#pop culture geology

[praxcrown5]

Geology and the World of Cars: Part 1

Ask and ye shall receive. We're gonna discuss geology, y'all!

Because there's a LOT to unpack, here, I'm gonna do it in parts, and I'll provide explanations as we go. I'll be tagging all of these posts with "WOCgeology."

One of the big things I want y'all to take away from this is that all rocks on Earth fall into one of three groups depending on how they form: Metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary.

Metamorphic rocks: Form when a rock is altered by high temperatures, and/or water, and/or high pressures without melting.

Igneous rocks: Form when rock is heated to the point of melting (becomes a liquid) and allowed to cool.

Sedimentary rocks: Form when a rock is broken down chemically or physically (weathered), and the pieces/ions move to a new place (erosion/transportation), stop moving (deposition), and solidify (cementation and/or compaction and/or crystallization--but at temperatures outside of those what would melt or metamorphose)

I'm gonna start with metamorphic because I could only find three examples: The mountains near Thomasville, GA (Cars 3), Gasket Geyser at Piston Peak National Park (Planes Fire and Rescue) and the Himalaya Mountains (Planes). There might be more, but I gotta do a re-watch of all media with my geology lenses on. If I find more, I'll add them to this post and reblog it. :)

The mountains around Thomasville were very clearly modeled after the Great Smokey Mountains, a sub-range within the broader Appalachian Mountain Range. Compare the image below of the GSM in North Carolina to the thumbnail at the top of this post.

Metamorphic rocks need high temperatures and pressures in order to form...and the geologic forces that create non-volcanic mountains are perfect for that.

These are the conditions that we're talking about:

This image above has a lot of stuff going on...but it's got some useful takeaways. First: Metamorphism occurs over a WIDE range of temperatures and pressures. Second: different T and P regimes create different types of metamorphic rock. Third: The parent rocks, themselves, have unique compositions that react to changing T and P in different ways, creating unique mineral assemblages ("facies"). Fourth: Metamorphism has limits. If rock gets too hot, it melts. If it's not hot enough or if the pressures aren't right, the parent rock won't change at all.

So...how do we change T and P?

The Earth's core is hotter than the surface. The rate at which the temperature increases with depth is called the "geothermal gradient." The deeper you go the hotter things get. Pressure, called "lithostatic pressure," also increases with depth. If molten rock or really hot water touches existing rock, the heat from either is enough to alter it (contact and hydrothermal metamorphism, respectively). Geysers, like Gasket Geyser in Piston Peak National Park, are places where hydrothermal metamorphism can occur. Fun fact: the hot water fueling geysers is generally heated by molten rock deep under ground...so it's not all that uncommon for hydrothermal and contact metamorphism to occur in the same area.

But...consider this satellite image of the Appalachian Mountains from space:

How did they get so squiggly when they're solid rock (and were solid even when they were being metamorphosed)?

The Earth's surface consists of large slabs of rock (called "plates") that are in constant motion. They are pushed and pulled by the rocks deeper down. At that depth, the rocks behave more like dense putty (tho not actually liquid) that moves up and down, heated by even hotter rock and metal deeper within the Earth. Wherever this "putty" goes the overlying rocks have no choice but to follow. The chemical composition of the plates varies from place to place, and depending on the type of rock and the way the plates interact along their boundaries, you can get everything from giant mountain ranges (like the Himalayas) to lush, volcanic islands (think Japan).

Nearly a billion years ago, various types of rocks began colliding with the eastern cost of ancient North America, resulting in a series of mountain building events that would go on to create a giant mountain range, stretching from modern Newfoundland in Canada to northern Georgia in the US. The rocks caught up in the middle of these events became warped and twisted forming metamorphic rock. They likely had a "coating" of sedimentary rock, however, once the mountain building processes stopped, water, ice, and gravity began to gnaw away at them, leaving behind their metamorphic skeletons.

You can think of the Himalayas as a newer version of the Appalachians. They're still growing as I write this, as rocks from the Indian Plate are smushed against rocks from the Eurasian Plate. Because the mountain range is so young, the "coating" of non-metamorphic rocks (sedimentary, in this case) is still present along some parts of the range, though they have been tilted and bent.

Real Himalayas

The Himalayas as depicted in "Planes."

The Planes movies landscapes are a LOT more stylized than what we see in the Cars movies. Even so, they definitely captured the look of the range, and there are even places where you can see some layered sedimentary rock (as seen from snow laying in lines along the layers), like you see in the real Himalayas!

One thing I will note, here, is that the Appalachian mountains stop well north of Thomasville, Georgia (Smokey's hometown). In Cars 3, the area around Thomasville is more reminiscent of what you'd see in Kentucky or North Carolina. One of the images below is a screencap from Cars 3, the other is an actual photo taken in Magoffin county, Kentucky; can you tell which is which?

It's clear that they definitely wanted this rural, hilly aesthetic, but official artwork from Cars 3 (the poster below is is hanging up in the Cotter Pin) puts Thomasville in GA and not in NC.

