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Researchers Say S. African Bones Are From Previously Unknown Human Relative

Posted by timothy on from the is-that-you-cousin? dept.

Ancient, but so far undated, remains found in a South African cave (more than 1500 pieces of bone and teeth) have been declared by the team which discovered them to represent a previously unknown kind of human relative, which they have dubbed Homo naledi. New submitter chapman writes: The human-like bones discovered in the Rising Star cave, 50km from Johannesburg, may belong to a new species of "long-legged," "pinheaded," and "gangly" human relative. Apparently the chamber in the cave where the discovery was made is so inaccessible (only 8 inches wide) that the team brought in a group of lightly-built female researchers in order to excavate the bones. Science Mag, too, describes the find as well as the controversy about the unusual publicity surrounding the exploration. The Guardian's article notes that the identification of the bones as belonging to a new species is disputed by some anthropologists, who say that based on the evidence presented so far, the bones may simply be examples of the previouly named Homo erectus.

77 comments

  1. Prehistoric NBA player? by cayenne8 · · Score: 2, Funny
    The description sounds like the predecessor to our present day NBA player!!

    :)

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    1. Re:Prehistoric NBA player? by Tablizer · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      I know the topic of ethnic make-up of NBA players is a sensitive one, but it seems a certain ethnic group of people tend to have better lateral movement than others. That is, they can shift and move left-and-right more fluidly than other groups. Perhaps there is a mechanical trade-off at work in body design, but if your genes favor the right trade-off for a given sport, then members of that gene group will tend to be over-represented. It's not necessarily "better", just "better suited" for a given sport.

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    2. Re:Prehistoric NBA player? by cayenne8 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I know the topic of ethnic make-up of NBA players is a sensitive one

      Who mentioned anything about ethnic makeup of the NBA player?

      Based on the quote from the article:

      new species of "long-legged," "pinheaded," and "gangly" human relative

      This would apply to any tall, gangly player in the NBA, no matter what their race is......

      Geez, why does everyone rush to start playing or arguing the damned RACE card on any description of a human.

      The joke I was making was that ALL of the NBA players, by necessity of the sport, requires them to all be very tall, and gangly built (long legs, arms, etc).....

      Good Lord people, get off the PC train long enough to realize every comment on a human or group of humans is not based on racism. Try to laugh at a silly joke once in awhile maybe?

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    3. Re:Prehistoric NBA player? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      Just say it's a nigger and be done with it.

    4. Re:Prehistoric NBA player? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In the 1930's and 1940's basketball was also known as "Jew ball" due to the dominance of Jewish players. Today, not so much. Maybe there's ethnic group X dominance in basketball because it's a sport that requires next to nothing to play--a basketball, an improvised basket, and some pavement. Something accessable to the very poorest, which is where for decades a disproportionate percentage of NBA players of all races have come from.

    5. Re:Prehistoric NBA player? by thinkwaitfast · · Score: 1

      It's all that some people have.

    6. Re:Prehistoric NBA player? by mjm1231 · · Score: 0

      Interesting theory with one flaw. Ethnicity is not related to genetics.

      --
      Ideology: A tool used primarily to avoid the bother of thinking.
    7. Re:Prehistoric NBA player? by Tablizer · · Score: 0

      Ethnicity is not related to genetics.

      It is related. Ethnic groups tend to share similar genetic tendencies. For example, there are many diseases that are ethnic-related, such as red/green color-blindness, sickle cell anemia, tasacs disease, and others.

      I agree the boundaries are fuzzy, but there are frequency-related tendencies.

      If a group of people live together and are somewhat isolated for a period of time, they will share genetic traits, such as mutations that arose in that group (both good and bad mutations).

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    8. Re:Prehistoric NBA player? by Tablizer · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      As an NBA fan, I watch for player tendencies and patterns. There appears to be an "ethnic related" pattern regarding certain types of movements. I'm just reporting what I have observed. I agree my observations may somehow be flawed or biased due to some subconscious brain activity on my part or some kind of sampling error that escaped me, but I'm just raising the question to see if anybody else has opinions or data they can share on the topic. I did not intend to offend. Being a nerd, I'm just curious. Peace!

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    9. Re:Prehistoric NBA player? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It has no criminal record. It is not a nigger.

  2. I'm not saying it's an alien, but... by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 3, Funny

    it's an alien.

    1. Re:I'm not saying it's an alien, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nonsense.

      It's a sasquatch.

