMan]

What bowl is Florida going to?

[Hawkinole]

It was more to do with train safety is my understanding. At one time, every town kept their own time. Then when trains came along, they found themselves heading in opposite directions on the same track, often with disastrous results. In the past, it hardly mattered if one towns time was 15-20 minutes different from the next.

A few minutes mattered when the need arose to keep trains from colliding.

Did they have sidetracks in the 1880s? I remember taking Amtrak when I was 16, circa 1973, Dubuque to Chicago, with my 19-year old cousin, to watch the White Sox. I just wanted to take the train because I knew the train service to Chicago would come to an end, but it took longer to end than I had thought ... I think train service ended in the early 1980s. On this ride I learned about side-tracks. We pulled over on a side-track and waited several times for freight trains to pass. Now Amtrak passenger trains get priority over freight trains, but that wasn't the case in the early days of Amtrak.
You triggered a childhood memory. I also recall dad boarding a train in East Dubuque, Illinois in the mid to late 1960s for some type of business trip to Milwaukee a time or two, before Amtrak. It was on the Milwaukee Line. I was about 10. I recall the train station luggage cart trolleys with sacks of U.S. Mail that landed at the East Dubuque train station. Bringing back a memory tonight, I wish I could ask him why he was boarding a train for Milwaukee, but he left us in 2023. Maybe mom can fill in some of that information. She just turned 90.

[Hawkinole]

What bowl is Florida going to?

Remember when FSU and Florida were great and we thought those days would never end? Umm. 

https://youtu.be/fXSyCPongjA

[FearlessF]

Remember when FSU and Florida were great and we thought those days would never end? Umm.

and Miami


the state of Florida owned college football and there was nothing anyone could do about it