More to come in part 2. :D

Thank you for reading!

[itsyourearthtoo]

The pop-culture urge to resurrect dinosaurs.

First of all, let me clear this, DINOSAURS ARENT EXTINCT. They are right there, maybe pooping around in your lawn or the non-veg meal you recently had. You just aren't aware of it. My previous blog was all about this and you can go check that out :)

So, if dinosaurs aren't extinct, then what's the point of bringing them back to life? More so... why make movies, write stories, draw comics and blah blah blah to actually resurrect them?! And this is what this blog is all about.

Birds, which are dinosaurs don't look like the dinosaurs you actually imagine it to be. Just wonder, what's the first thing that popped up in your mind, when you read the word 'dinosaur' in the very title itself. A giant beast, ferocious eyes, long necks maybe (those sauropods) and so on. No one did think about the chickens we eat, pigeons we shoo away or those beautiful kingfishers and parrots we admire. If you did, then... I think you are already smarter than me.

This is nothing, but the result of a constant impression about dinosaurs that pop-culture has fed to you, that your mind can't imagine anything else. More apt, you just can't think other than the Jurassic Park franchise if you are a 21st century kid like me!

Now hold on, this doesn't mean I am a Jurassic Park hater or this blog got grudges against it. I love that universe as much as you but the thing is, fact is fact. And, science in the end shouldn't be to please people, but to make people aware of the things they aren't aware of.

So... with a bit of reading and literature research, I actually dug into this matter deep enough to find a reason; that actually answers my question - Why pop-culture wants to resurrect dinosaurs?

Richard Owen coined the term dinosaur in the year 1841. Note, the Theory of Evolution and The Origin of Species was published by Darwin in the year of 1859, meaning the world dug out dinosaurs technically unaware of evolution and natural selection (pretty funny to me).

This makes sense as to why it got related to reptiles in the first place. Until 1860s there was pretty much no consensus to the fact that birds are related to dinosaurs. When Archeopteryx was initially discovered somewhen around 1860 it pretty much changed the course of Dinosaur paleobiology. Trust me, society didn't believe this in the first place. It took decades for the Dinosaur Renaissance to actually begin and thanks to Robert Baker's famous book Dinosaur Heresis in the 1970s, that gave dinosaurs the justice it had long due. So its pretty much okay to say that birds are dinosaurs came into the scientific consensus much much later than it was actually discovered (unfortunately this happens with most of the discoveries in Earth Sciences as a whole). Also, I would point to the discovery of more and more feathers in fossil specimens as the point where the relation between birds and dinosaurs were eventually confirmed.

Now dinosaurs came into the pop-culture scene in the 1850s with Charles Dicken's Bleak House. Yeah, a decade before Archeopteryx was dug out and Origin of Species was published. Movies first depicted dinosaurs as pretty lovable creatures. Classic example being the animated, Gertie - The Dinosaur (by Winsor McCay) which released as a silent film in 1914.

Soon after, it didn't take long for the lovable dinosaurs to turn into horrifying beasts. DW Griffith in his 1914's Brute Force silent film depicted Dinosaurs as ferocious monsters who haunted cavemen. Also establishing the early fiction, that early humans and dinosaurs coexisted together. This, a devastating scientific hoax (sugar coated as fiction), remained for quiet some time. You might have seen the famous cartoon series - The Flintstones, yup! if you were a fan of it like me, then you relate to what I am saying.

Steven Spielberg made Jurassic Park much later. Already a lot had been done about dinosaurs in the television and big screens. He legit hired paleontologists as scientific advisors for his films, which is why many things were even scientifically correct in the Jurassic Park film series, but at the end he was a film director to appease people and deliver box-office hits. He already knew what people wanted from dinosaurs. Hardly few will remember that the film actually says that birds came from dinosaurs in the very beginning. Instead, what you remember is just them chasing humans and destroying things. Unfortunate, but that's the reality.

Even today, its hard to imagine any film, story or comic that portrays dinosaurs as birds. They are the modern day dinosaurs! You have it all around. But you aren't satisfied with it and so you need movies that bring the typical dinosaur to life with the help of special effects to satisfy your soul. So yeah, if we as common people accept the fact that birds are dinosaurs then may be resurrection of dinosaurs will reduce to a lot extent in your screens and scientifically accurate stuffs will be fed to you :)

So, this is it for this blog. To be honest, while writing this I realized that I started loving these creatures because of pop-culture only :) no matter how scientifically inaccurate it was. I mean, this does become an irony. At one side of the spectrum it is to be blamed, but on the other it did make these creatures popular isn't it? Maybe I should cover this in my next blog hehe, so stay tuned!

For the love of Earth Science :D Byeee

Oh yes!!! Do check out my previous blog

thank you.

Used Image Souce - Youtube video titled 'The Flintstones | I Dare Ya!'