    2. Re:I'm not saying it's an alien, but... by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 1

      A sasquatch is an ancient alien.

    3. Re:I'm not saying it's an alien, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If they dig deep enough in the cave they'll find Data's head.

    4. Re:I'm not saying it's an alien, but... by linear+a · · Score: 1

      Morlocks everywhere!

    5. Re:I'm not saying it's an alien, but... by Talderas · · Score: 1

      That's no alien, it's a battlestation.

      --
      "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
  3. Well, I'll Be.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    A monkey's uncle...

    1. Re:Well, I'll Be.... by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      that'd be great ^X grandnephew

      pinhead eh...hmmmm, maybe one of my boss' people

  4. Martians? by frovingslosh · · Score: -1, Troll

    I wounder if these are the same "scientists" that saw a strange rock and said: "That rock looks strange, it must have come from Mars".

    --
    I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
    1. Re:Martians? by Rei · · Score: 5, Informative

      Are you talking about a particular incident or just in general? Martian meteorites are identified by the gas trapped within them, general isotopic ratios, and a number of other factors.

      --
      You don't exist. Go away.
  5. new speciies = new dig or PhD thesis by peter303 · · Score: 1

    The number of new species seems proportional to amount work done. We had a similar corundum in geological plate tectonics a couple decades ago. Nearly every new PhD thesis was discovering a new plate tectonic micro-plate. Finaly did what the planet astronomers did and divide them into significant ones and minor ones.

    1. Re:new speciies = new dig or PhD thesis by rubycodez · · Score: 0

      We don't even know the order of magnitude of the number of species on Earth, estimates range from 2 to 100 million. We've cataloged almost 100,000 of them.

      But must spend money on war for power and profit, and projecting power for intimidation; what possible good could come from wasting money on understanding life and how the universe functions?

    2. Re:new speciies = new dig or PhD thesis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You already seem to understand how life and the universe functions.

    3. Re:new speciies = new dig or PhD thesis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      We had a similar corundum in geological plate tectonics a couple decades ago.

      That must have been hard.

    4. Re:new speciies = new dig or PhD thesis by CastrTroy · · Score: 2

      What's interesting is that we don't even know all the land mammals yet. I mean, I can understand not cataloging every virus, bacterium, insect, plant, and ocean animal, but the fact that there are so many undocumented land mammals and amphibians kind of blows my mind. There's so much left to discover in this world.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    5. Re:new speciies = new dig or PhD thesis by Godwin+O'Hitler · · Score: 1

      +1 for wit

      --
      No, your children are not the special ones. Nor are your pets.
    6. Re:new speciies = new dig or PhD thesis by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      no, only the shittiest parts of both

    7. Re:new speciies = new dig or PhD thesis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Read the summary:

      Apparently the chamber in the cave where the discovery was made is so inaccessible (only 8 inches wide) that the team brought in a group of lightly-built female researchers in order to excavate the bones.

      Back in the day they sent the tallest gangliest guy in since no one else could both fit in and reach through some hole for something. Then he got trapped. Many years later people find his bones and once again send in a team of specially proportioned people. If they had gotten trapped, future generations would be calling them a new species.

    8. Re:new speciies = new dig or PhD thesis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and another one here

  6. Really? by Rei · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I don't see how a population whose skulls are literally half the size of a typical H. erectus skull (among many other major differences) could be seen as just another H. erectus. And not just one, potentially deformed individual, but 15 individuals with the same characteristics. And even if they were the same species, this would still be a remarkable find - so many full, intact bodies in the same location. In a weird location, and in a land far from where H. erectus was known to have lived.

    --
    You don't exist. Go away.
    1. Re:Really? by Nidi62 · · Score: 1

      From what I understand they found remains from a wide range of ages, everything from babies and infants to older adults. So it would have had to have been from a whole population of individuals spanning several generations with the same characteristics (or deformities if the are Homo erectus). Definitely lends credence to the theory that this find is of a new species. It would be interesting to know what time frame they are dated to, which could give an idea on if they are progenitors of humans or on a completely different branch.

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    2. Re:Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A pygmy is still a human. Ever seen the size of their heads?

      Physical phylogenics requires the tabulation of many species, and once you classify as that, you will always class as that to a "member of group X". In just the same way, WE ARE MONKEYS. The Monkey group includes current monkeys (who are descended from ancient ancestor monkeys), apes (who have differences making them apes, a TYPE of monkey descendant) and humans (an ape that have difference making them hominid, a TYPE of ape). ALL of them are monkeys. Some are just still monkeys without a new phylogenic appearance.

