I didn't know that

Rilot · 13 Jun 2018 at 11:42

When watching Last Week Tonight with John Oliver I learned that it's illegal in the UK to use footage of parliament for any kind of satire or comedy. I was quite surprised by this and so fact checked it: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jul/31/jon-stewart-parliament-broadcast-satire

Fascinating if a little silly if you ask me.

So, what thing have you learned recently that was surprising?

VincentHanna · 13 Jun 2018 at 11:47

My friend also mentioned this recently. I think I did know it as I'm sure Charlie Brooker might have mentioned it on a weekly or yearly wipe once.

pooley · 13 Jun 2018 at 12:40

Now why does this not surprise me, pathetic!

jsmoke · 13 Jun 2018 at 12:48

I learned that you produce hydrogen cyanide when crushing fruit seeds, especially apricots. I probably should have known something like that already.

Raymond Lin · 13 Jun 2018 at 13:11

In Taiwan it is normal to have strippers at funerals.

Caracus2k · 13 Jun 2018 at 13:56

Raymond Lin said:
In Taiwan it is normal to have strippers at funerals.

? I thought this most be a wind up.... But apparently not

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-22/funeral-strippers-a-decades-old-practice-in-taiwan/9473122

It's also quite ridiculous to have any law on the books restricting satire of the ruling classes like this.....

Although it only appears to affect the main broadcasters?

TacticalFish · 13 Jun 2018 at 14:00

Raymond Lin said:
In Taiwan it is normal to have strippers at funerals.

There might be more than one case of rigor mortis then...

Googled as I wasn't 100% sure on spelling, stumbled upon this below:
Stiffness of a cadaver. The following are crude approximations of the time of death, based on temperature and presence/absence of rigor
warm and flaccid < 3 hours
warm and stiff 3-8 hours
cold and stiff 8-36 hours
cold and flaccid > 36 hours

^^ well, I didn't know that!

Orionaut · 13 Jun 2018 at 14:13

Caracus2k said:
?
It's also quite ridiculous to have any law on the books restricting satire of the ruling classes like this.....

To be fair, this isn't about protecting the ruling classes from satire, It is about protecting the institution of Parliament.

You can satire the ruling classes as much as you like in any other context as long as it isnt actually defamatory etc(Not the nine o'clock news anybody)

You just can't use actual footage of parliamentary proceedings to do so. and that's fair enough. Its not so different from contempt of court if you think about it. Even if one day we were allowed to televise court cases I doubt very much that you would ever be allowed to use the footage obtained to make fun of them.

Caracus2k · 13 Jun 2018 at 14:15

Orionaut said:
To be fair, this isn't about protecting the ruling classes from satire, It is about protecting the institution of Parliament.

You can satire the ruling classes as much as you like in any other context as long as it isnt actually defamatory etc(Not the nine o'clock news anybody)

You just can't use actual footage of parliamentary proceedings to do so. and that's fair enough. Its not so different from contempt of court if you think about it. Even if one day we were allowed to televise court cases I doubt very much that you would ever be allowed to use the footage obtained to make fun of them.

Reasonable point to a degree.... I do find the officials in a criminal court to tend to act with more decorum then politicians and there is a total ban on using video equipment in criminal courts.

ttaskmaster · 13 Jun 2018 at 14:19

TacticalFish said:
^^ well, I didn't know that!

Is it not now common knowledge after so many episodes and spin-offs of NCISCSI: Miami-New York-Nevada-Las Vegas-Delaware-Internet-Holland-Stornoway-Stoneybridge?

TacticalFish · 13 Jun 2018 at 15:38

ttaskmaster said:
Is it not now common knowledge after so many episodes and spin-offs of NCISCSI: Miami-New York-Nevada-Las Vegas-Delaware-Internet-Holland-Stornoway-Stoneybridge?

Can't say I've ever watched an episode of any of them!

Roar87 · 13 Jun 2018 at 15:47

Seems reasonable, we don't want to discourage people becoming MPs by letting them be ridiculed publicly on national TV for comedy

something daft already!! · 13 Jun 2018 at 16:04

Did you know there are more cells of bacteria in your body than human cells?

Did you know that if an elephant could jump, pound for pound, the same as a flea, they would avoid a lot of trouble?

Skorpion · 13 Jun 2018 at 16:09

Did you know that the beak of a pelican can hold more than its belly can !

Orionaut · 13 Jun 2018 at 16:15

something daft already!! said:
Did you know there are more cells of bacteria in your body than human cells?

I believe the figure is actually quite staggering, Like some 90% of the cells in your body are not actually yours...

(Which is why the Immune sytem is clearly far more sophisticated than simply killing the cells that are not yours... I have always been interested in the "Danger Theory" https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1586/eci.12.21)

Feef · 13 Jun 2018 at 16:26

Caracus2k said:
? I thought this most be a wind up.... But apparently not

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-22/funeral-strippers-a-decades-old-practice-in-taiwan/9473122

From the above link: "they've tried to limit it taking place in the middle of the larger urban centres"

They haven't tried very hard, I still see them all the time

Very bizarre sight.

dl8860 · 13 Jun 2018 at 16:28

I learnt the other way it's apparently illegal to park on the road overnight with your car facing into the direction of traffic. Probably hundreds of thousands of cars contravening this every single night in the UK.

terley · 13 Jun 2018 at 16:34

There is no freedom of speech in the UK, just some veiled bastardised version of it.

-UnderClocker- · 13 Jun 2018 at 16:37

I found out recently that you can drink lava!

But only once..

ttaskmaster · 13 Jun 2018 at 16:38

TacticalFish said:
Can't say I've ever watched an episode of any of them!

Neither have I, really, but I'm told that sometime people talk to each other and pass on things they've learned.

..... oh, wait, I lie. I've seen bits of a few episodes, of the one with the guy that played Pat Garrett in Young Guns 2......

dl8860 said:
I learnt the other way it's apparently illegal to park on the road overnight with your car facing into the direction of traffic. Probably hundreds of thousands of cars contravening this every single night in the UK.

Depends whether it's a recognised (but not necessarily designated) parking space - So both sides of a terraced street in the lengths without yellow lines would be recognised as such... especially if there are signs up with notices about parking permits.
http://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/parking-at-night.html