The Daily Drift

Welcome to Today's Edition of  
Carolina Naturally

Today also happens to be Imbolc ...!
 

Carolina Naturally is read in 210 countries around the world daily.   

   
Oh, no, not again ... !

Today is - Ground Hog Day

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Today in History

962		Otto I invades Italy and is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
1032		Conrad II claims the throne of France.
1494		Columbus begins the practice of using Indians as slaves.
1571		All eight members of a Jesuit mission in Virginia are murdered by Indians who pretended to be their friends.
1626		Charles I is crowned King of England. Fierce internal struggles between the monarchy and Parliament characterized 17th century English politics.
1848		The Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo formally ends the Mexican War.
1865		Confederate raider William Quantrill and his bushwackers rob citizens, burn a railroad depot and steal horses from Midway, Kentucky.
1870		The press agencies Havas, Reuter and Wolff sign an agreement whereby between them they can cover the whole world.
1876		The National Baseball League is founded with eight teams.
1900		Six cities, Boston, Detroit, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Chicago and St. Louis agree to form baseball‘s American League.
1901		Mexican government troops are badly beaten by Yaqui Indians.
1916		U.S. Senate votes independence for Philippines, effective in 1921.
1921		Airmail service opens between New York and San Francisco. Airmail’s First Day.
1934		Alfred Rosenberg is made philosophical chief of the Nazi Party.
1939		Hungary breaks relations with the Soviet Union.
1943		Last of the German strongholds at Stalingrad surrender to the Red Army.
1944		The Germans stop an Allied attack at Anzio, Italy.
1945		Some 1,200 Royal Air Force planes blast Wiesbaden and Karlsruhe.
1948		The United States and Italy sign a pact of friendship, commerce and navigation.
1959		Arlington and Norfolk, Va., peacefully desegregate public schools.
1960		The U.S. Senate approves 23rd Amendment calling for a ban on the poll tax.
1972		The Winter Olympics begin in Sapporo, Japan.
1978		U.S. Jewish leaders bar a meeting with Egypt’s Anwar Sadat.
1987		Largest steel strike in American history, in progress since August, ends.

State Fact

When you see a list of trivia about the states, you are sure to hear about the most famous facts; you know, the ones you've heard so many times. Wendover productions has some facts about all the 50 states, but these are not the facts you've heard before.

(YouTube link)

The geographic oddities in this video are mind-boggling. El Paso is closer to Los Angeles than it is to Houston. Maine is the closest state to Africa. Mind blown.

Why Is There Confetti In So Many Taser Guns?

Getting zapped by a taser gun ain't no party, it ain't no disco, it ain't no foolin' around, but for some reason it looks like a party every time a taser is fired- because the cartridge is full of confetti.So what is the point of all that colorful confetti packed inside the cartridge?
They're actually part of the AFID (anti-felon identification) system, and each one is printed with the taser gun's serial number, so the owner of the taser that has been fired can be identified.

There are dozens of AFID tags in each cartridge, which makes it virtually impossible for the firer (taserer?) to clean them all up from the scene and therefore discourages use of the weapon in a crime.
The Slow Mo Guys talked briefly about taser confetti in this video (around 1:25), which also shows what a taser impact on bare skin looks like.
It's definitely not a party, and definitely not for the squeamish.

(YouTube Link)

Preliminary Findings of Twin Astronaut Study

Mark and Scott Kelly are identical twins who were both selected for NASA's astronaut program. They are the only siblings ever to both fly in space. Mark Kelly flew the space shuttle for ten years, then retired in order to take care of his wife. Scott Kelly spent an entire year in space aboard the ISS. Now NASA is studying the differences between the two after Scott's year in space, and the early results are intriguing.

As identical twins, the brothers are genetically very similar. However, researchers found that while he was in orbit, Scott’s telomeres—the caps on the ends of chromosomes—grew longer than his twin brother’s. Though Scott’s telomeres returned to their pre-flight lengths shortly after he returned to Earth, these results were totally unexpected, since telomeres naturally shrink over the course of one’s life, and the stresses of spaceflight are supposed to accelerate this. At least that was the idea.

“That is exactly the opposite of what we thought,” Susan Bailey, a radiation biologist at Colorado State University, told Nature.

That's not the only genetic difference they found in the twins. Read more about the study at Gizmodo.

Transgender Boy Scouts

Boy Scouts of America to begin accepting transgender boys

***

The picture above is just for illustrative purposes so all you whiners put there, get a life.

Employers reject older job seekers to protect ‘image'

Federal court may decide if employers can reject older job seekers to protect ‘image'

NAZI Police Infiltration

FBI afraid to share information with local police because white supremacists have infiltrated departments

The Intercept notes that the FBI has “been reluctant to publicly address that threat or to point out the movement’s longstanding strategy of infiltrating the law enforcement community.”

Councilman Sworn in Holding Captain American Shield

San Jose, California, has a new superhero city council member. Lan Diep is a wingnut legal aid attorney, a comic book nerd, and as of Tuesday when he was sworn in, a member of the city council. Diep displayed both his patriotism and his nerd cred by holding his cosplay Captain America shield while taking the oath of office.

(YouTube link)

In an interview after the meeting, the proud comic book geek and Houston-born son of Vietnamese refugees said that Captain America stands for the "kinds of things I strive for: equal justice, fair play and democracy."
Diep won a council seat on his second try, after losing in 2015, though the 2016 vote is still being contested. He's been recognized by presidents Barack Obama and George H. W. Bush, after moving to Mississippi to help people affected by the BP oil spill.

Read more about Diep at NBC.

Shut It Down

In 1971 the People Didn't Just March on Washington—They Shut It Down

It's A Fact! Scientists Make The Best Protesters

The "March for Science" is on!

Dumbass Trump's First Military Raid Was a Massacre of Civilians

Dumbass Trump's First Military Raid Was a Massacre of Civilians, Including an 8-Year-Old Girl

Oh, and by the way the young girl killed was an American citizen.

White Nationalists Are Positively Overjoyed with Dumbass Trump's Muslim Ban

White Nationalists Are Positively Overjoyed with Dumbass Trump's Muslim Ban

David Duke can barely contain himself.

CNN producer detained at Atlanta airport will challenge Dumbass Trump travel ban under two federal laws

CNN producer detained at Atlanta airport will challenge Dumbass Trump travel ban under two federal laws

CNN editor and producer Mohammed Tawfeeq was detained at the Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport Sunday and he's suing.

Holocaust Denial And Religious Persecution, Courtesy Of The Dumbass Trump White House

They just cannot understand.

Scathing Letter From Canada’s Prime Minister Made Fox 'News' FINALLY Correct Fake Story

It Took A Scathing Letter From Canada’s Prime Minister To Make Fox 'News' FINALLY Correct Fake Story

Justin Trudeau was not about to let Fox get away with using his nation’s tragedy to advance their bigoted agenda.

‘Fox & Friends’ segment explains how to apologize to wingnuts to unite America

‘Fox & Friends’ segment explains how to apologize to wingnuts to unite America

As usual they have it backward. It is the wingnuts who should be apologizing - not only to the rest of the US but to the entire world.

Maya collapse at Ceibal

Maya collapse at Ceibal occurred in waves of warfare, political instability

Did You Know ...

The inventor of the brassiere had a dog named after a part of the female anatomy.
Caresse Crosby, born Mary Phelps Jacob, was the first recipient of a patent for a modern brassiere, in 1914. She had a dog named Clytoris.

Animal Pictures