[emo-eyemakeup-evildude]

Hey Astor simps do you like rocks

An Essay on the Notable Geologic Structures of Modern Hyrule

here have this

[brothermouse-skeleton]

Animorphs books be like

Page 1: I am a child soldier. My every waking moment is defined by fear and paranoia. My dreams are full of unprocessed trauma. The fate of the entire world rests on me and my friends. I failed my geography test because I do not know the difference between Equator and Ecuador. Also, I'm really hazy on the difference between geography and geology. Again, the fate of the world rests on my shoulders.

Page 13: <Now THAT is a sexy monkey>

Page 26: *The dopest animal fact you've ever heard*

Page 27: Do you know about thermals? You do? Too bad, I'm going to explain them again.

Page 36: *fart joke fart joke 90's pop culture reference barf joke*

Page 40: Rachel kills someone with her bear hands. Not a typo.

Pages 3,15,16,25,26,30,33,37,40,44,46,50,55,56,57,60: TSEEEEEEEEEEEER!

Page 47: I willed my bones to melt faster. If there was a single bone in my body in the next ten seconds, everyone I ever loved of cared about would die an excruciating death.

Page 50: Funny alien thinks he's people.

Last page: *The gang goes to Burger King to avoid thinking about their war crimes*

[shadowmaat]

Jedi Service Corps

The Legends-fueled propaganda of "bad students get sent to the Agricorp/Services" has always bothered me. First of all, forcing kids into a career not of their choosing isn't the best way to encourage them to perform well.

The Services in general seem to get a bad rap, and TBH it's kind of bizarre to assume that every kid who winds up being taken in by the Jedi wants to grow up to be a cop. LOL!

There is so much untapped potential being ignored, and even within the four pseudo-canon branches there's a lot to explore.

Agriculture. Farmers Without Borders. LOL! It isn't just about growing plants, it's about analyzing trends, understanding ecosystems, geology, climatology, politics, etc. There's mechanical engineering so you know how to fix the machines that do the hardest labor (often illegally, given corporate software locks and so forth). Probably a lot of fiddly stuff with plant genetics, too, given similar issues with seed corporations.

Being Jedi, I'm sure they're also aware of the need to include "ornamental" plants to help with the emotional welfare of hurting/devastated populations.

Education. This field must be fucking wild. Sure, you have your future creche masters and archivists, but I imagine there are those who do public outreach, too, and go to schools to teach kids about what the Jedi do beyond waving laser swords. There's probably also a need for teachers in isolated/rural areas to help with basic things like reading, writing, and maths. Ditto areas devastated by wars and natural disasters, where kids need a safe distraction from trauma. I bet Educorp and Agricorp team up more often than people might think.

There's also the sheer variety of topics. Even something basic like history will have a wide net. Galactic history, region-specific, planetary, etc. And then there's the arts. Music, singing, dance, physical media, holo media, theatre, and so much more. There will be differences between species, understanding what they need to know, how they learn best, and what their aging process is like. Teachers to cover the full range of mortal maturity, from teaching toddlers to old-timers. And don't get me started on teaching "forbidden" topics in repressive communities.

Medical. LOL. Every. Single. Species. And often subtypes between them. So many specialists needed. And again, you probably have a number that specialize in helping in disaster areas. Hello, Educorp, let's help teach these people how to best care for themselves. Maybe Agricorp can help with showing folks how to purify their air and water. There must be SO many diseases, some of which have inoculations and so that don't. And again, figuring ways to smuggle medicine and supplies to those who need it despite the extortionist rates corporations charge. Repairing faulty equipment, finding work-arounds when the parts aren't there. Triage. Using the Force to help heal is all well and good, but sometimes they still have to get hands-on.

Even with non-emergency stuff, I imagine they're still kept busy. The idea of a Jedi "country doctor" settled in some remote area sounds delightful. Communities that get "lost" in the shuffle or otherwise overlooked. Veterinary medicine as a sub-specialty.

Jedi having a special "knack" for determining what's wrong with someone, finding early warning signs before it's too late, etc. Comforting the dying. Comforting the survivors. ALL the mental health stuff and neurodivergence.

Exploration. Jedi Starfleet. LOL! It isn't all about discovering new worlds, though. Sometimes it's rediscovering planets and cultures that have been forgotten. Charting new hyperlane routes and hoping the end doesn't pop you out in the middle of a star.

I betcha you could fold so many things into this one. Botany. Archaeology. Xenoanthropology. Medicine, of course, since new worlds/people means new poisons, venoms, and diseases. New or ancient languages? It'd help to have someone around who could work on translating. Diplomats to help you talk to people. Geologists. Zoologists. A bit of everything.

Sure, there'd be room for solo missions, but I imagine there'd be bigger ships that they'd launch from. A place to come back to so the brains can pore over everything you brought back and see what they can determine from it. And big ships (or any ships really) means pilots, engineers, general crew, logistics, and all those fun things.

Anyway, I can see plenty of room for additional corps, too, but of the ones that get mentioned in Legends there's still a huge playing field.

