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#1

Politics / Re: Duke of Bullshit: "The" Do...

Last post by Recusant - May 19, 2026, 04:57:55 PM

Trump's bogus $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS was being shot down by the judge so his personal lawyer (literally) who's running the Department of Justice decided to set up a different grift. A slush fund of $1.7+ billion of government money to pay off the "patriots" who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 and any other deserving recipients. The corruption is glorious. If it could be painted gold it would be perfect.

"Trump Goon Cornered on $1.8B Slush Fund Paying Cop Beaters" | Daily Beast

#2

Sports / Re: World Cup - 2026

Last post by zorkan - May 15, 2026, 11:51:50 AM

Qualified for the World Cup, "Cape Verde is a stable, lower-middle-income island nation with a 2025 GDP of approximately $2.8 billion."
So a solitary ticket for the final at a mere $2.3 million should be well within their reach!?

There is nothing like football fans' fury to get things done.
https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/48757359/price-world-cup-bus-new-york-reduced-fan-outcry

Or failing to get it done.
https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/48366258/italy-world-cup-woe-branded-third-apocalypse-national-papers

#3

Science / Re: Neanderthals in the News

Last post by Dark Lightning - May 15, 2026, 01:34:38 AM

It would have been an unpleasant situation, all around. I remember having a tooth extracted that I could taste the pus when I pushed on it with my tongue. Not a pleasant taste. I was 11 years old, and pretty sure I didn't even have a toothbrush. We were poor. I honestly don't know how the dentist got paid. That would have been in '63; I think that the parents signed for a second mortgage that year by candle light, because the power (and gas heat) had already been turned off.

#4

Science / Re: Neanderthals in the News

Last post by Icarus - May 15, 2026, 01:10:43 AM

The neanderthal molar  could have been drilled after removal from the jaw. If the victim knew which tooth to extract, he may have wanted to investigate the cause of the pain.  For that possibility,One must presume an investigative bent for the cave man.

It is unlikely that the poor bastard had access to anaesthesic medicine. Drilling with a stone or other tool while the tooth was in the mouth would have taken an extended period of time and involve some excruciating pain plus a lot of stone sawdust in the mouth.

#5

Science / Re: Neanderthals in the News

Last post by Recusant - May 14, 2026, 09:41:22 PM

I suspect that instances of cannibalism may have been more of a survival mechanism than a tendency toward aggressiveness. 

Agreed, but cannibalism isn't generally considered kosher by our species, questionable even in a survival situation. 

[Abstract:]

#6

Science / Re: Neanderthals in the News

Last post by Recusant - May 14, 2026, 09:38:40 PM

This is a bit amazing to me. Neanderthal dentistry?

"The Earliest Known Dentistry Wasn't Done By Our Species" | ScienceAlert

A 60,000-year-old Neanderthal tooth left behind in a cave in modern-day Russia contains a deep hole that cannot be explained by decay alone.

The tooth is a molar from the lower left jaw of a Neanderthal, an extinct relative of modern humans.

This prehistoric human had a bad tooth infection, probably for a long while.

At a time when finding food was difficult enough and pain relief was in its infancy, a toothache that prevented a person from eating could become a life-or-death matter.

Eventually, it must have become such a problem for this Neanderthal that they were willing to go to extreme measures to relieve it.

According to a team of scientists from institutes across Russia, the pained individual likely did so by performing a sort of prehistoric root canal: drilling the tooth with a sharp stone tool to remove the damaged pulp (or more likely, getting a friend to do it – gulp).

If the team is right in their interpretation, it suggests Neanderthals conducted some clever dentistry. They may have known they could salvage an infected tooth if they removed the pulp and just left the rest.

What's more, the tooth "currently represents the earliest known evidence of intentional dental intervention", the team writes in their paper. Previously, that distinction had belonged to Homo sapiens.

[Continues . . .]

The paper is open access:

"Earliest evidence for invasive mitigation of dental caries by Neanderthals" | PLOS One

Abstract:

Neanderthal medical knowledge has long attracted scholarly interest. Evidence suggests they cared for sick, injured, and elderly group members, with possible use of medicinal plants. However, it remains uncertain whether such practices reflect deliberate medical strategies or instinctive self-medication akin to that observed in non-human primates.

Here, we analyze and interpret traces of deliberate artificial manipulation of Chagyrskaya 64, a Neanderthal lower left second molar found in Chagyrskaya Cave (Altai Krai, Russia). The tooth exhibits a large human-generated concavity on the occlusal surface, created during the lifetime of the individual. Traceological and microtomographic analyses of the observed modifications, combined with experimental verification, reveal that the concavity in Chagyrskaya 64 is indicative of the earliest documented instance of caries treatment involving the drilling/rotating with a lithic perforator, ca. 59 ka [59 million years ago].

Evidence of two distinct types of manipulations requiring different tools, in addition to the drilling/rotating technique, necessitating complex finger movements, indicates that the Chagyrskaya Cave Neanderthals possessed the cognitive capacity to intuit the source of pain, comprehend the feasibility of its elimination, and deliberately select the most efficacious dental intervention. These patterns bring Neanderthal behavior closer to modern humans and differentiate that behavior from the instinctive actions of other primates.

#7

Laid Back Lounge / Re: What's on your mind today?

Last post by hermes2015 - May 13, 2026, 08:51:38 AM

Another good video.

#8

Laid Back Lounge / Re: What's on your mind today?

Last post by hermes2015 - May 13, 2026, 06:56:59 AM

#9

Laid Back Lounge / Re: What's on your mind today?

Last post by hermes2015 - May 13, 2026, 06:55:18 AM

Here is one of many good YouTube videos that explain the process:

#10

Laid Back Lounge / Re: What's on your mind today?

Last post by billy rubin - May 13, 2026, 01:07:24 AM

what is the technique for making the original sculpture? clay/plaster/wax on a mesh form? are th ematerials used together on the same form?

what would be the technique to end up with a life-size bronze figure of a human being or animal, for example?