2020 New Random Pics

[masraum]

Originally Posted by mrbeverlyhills

British

A couple/few of those are head scratchin' WTF statements. I feel like the original compiler may have taken a few liberties to make their statement more exciting.

[mrbeverlyhills]

These are British reflections, less head scratching for a Brit than a Yank.

[Steve Carlton]

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by Bugsinrugs

How did they hoist the stones without cranes?

But they did have cranes. The ancient Romans took the idea from the Greeks and developed it even further. Lifting power was usually provided by a human-powered treadmill, with some larger cranes able to hoist 3 tons or more. The use of treadmill cranes continued on into the middle ages.

[craigster59]

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by masraum

Maybe that's where those alien skulls come from.

[GH85Carrera]

September 22nd 1964; The XB-70 Valkyrie took to the skies on her first flight test between Palmdale and Edwards AFB. Much like its difficult operational future, the flight was not without complications. One engine had to be shut down shortly after take-off, due to an undercarriage malfunction that caused the flight to be flown with the gear down as a precaution, limiting speed to only 390 mph. On landing, the rear wheels of the port side main gear locked, the tires ruptured, and a fire started.
The North American Aviation XB-70 Valkyrie was the prototype of the B-70 nuclear-armed, deep-penetration strategic bomber for the U.S. Air Force's Strategic Air Command. North American Aviation designed the Valkyrie as a mammoth, six-engined air breathing aircraft capable of reaching Mach 3+ while flying at 70,000 feet.
Although only two aircraft were built, and the program was eventually cancelled, the XB-70 remains one of the most loved of all aircraft designs due to its sheer beauty, impressive scale, and undeniably futuristic design


I sure hope my wife does not mind my rearranging the furniture.

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

I sure hope my wife does not mind my rearranging the furniture.

Take the picture again with a wider angle lens- your new single bed should show up!

[GH85Carrera]

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by Bugsinrugs

I must have looked up for an hour inside this cathedral. How in the heck did they fabricate the stone so smooth? How did they hoist the stones without cranes? Just an architectural marvel.

They did have cranes.

[GH85Carrera]

Inca Trail leading to Machu Picchu, Peru

[JackDidley]

There are no turbos on the twin turbo pic.




Random.

[craigster59]

[masraum]

Originally Posted by craigster59

Pretty funny. I feel like it was an intentional gag, and well done.

I ran cross country, but I wasn't a 70s porn star.

I ran when going to a very small school on a military base. We did have at least one girl that visually would have given this one a run for her money. And had another that I think ran track that was fairly attractive too.

[masraum]

Triptaka Koreana

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripitaka_Koreana

The Tripiṭaka Koreana (lit. Goryeo Tripiṭaka) or Palman Daejanggyeong ("Eighty-Thousand Tripiṭaka") is a Korean collection of the Tripiṭaka (Buddhist scriptures, and the Sanskrit word for "three baskets"), carved onto 81,258 wooden printing blocks in the 13th century.[1] It is the oldest intact version of Buddhist canon in Hanja script, with no known errors or errata in the 52,330,152 characters which are organized in over 1496 titles and 6568 volumes. Each wood block measures 24 centimeters in height and 70 centimeters in length.[2] The thickness of the blocks ranges from 2.6 to 4 centimeters and each weighs about three to four kilograms. The woodblocks would be almost as tall as Mount Baekdu at 2.74 km if stacked and would measure 60 km long if lined up, and weigh 280 tons in total.[3] The woodblocks are in pristine condition without warping or deformation despite being created more than 750 years ago.[4][5] The Tripiṭaka Koreana is stored in Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple in South Gyeongsang Province, in South Korea.

Work on the first Tripiṭaka Koreana began in 1011 during the Goryeo–Khitan War and was completed in 1087. The first Tripiṭaka Koreana contained around 6,000 volumes.

