Conversations: Limbo and Poseidon

Sappho
Consider the recent deliberations of the Roman Catholic Church on the doctrine of limbo. Thirty top theologians from around the world recently met at the Vatican to discuss the question of what happens to babies who die without having undergone the sacred rite of baptism.

Galene
What is the doctrine of limbo exactly?

Helena
Since the Middle Ages, Catholics have believed that such babies go to a state of limbo, where they enjoy what St. Thomas Aquinas termed “natural happiness” forever. This was in contrast to the opinion of St. Augustine, who believed that these unlucky infant souls would spend eternity in hell.

Tongue-rolling Myth?

“Tongue-rolling is genetic.”

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Ruling:
Mostly false. Not enough data, and probably a generalisation of the term ‘genetic’.

Analysis:
A famous 1940 paper claimed tongue rolling was at least partially genetic. Another famous 1975 paper refuted this. Currently, there is not enough data to come to a solid conclusion, but most of the evidence points out that this trait arises from specific environmental influences that affect the individual.

See other: Mythconceptions?

On Disinclination to Learn

“Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.”

– Douglas Adams

12/v mmxvi

A one-year-old baby is 30% fat.

The Latin for New Netherland was Novum Belgium; its seal depicted a giant beaver.

Lionesses will sometimes have sex 50 times a day, although each session only lasts 10 seconds. About 8% of all lion sex is gay.

When temperatures drop below 55 degrees centigrade, exhaled breath freezes immediately. Siberians call this phenomenon the ‘whisper of the stars’.

Peter Viggers, Conservative MP for Gosport, claimed over £30,000 of taxpayer’s money as gardening expenses. He built a £1,645 ‘Duck Palace’.

See other: Quite Interesting Facts

On Stepping on Caterpillars

“Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar.”

– Bradley Miller

On Teaching Twelve-year-olds

“If one cannot state a matter clearly enough so that even an intelligent twelve-year-old can understand it, one should remain within the cloistered walls of the university and laboratory until one gets a better grasp of one’s subject matter.”

– Margaret Mead

On Irreverence

“It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it.”

– Jacob Bronowski

On Walking and Talking

“We spend the first twelve months of our children’s lives teaching them to walk and talk and the next twelve telling them to sit down and shut up.”

– Phyllis Diller