[melusina]

while i'm on the subject of making bad takes about geology in pop culture, im. so tired of the first response everyone has when they hear i study geology being:

"haha so do you eat rocks? which rocks do geologists eat?"

... it's salt, man. you already know the answer to this. theres one answer and its salt. and you eat it every day and its normal.

its the most boring question to answer. geologists eat rocks because everyone eats rocks. because salt is a rock. it's the "so it's free, right?" when the barcode doesn't scan at the cash register of geology questions.

sure, if you want to get a little frisky with it, you can throw in how kaolin is used as a texture enhancer in ice cream and how the titanium dioxide that makes oreo cream so white derives from rutile, but the answer they're actually looking for is salt. and at that point whoever has asked you that has already stopped giving a shit, because the mental image they had of geologists shoving glittering green crystals into their mouths has already vaporized and they've realized just how boring the question they just asked really is.

you could have asked me about volcanoes or the bottom of the ocean and instead you asked me a question with the boringest answer imaginable. you learned one fact about me, which is that i study the processes that make lava explode and crystals grow, and you looked me, a human being, dead in the eyes, and asked me if i eat salt. and were disappointed when the answer was just yeah. you know what? how about next time, instead, lets both sit down in an empty room and stare at the wall together in silence until we wither away into skeletons. would that be more interesting to you?

[malcolm-reeds-pineapple]

Are you looking for a gift for your dad? Here is a gift guide for Weird Dad Genres

Brought to you by the child of a Weird Dad with low/no cost options. I’ve noticed that a lot of people with good dads they like a lot don’t know what to give their dads because all the gift guides around require a man to have a baseline level interest in sports, beer and cars for them to be usable. Disregard this post if your dad sucks or use this advice for a person you like that falls into one of these sub genres.

NPR/CBC Dads

I’m Canadian and have a CBC dad so I’m hoping there is overlap

Tickets to a live taping of their favourite radio show

Merch that supports CBC/NPR and their favourite radio show

Teaching them how to use a podcast app if they don’t know already

History Dads

MASH related literature

Civilization 6 on PC

Book/audio book about their favourite historical era, particularly on a niche topic by a professor of some variety

Researching their favourite era enough to have a meaningful conversation about it with them/being willing to listen to them talk about it

Stoner Dads

Lighters, papers, doob tubes, pipe cleaners, other disposables

Weed lol (depending on regional availability don’t get arrested buying a Christmas present lmfao)

One hitter, a nice pipe, a grinder, a tray, anything like that but shop around to find something they’d actually like.

Randy’s Black Label glassware cleaner and some vase beads!!! I cannot stress this enough!!! This combo leaves glassware SPARKLING.

Cleaning his glassware for him or degunking a grinder (do NOT empty the keef catcher or I’ll kill you myself)

Music Listener Dads

Physical copy of an album they like or one you listened to together

Needles from their turntable if they have records, or alternatively a Kallax shelf from Ikea for storage (actually the best record storage I’ve ever found)

Year subscription to Spotify

Some sort of merch for their favourite artist that goes with their vibe (ie: my dad doesn’t wear band shirts so I give him coffee mugs)

A playlist of songs you listened to together. If you wanna go crazy silly haha you could also get a record out of a dollar bin and draw a cover for it and put a QR code to the playlist inside or you could go old school and do the same thing but actually have a mixtape or burn the playlist onto a CD

Music Playing Dads

Varies a lot depending on skill-level and instrument, but I’m gonna do this as if they were a hobbyist as I’m sure there are gift guides out there for professionals

Any sort of disposable they would need (reeds, picks, strings, sticks etc) but make sure you find out what they prefer (ie pick weight) or if give them a few different options when they’re just starting out to help them figure out what they like

Larger peripherals that they might not want to buy for themselves (NOTE: don’t buy anything too expensive unless you know they want/need it. If you’re not sure, you can always wrap up an IOU in a cereal box so you can go on an adventure later with them and make a day out of it)

If they play piano you can pay for a tuning however this can be pricey and requires planning

Sheet music/tabs printed out in a binder with lyrics. You can also decorate the binder if you’re crafty like that

Nature Dads (rocks/geology)

Idk how niche this is but my dad is a rock dad

Rock tumbler and/or accessories like grit and media

A vug of some sort of crystal if you’re feeling incredibly wealthy or in the likely case that you’re not, get him a few points of a crystal or a few tumbled stones for them to add to the collection

A nice cabinet for display purposes (depends on the size of the collection of course and availability, but my dad has a vintage China cabinet for his rocks that we got at auction for like 100 bucks.)