The original set of woodblocks was destroyed by fire during the Mongol invasions of Korea in 1232, when Goryeo's capital was moved to Ganghwa Island during nearly three decades of Mongol incursions, although scattered parts of its prints still remain. To once again implore divine assistance with combating the Mongol threat, King Gojong thereafter ordered the revision and re-creation of the Tripiṭaka; the carving began in 1237 and was completed in 12 years,[2] with support from Choe U and his son Choe Hang,[15] and involving monks from both the Seon and Gyo schools. This second version is usually what is meant by the Tripiṭaka Koreana.[16] In 1398, it was moved to Haeinsa, where it has remained housed in four buildings.

Haeinsa, the temple in which the Tripiṭaka Koreana is stored, While most of the wood blocks have remained in pristine condition for more than 750 years a few were damaged when a new depository was built in the early 1970s (by the Park Chung-hee regime) and a few blocks were transplanted to the new building on a trial basis. Those blocks were damaged almost immediately. They were subsequently moved back to their initial spots and the new building was shut down.

Each block was made of birch wood from the southern islands of Korea and treated to prevent the decay of the wood. The blocks were soaked in sea water for three years, then cut and then boiled in salt water. Next, the blocks were placed in the shade and exposed to the wind for three years, at which point they were ready to be carved. After each block was carved, it was covered in a poisonous lacquer to keep insects away and then framed with metal to prevent warping.[23]

Every block was inscribed with 23 lines of text with 14 characters per line. Therefore, each block, counting both sides, contained a total of 644 characters. The consistency of the style, and some sources, suggests that a single man carved the entire collection but it is now believed that a team of 30 men carved the Tripiṭaka.[2][21]

[Bugsinrugs]

Originally Posted by svandamme

They did have cranes.

Not the first time I’ve been corrected… Thanks

[GH85Carrera]

Il Castel del Monte, a very unusual, totally symmetrical octagonal castle built during the 1240s by King Frederick II in Andria, Southern Italy.


Giant Amethyst Geode From Uruguay

[Baz]

Originally Posted by craigster59

GFRR, right? Awesome photo, Craig!

=============

[GH85Carrera]

In 1915, Stonehenge was bought at auction by a man named Cecil Chubb. As the legend goes, Chubb was only there to buy a set of dining chairs. Instead, he acted on impulse and made the winning bid for Stonehenge.
Prior to its purchase, the monument was in a perilous condition. A popular attraction since the Middle Ages, by the 19th century people were known to chip the stones for souvenirs and scratch their names on the monument. In 1881, timber was used to prop up stones considered to be in danger of collapse while in December 1900, an upright sarsen stone fell and the massive horizontal lintel it held in place snapped in two.
Chubb’s impulsive purchase marked a turning point in the care and protection of the ancient monument. Three years after purchasing it, Cecil Chubb donated it to the nation to secure its future. A major survey and programme of restoration followed. Today, English Heritage proudly continues to care for Stonehenge so that generations to come can be inspired and delighted by one of the world's most important prehistoric sites.
EDIT: Quite a few people have asked how much Chubb paid for Stonehenge and who owned it before, so here's the answer...
Stonehenge had been owned by the Antrobus family since the early 1800s but when the heir to the Antrobus baronetcy was killed in the opening months of the First World War, the estate was divided into lots and put up for sale via auction. And so at 2pm on 21 September 1915, the Palace Theatre in Salisbury was “filled with an interested audience, intending purchasers and spectators” and in the hands of Messrs Knight, Franck and Rutley, Stonehenge went under the hammer.
“Surely someone will bid me £5,000 to start with,” urged the auctioneer, Sir Howard Frank. A hand in the stalls was held up, and in calm, business-like tones it was announced that the first £5,000 bid had been received. Bidding increased by £100 increments from £6,000 until the figure of £6,500 was reached by local man Isaac Crook, whose grandson Richard still farms the fields around Stonehenge today. One more bid was received, “the hammer remained aloft for an instant; there was no further offer and it descended with a sharp rap.” Stonehenge was sold for £6,600 to Cecil Chubb.

[masraum]

Snazzy young lady, 1928.