      So, IIRC, for H Erectus, it is mostly in the spine and hip that the H Erectus line arises, since the posture should be a relaxed and permanent upright posture. These definitely had that. H. Sapiens is a H. Erectus, for much the same reason as our ancestor was H Erectus, and we and apes have common ancestor that was a monkey, making us both monkeys).

      H. Sapiens has evolved into a "new species" H Sapeins Sapiens. Us. We just wanted to be something new rather than the same as our "primitive" ancestor, hence the "wise" Wise Man.

      This may be H Erectus Africanis, if some phylogenic trait sufficient to claim it a divergent species from any contemporary H Erectus or, if no such contemporary exists, still a H Erectus.

    3. Re:Really? by tburkhol · · Score: 1

      They've also suggested that these specimens must have been specifically placed in the pile they were found, potentially over hundreds of years. They could represent individual weirdo's shunned and cast out. Birth or developmental defects rather than speciation. Imagine what a future archeologist would think if he came across a chamber where thalidomide babies (many of whom are now in their 50s) or hydrocephalic people were collected upon their death.

    4. Re:Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They could represent individual weirdo's shunned and cast out.

      Finally a subject in which the average Slashdot poster has some real expertise!

    5. Re:Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Evolution is a scam. There is no proof of inter species transition.

    6. Re:Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In most cultures, deformed offspring were 'stillborn (one way or another)' and did not make it to any age.

  7. Previously unknown? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Her friends called her Lois.

    1. Re:Previously unknown? by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      Lois Piltdown.

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
  8. long-legged mac daddy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    A long-legged, gangly pin-head from Africa? Sounds like the current US President.

    1. Re:long-legged mac daddy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds pretty much like all the US Presidents.

  9. Photo Rendition by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Looks like most of the intercity dwellers I've ever seen (but probably doesn't drag as many knuckles)!

  10. Re: "Pinheads" by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    Pinheads? They found this clan:

    http://static.rogerebert.com/u...

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  11. Self promotion detector tingling by Snufu · · Score: 0

    Any time scientific claims are released to media before peer review, suspect the results, and the motives of the researcher. [1]

    [1] See cold fusion.

    1. Re:Self promotion detector tingling by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Er, this has been reviewed and published: http://elifesciences.org/

      If you page down in the Naledi article, you will see a transcript of the peer review.

      And no, I don't know why they didn't publish in NAture or Science, perhaps they aren't Apple users.

      Oddly, I was in this cave complex "Sterkfontein" just three weeks ago. The cave where this discovered is not on the toru path but damned well guarded.
      I am off to the Origins Centre at Wits University tomorrow to peek at the bones myself.

  12. I've seen a lot of "conspiracy theory" vids by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    See subject: ... on youtube regarding oddly shaped skulled peoples who are often said to have been an "alien overlord" of early civilizations, creating the pattern for them (both technologically & culturally).

    * I don't KNOW what to believe on that account - I can say it might be a possible, but then again, it may NOT be. I wasn't there to witness it myself...

    APK

    P.S.=> In those same videos, there's accounts of cultures 'binding' various children's skulls to shape them thus also (pretty much stating they were trying to be "like their Gods" & I do believe this much though, based on history & patterns of humanity - we INVENT OUR OWN "GODS", & generally to cow the populace via "the opiate of the masses" to be abused by said "ruling classes" by giving their subordinate constituencies 'hope for an afterlife' - kind of like the 10 commandments are (though I hate saying that) - "you be good & do these things, you will go to 'heaven'"...

    Only problem is, the ones doing the ruling DON'T FOLLOW THOSE RULES THEMSELVES & break those commandments daily... - that's right!

    Those "rulers" are probably thinking "that's right CHUMPS - you keep being 'good' & GOOD SLAVES while we take over, keeping you DOWN, simply because you follow those rules that WE invented to rule over your dumb asses with"...

    Of course, I also believe such rules ARE GOOD & are the foundations of the social contracts that allow for orderly societies!

    (HOWEVER: Some asshole always ALWAYS comes along & breaks them, forcing others' hands to do so as well in order to survive, rotting the entire barrel of apples & the principles behind "the general good")... apk

    1. Re:I've seen a lot of "conspiracy theory" vids by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't watch those vids, they are a waste of time and generally based on the idea that the mere possibility of constructing a valid argument is enough to make it sound.