A map with local areas of geological interest for them to check out with a little blurb about each one. Bonus points if you go on day trips with them or make the map cute if you’re skilled like that

Pop Culture/Sci Fi Dads

If they have trinkets, a display cabinet (like in the above section) is a good idea if they don’t have one

Coffee table books with behind the scenes stuff in it

If there’s a convention nearby and they’re that type of person you could get them tickets

I’ll be honest sci fi/pop culture people are pretty easy to buy for imo but my best advice is to prioritise practicality over dust collectors unless you know for sure they want something else in their collection. I’d also caution to stay away from buying Funko Pops where you can unless they collect them

General Dad Gifts and Advice

Some sort of nostalgia thing that’s personal to them. Examples: snack from their youth that they talk about a lot, a board game they played growing up that they can’t find anywhere, a book he read you growing up (I gave my dad Just Me And My Dad from the Little Critter series one year and he welled up and still maintains it’s one of the best gifts he’s ever gotten)

A good joke gift like my family have been giving each other the same copy of The Search For Spock for 14 years and it’s hilarious to us. Alternatively you can wrap up one of his own possessions and give it to him but make sure that it’s obviously his so he doesn’t think you just gave him another one.

Drill bits never go amiss if a person already owns a drill btw like drill bits are Good and Righteous Things

Always try to write an inscription in a book you’re giving as a gift with a small blurb about why you picked this book and the year and occasion.

I try to stick towards practicality and sentimentality in my gift-giving since for the most part we all have enough dust collectors. Consumables that are part of a hobby/interest are always a great option since they’re something you go through fairly regularly that can add up price wise

Never underestimate the power of a home made gift or a box of little treats. If I gave my dad his favourite peanut butter and a few cans of Fresca, he would be just as happy as if I bought him a brand new stereo. As dumb as it sounds, it really is the thought you put into a gift that counts, even if they’re little coupons someone can cash in for an afternoon of manual labour.

Even if you’re broke, try to give what you can. Thrifted gifts and homemade gifts are just as valuable as brand new gifts if the person you’re giving it to is worth giving a present.

Also while we’re on the topic, don’t give gifts to anyone who doesn’t appreciate you as a person like if you’re dad’s not good to you then either don’t give him shit or give him 20 bucks if you feel like it

Please feel free to add onto this if you have advice for gifting to a niche sub genre of dad/person.

[silverybees]

Sherlock's limits (Sherlock & Co)

John Watson's Twitter thread doing the classic list of Holmes' attributes, pretty much straight from canon:

Combined into one text below:

His limits:

1. Knowledge of Literature - nil 2. Knowledge of Philosophy - nil 3. Knowledge of Astronomy - nil 4. Knowledge of Politics - nil 5. Botany... Knows loads of stuff. But practical gardening knowledge... nil. 6. Knowledge of Pop culture - beyond nil. 7. Knowledge of Geology - practical. Into soil for some reason. 8. Knowledge of Chemistry - profound. 9. Knowledge of anatomy - Accurate, but unsystematic. 10. Knowledge of crime - Immense. 11. Plays the violin well (if he wants) 12. Can box and use a sword. 13. Good knowledge of British law. This is my flatmate. Sherlock Holmes.

Here's the list from the canon, A Study in Scarlet, to be precise:

I enumerated in my own mind all the various points upon which he had shown me that he was exceptionally well informed. I even took a pencil and jotted them down. I could not help smiling at the document when I had completed it. It ran in this way:

Sherlock Holmes–his limits

Knowledge of Literature.–Nil.

Philosophy.–Nil.

Astronomy.–Nil.

Politics.–Feeble.

Botany.–Variable. Well up in belladonna, opium, and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening.

Knowledge of Geology.–Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them.

Knowledge of Chemistry.–Profound

Anatomy.–Accurate, but unsystematic.

Sensational Literature.–Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century.

Plays the violin well.

Is an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman.

Has a good practical knowledge of British law.

[c-h-pictures]

Genshin Characters Pub Quiz Capabilities: Team 5ggrevate

Team Swirl (Faruzan, Dehya, Dunyarzad, Nilou, Hat Guy)

Basing on the standard pub quiz for ease

Round 1: General knowlege/trivia

Round 2: Science

Round 3: Photo round

Round 4: Sport

Round 5: Maths (Optional)

Round 6: Pop culture

Tighnari

Round 1: 4-6/10

The general knowledge required for being a forest ranger is very different to that of someone living in the city.

Round 2: 6-8/10

Score varies on how many biology questions pop up. He can get about half of the chemistry and alchemy, struggles with physics or geology.

Round 3: 5-6/10

He recognises plants, fungi and animals easily, can often figure out rural locations based on the plants. He struggles more with urban locations. Rarely recognises celebrities.

Round 4: 1-2/10

Maybe he heard about things from the other forest rangers, but he probably forgot it by the time it came to the quiz. Unless its archery related. He knows everytihng that happens in the archery world. But that very rarely comes up.

Round 5: 6-7/10

Can do most pure maths, can work his way through applied maths but takes some time. Often catches his mistakes.

Round 6: 3-8/10

Some things don't spread to Ghandharva Ville, so it's very dependable on how much he was in the city recently.

Overall score: 25-37/60

Haitham

Round 1: 7-8/10

He picks up a lot of random facts during work and reading which he remembers.

Round 2: 4-5/10

Has a standard level of knowledge for all sciences, but nothing too in depth.

