Capitalism is a funnel -> those with capital extract additional capital from those without. I say this as a small business owner, just barely turning towards “winning” the game if capitalism after decades on the other side. It’s a resource snowball, and only a few can win.

Ideally, there is regulation, scaling taxes and redistribution. That part seems more broken the further along you get.

Oooh, parasitic to mushrooms. Very cool.

What is the last thing?

This is a real phenomenon. Men are more attractive when they’re already in a relationship.

There are similar psychological effects that exist elsewhere. A job applicant is more attractive if they currently have a job. A scholarship application is more attractive if you list your existing scholarships. The effect is basically: someone else found you desirable, and therefore I must also.

The effect is so strong that it encourages people to fake it to gain the benefits.

I tried to get out of my bed today, but I am a fossil.

Remove LEGO from this headline and it’s super mundane.

$1400 is what – a single Millennium Falcon set?

Hey, AI can’t get them right, why should we? ;)

Carrot cake is hard to light.

Yes

TIL.

13, probably (rescue, hard to know for sure, but we’ve had her for like 8)

Gary the snail

I’m in this comment and I don’t know why

Cat choose their pets wisely

Flooding the zone

It’s statistically improbable, but possible Almost all minerals you’ll find in the wild are bog standard ones.

Tangent about slate, shale, and clay. One of the diagnostic properties is “grain size”. To determine if soil is clay or silt sized particles, one of the common tests is: rub it on a tooth – if it feels smooth, the particles are clay sized. Slate and shale are clay minerals, and will feel smooth on a tooth if rubbed in the direction of the grain. If it doesn’t feel smooth, then it’s a siltstone or similar.

Generally speaking, you usually have an idea of what it is before you lick it.

But any minerals mercury would be usually be a no go. Here’s a fun one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calomel since we’re talking about chlorides ;)

Having to enter/exit through the chimney seems a choice. Is this their primary exit?

No. Potassium chloride is more bitter.

Source: am geoscientist. Licking rocks is one of our university trained skills. I kid not.

Tangent: we printed these t-shirts in undergrad that said “You know you’re a geologist when you can say with a straight face: have you tried licking it?”

Yep.