Round 3: 6-7/10

Recognises most locations and can usually get half the animals. Struggles with plants, may struggle with rural locations outside of Sumeru.

Round 4: 2-3/10

He hears discussions about athletes in the House of Daena, but he doesn't know enough to match their names to the sport.

Round 5: 4-6/10

Can do pure easily, doesn't really know equations for applied. Often catches his mistakes.

Round 6: 6-7/10

Picks up on a lot from people chatting in the Akademiya.

Overall score: 29-36/60

Cyno

Round 1: 5-7/10

Similar to Tighnari, in that his general knowledge is rather different to those from the city, but he's there more often.

Round 2: 7-9/10

High knowledge of chemistry, alchemy and geology, decent at biology because of Tighnari.

Round 3: 6-8/10

Recognises most locations and buildings, a good amount of animals, some plants.

Round 4: 4-6/10

Has some conversations with colleagues and keeps up to date on some sports when he's in the city for longer periods.

Round 5: 6-8/10

Find pure easy, can get through some applied questions. May miss some mistakes.

Round 6: 6-8/10

Picks up on most things through work, score depends on which area of Sumeru the questions focus on and which area he's been in more.

Overall score: 34-46/60

Sethos

Round 1: 2-4/10

His random knowledge of specific facts largely applies to things no one in the city would ever know, unfortunately for his quiz score.

Round 2: 5-7/10

Has a similar level of knowledge of all sciences, but not of a very high level.

Round 3: 7-9/10

Recognises most locations and buildings, recognises desert animals and plants, recognises some people.

Round 4: 3-8/10

Depends entirely on what he's heard in the city recently.

Round 5: 4-7/10

Can do pure and some applied, but may miss mistakes.

Round 6: 4-5/10

Largely limited to news in the desert.

Overall score: 25-40/60

Kaveh

Round 1: 7-8/10

On his own, he knows less random facts than Haitham, but he then learns more from Haitham.

Round 2: 6-8/10

Standard knowledge of each main science, but more in depth for physics and engineering.

Round 3: 4-6/10

Recognises most people and buildings, some rural locations and animals, occasional plants.

Round 4: 2-3/10

Occasionally picks up knowledge from clients.

Round 5: 10/10

Well versed in pure and applied maths, triple checks working.

Round 6: 5-7/10

Keeps up pretty well through chatting with clients and friends throughout the day.

Overall score: 34-42/60

[hannahbarberra162]

Hiiii! Just appearing here to vent after spending the whole day being treated like an animal (it's not hypothetical, not a force of expression, I mean literally), and to point after that experience that your Readers didn't suffer enough AT ALL - I'm not dramatic - and that I understand them (within the acceptable, right?!). Sometimes you're in a really shitty situation, and you realize that, but you start to fluctuate between fear of getting out and regretting it and the curiosity about what's going to happen next.

P.S: To be clear, I'm doing great, this was just the result of a very strange and dubious freshman college culture!

P.S.S: And I wasn't so literally treated like an animal, but closer than far! Kinda crazy

Uhhhh @luarsunnynny, are you OK? What kind of college are you going to??? Blink twice if you need Luffy to save you. I’m a while from college but I’m here if you need to chat. In your honor, a college Marco / birding blorbo. Marco is whatever age you want him to be lol, doesn’t have to be a lot older.

Brief - AU College, Marco x F!Reader

You’d signed up for the ornithology outpost course as an effort to get the last four science credits you needed. It was perfect - you loved being outdoors and it was in the mountains. You’d always wanted to go but hadn’t had the time while you were studying for your degree. You’d be able to pay for it like it was school but it would function more like an extended camping trip. None of your friends were going - they all had jobs or internships over the summer. There wasn’t any reception where you were going, you’d all agreed to write letters to one another.

You’d tried signing up for the geology course but it had filled too quickly. Your second choice was marine biology, but you’d missed that one too. So you signed up for ornithology, which had quite a few available spots. You’d heard a lot about the course from others in the department - the course was rigorous and challenging but not impossible. You’d also heard that the instructor was old but fair. In his prime, he’d been the holder of the Big Year title for multiple years in a row. 

You packed up your things, making sure you had everything on the list. The day arrived when you were to meet the class at the bus taking you to the camp site. You stood at the designated area, twiddling awkwardly with the straps to your bag. A very handsome guy about your age with no shirt came up to you, cowboy hat on his head. 

“Is this the spot for the bird class?” He had a much lighter pack than you - did he remember to bring anything?

“Oh, uh, yeah. This is it. Are you in the class?” You inwardly cringed. Of course he was in the class, that’s why he was asking.

“Yeah, yeah. Couldn’t get into the entomology class, so I picked birds. Kinda similar.” He smiled at you. They were not at all similar, but you nodded anyway. He continued talking to you. “Did you hear that the instructor semi retired over the summer? Apparently his son is teaching the class this summer when we’re in the field and he’s teaching the classroom lessons. Hope he’s easier than the Pops.” You hadn’t heard anything but you hoped he was good too. The guy extended his hand. “I’m Ace,” he said. You saw a tattoo on his arm bearing the same information. 

“Nice to meet you, Ace. I think we’ll be spending a lot of time together this summer,” you said, cringing again. A few more students showed up, the group nearly completed. The door to the bus opened and a very tall and very good looking man got off holding a coffee mug. He looked quite chilled, like he was a counselor for a summer camp instead of a professor. He smiled at the group, and adjusted his glasses. 

“I’m Marco Newgate, the field instructor for the ornithology course. Hope everyone’s in the right place yoi. We’ll be leaving in a few moments, put your bags on the luggage racks please.” He turned and went back on the bus, sitting and drinking his coffee with his legs crossed.

Newgate? Like the shipping magnate Newgate? You’d signed up for the summer course, but you’d end up with a summer crush if you spent enough time with Marco. He was exactly your type, but obviously these were just silly thoughts. He was your professor. Your hot, knowledgeable, ornithology professor. And nothing more.

[cosmica-galaxy]

Really weird AU idea i have.

I've been consuming a bunch of HFY + humans are space content on Reddit lately, specifically the humans bonding with their robot/AI creations to the point they became sentient. Also noticing the scrap ton of similarities Cybertron have with Earth's culture in TFA...and my mind just pop into a new AU idea, where humans already achieve FTL travel and now they're just going crazy with creating new things. And created cybertronians. (They weren't suppose to be sentient at first, but by the power of pack bonding they broke the codes and gain consciousness)...i ran out of ideas from here- but it call the 'Organic Creators' or 'Human Heritage' AU. Basically humans are cybertronians' creators.

Is this stupid? Yes.

Do i hate myself? Double yes

Am i gonna regret this later on? Triple yes.

Will i stop myself from sending this ask? No.

You know, I had a similar idea but in reverse.

Once upon a time I imagined an AU where humans were created to serve cybertronians in an alternate timeline where the Golden Age never ended and Cybertron flourished.

I imagined that humans were developed by Shockwave to be helpers and workers, and put to work on Cybertron doing most of the typical things that all humans can do. Mainly labor, transportation, and working 24/7 by utilizing shifts and such. Most of the dangerous work was still handled by Cybertronians. Though, humanity lacks autonomy. They can't speak/write/read, think critically, dream, and their wills are suppressed into a serving role to the Cybertronians. They usually follow orders directly from their overseers with no conscious. However...one human begins to get smart (either by universal consistences or by the will of nature itself) and starts to learn from the cybertronians, but pretends to be just as mindless as their dutiful humans. They blend in, but things start to happen around the place they serve in that Cybertronians can't necessarily explain and the smart human manages to evade suspicion for a long while, even while under the surveillance of Shockwave. I cleverly decided to call this idea the "Genuine Intelligence" AU. It was mostly inspired from how in one continuity, a younger Shockwave decided to impregnate some asteroids with experimental ores he made. One of these ores was dubbed "Ore 13" and was planted on an asteroid that eventually evolved into Earth. In fact, the ore was so catastrophic that whatever evolved there could've been LETHAL TO TRANSFORMERS. I quote the wiki:

"Ten thousand years ago, Shockwave arrived on the thirteenth world, prehistoric Earth, where the "Ore-13" brought by his rocket had successfully reacted with the local geology to the extent that the planet threatened to become so rich in Energon that its environment could become lethal to Transformers. Shockwave created global dampers that he then injected into the planetary crust to regulate the reaction, allowing the ore to safely develop into Ultra-Energon in the present day." Who's to say that Shockwave's experiments could've accidentally created humanity...or even created the unintentional progenitor of Cybertronians? I always had a hunch that humans and Cybertronians were mirrors of one another and that in some possible continuities, humans and cybertronians are SO similar...that they may even be related to one another. In essence to your AU, I like think that your idea isn't even that far-fetched in the Transformers lore nor in the realm of possibilities that could potentially happen in the transformer universe. It is odd that two species that evolved apart from one another with extremely different backgrounds would be so similar to each other. I would say there is a connection there...wouldn't you agree?

[ziphos123]

Movies that no one my age has seen but exist as references and pastiches in other media like fossils in the geology of pop culture

[tohrinha]

Mineral Cup Round 1: Perovskite vs Copper

An old favorite goes up against our first elemental mineral of the year!

https://www.mineralcup.org/2024/vote/r1m03

PEROVSKITE

This previous finalist is rare in pop culture but a heavyweight in geology (and not just because it makes up Earth's deepest mantle).

Name: After some guy.

Bling: Delightfully cubic!

Uses: Members of the perovskite family can make very efficient, flexible solar panels.

Team Lick? Some are toxic, and classic perovskite (calcium titanate) powder can cause skin and respiratory irritation. I'd hold off.

Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0

Kttimliu. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

COPPER

One of the only non-silver metals, copper boasts a long and storied history with humanity.

Name: After Cyprus, the Romans' principal source of copper.

Bling: From unique red-orange sheen to distinctive green oxidation, elemental copper shines aesthetically! And if you like the appearance of competitor turquoise, you have copper to thank.

Uses: We've been using copper for at least 10,000 years! Nowadays we use copper in electronics, buildings, and many useful alloys and salts.

Team Lick! Not only safe to lick with a delicious bloody taste, humans need copper as a trace mineral in our diet.

James St. John. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

R. Henrik Nilsson. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

[rjzimmerman]

This word was rejected by geologists. But it’s already taken over the world. (Washington Post)

What do you call the current time period — when we humans are warming the atmosphere, acidifying the oceans, altering the land and leaving a literal mark on the planet? Not the Anthropocene, according to geologists who rejected the idea of adding a new epoch to Earth’s official geological timeline.

Yet for many activists, artists and academics outside of geology, the Anthropocene, or “Age of Humans,” is here to stay, regardless of what rock specialists have to say.

Earlier this year, a panel of geologists rejected a proposal to officially designate the past seven decades, during which humans profoundly impacted the environment, as the new chapter in the planet’s history.

But as these scientists spent years debating, the term became widely adopted outside geology to encapsulate the angst around environmental degradation — popping up in book titles, music albums and art exhibitions.

For the term’s proponents, the idea that humanity has pushed the Earth into a new geological epoch should serve as a wake-up call. “It’s only been 70 years,” said Francine McCarthy, a professor of earth science at Brock University in Ontario, referring to the start of the new proposed epoch. “We don’t have another 70 years to wait.”

The name’s persistence speaks to a need for a cultural shorthand for referring to the big, complex ecological changes that are defining the present era, advocates say — something akin to terms like the Cold War or the Internet Age that came before it. Even if geologists say they cannot pinpoint its exact start, it is obvious to many who continue to use the term that the Anthropocene has begun.

“I always thought that this geological discussion was perhaps too soon,” said ecologist Inês Martins, whose employer — the Leverhulme Center for Anthropocene Biodiversity at the University of York — has embraced the term. “But the reality is it is a very useful concept to use to identify an era where humans have increased their impacts.”

The term burst into public consciousness in 2000, when the Nobel Prize-winning chemist Paul Crutzen suggested the global effect of human activities was so profound that Earth was no longer in the Holocene, the current geological epoch.

[burning-sol]

if there were a jrwi pc trivia night that would be SO fun. so many of the pcs are so stupid silly.

team apotheosis has thanatos who knows all abt religion obv, rumi is very well spoken and has some general knowledge, meanwhile peter and exandroth are the autism POWERHOUSE sweeping answers on geology, ropes, insects, phobias, etc. they struggle mostly with general knowledge but make up for it in other ways.

team prime defenders isss well they do not know much. BUT they have pretty good deduction skills so they can bring in quite a few points with careful guesswork. but yeah ashe and william are the big players here, with vyncent and dakota helping out from time to time.

team riptide has a lot of worldly knowledge ans obviously a LOT of knowledge on boats. theyve been getting exposed to lots of different people and places so they know bits and pieces. theyre alao really good with etymology and languages in general!!!! also GOOBLECK!!

team bitb is a bunch of 30 y/os so you can guess what sort of knowledge they got. a lot of generational know how stuff about what was pop culture when they were younger. music? music. and rolan was a lawyer so you know he has all that knowledge. actually theyd probably be pretty good at school questions. "rmemeber how to do this equation from school?" they wish they didnt

i have NO clue who would win tbh. like they all got their strengths and flaws so it just depends on what questions they get asked. its also tricky because they dont come from the same universe so only certain things cross over? but im very entertained by this idea and all the pcs huddling up at their tables trying to figure out WHAT is the answer.

[melaniesprincess]

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to

About me

Mel/Mitchie/Bea | Minor, under 18 | Writer and artist | Queer Arospec Ace Nonbinary Lesbian | Lipstick-lesbian, Glamor-dyke, Bambi-lesbian | They/them | Autism and ADHD

My interests

Melanie Martinez, J-POP, princesscore, kidcore, Demon Slayer, geology, lolita fashion, Steven Universe, The Owl House, Gravity Falls, LiSA (Risa Oribe), Abbey Glover

FUCK OFF, GO AWAY‼️

Proshitters/MAP's (pedophiles) pro-ed blogs/edtwit, antivax/mask | ableist | ageplay freaks, kink blogs, NSFW blogs | prolife (pro-forced-birth) | anti-blm | incel/racist/sexist/misogynist/misandrist | right-wing pricks | cancel culture/discourse weirdos, fascists, cop bootlickers | noncon weirdos |

TERF/transmed/radfem/xenophobic/neophobic/queerphobic | general exclusionists | neo-nazi | anti-furry, anti-age regression | Omori likers

KILL ALL COPS, COPS ARE PIGS, ERADICATE THE GOVERNMENT NOT TRANS KIDS

🩷 Listen to Melanie Martinez's album Crybaby 🩷