    2. Re:I've seen a lot of "conspiracy theory" vids by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I realize that to an extent. I neither take them as "the word of 'GOD'", nor as complete idiocy - merely as possibles & something to speculate about as "food for thought".

      APK

      P.S.=> The 2nd half of what I wrote last post IS the most important part though, from that post's 'p.s.' section - & it's based on history + mankind's nature itself (the BAD part, with what I call "viruses of the spirit" behind it, in greed mainly)... apk

    3. Re:I've seen a lot of "conspiracy theory" vids by thinkwaitfast · · Score: 1

      The ones on reptilian lizard people are really funny. Most conspiracy videos are Except for the ones with obviously mentally ill people. Those are kinda sad.

  13. But... but... "We're all the same"! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    And blacks are the same as whites, apparently, even though anybody with two eyes can see that blacks are less evolved than whites - i.e. that THEY MORE CLOSELY RESEMBLE APES than whites do.

    But I forget - this is Slashdot, and we're not allowed to talk about FACTS here, are we...
    ANTHROPOLOGY

    FACT #21: The name Homo sapien was first used by the 18th Century Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus. The word "sapien" means "wise." The name was originally used to speak of the White man and synonymous with "europaeus." As a result, many later taxonomists and geneticists believed that Negroes and other races should be classified as different species. In fact, Darwin declared in The Descent of Man that the varieties of mankind are so distinct that similar differences found in any other animal would warrant their classification in different species, if not different genera. (39)

    FACT #22: For his mammoth work, The Origin of Races, Professor Carleton Coon, President of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists and the premier geneticist of the world, assembled massive evidence from geography, anatomy, genetics, physiology, comparative dentition, linguistics, archeology, and fossil records from 300 bone-bearing sites to verify his theory of pre-sapien racianation." In other words, Homo erectus was divided by race even before evolution into Homo sapien stage. (12)

    FACT #23: According to Dr. Coon, while the Caucasoid subspecies (the White race) was evolving in Europe, the Negro race was standing still on the evolutionary plane and is today no less than 200,000 years behind the European in skull and brain development. (9)

    FACT #24: The Negro skull, in addition to having a smaller brain volume and thicker cranial bones than that of the White, is prognathous; i.e., the lower face projects forward, rather in the manner of an animal's muzzle. In consequence, the Negro jaw is substantially longer, relative to its width, than the White jaw. A feature of the Negro lower jaw is its retention of a vestige of the "simian shelf," a bony region immediately behind the incisors. The simian shelf is a distinguishing characteristic of apes, and it is absent in Whites. (9) (12) (39)

    FACT #25: The skin of the Negro is thicker and possibly superior to the White's in the way it impedes the penetration of germs and in its protection from the ultraviolet rays of the sun. (39) (14)

    FACT #26: The dark color of the Negro is due to melanin pigment which is spread through every layer of the skin and is found even in the muscles and brain. (9) (27)

    FACT #27: An African dentist can tell a Negro's tooth from a white man's at a glance. (14)

    FACT #28: Negroes have arms which are longer, relative to body height, than those of Whites. This feature, together with their much thicker cranial bones, gives Black athletes an advantage over Whites in boxing. The skeletal and muscular peculiarities of Negroes' lower limbs have given them considerable success as sprinters, but have left them relative undistinguished as distance runners. (39) (27)

    ADDITIONAL DIFFERENCES

    The hair is black, crispy, and "woolly" in texture, it is flat and elliptical with no central canal or duct like the hair of Europeans.
    The nose is thick, broad and flat, often turned up nostrils exposing the red inner lining of the mucous membrane similar to an ape.
    The arms and legs of the Negro are relatively longer than the European. The humerus is a trifle shorter and the forearm longer thereby approximating the simian form.
    The eyes are prominent, iris black and the orbits large. The eye often has a yellowish sclerotic coat over it like that of a gorilla.
    The Negro has a shorter trunk; the cross-section of the chest is more circular than whites. The pelvis is narrower and longer as it is in an ape.
    The mouth is wide with very thick, large and protruding lips.
    Negro skin has a thick superficial horny layer which resists scratching and impedes the penetration of germs.
    The Negro has a larger and shorter neck a

    1. Re:But... but... "We're all the same"! by mschuyler · · Score: 2

      Carlton S. Coon has a less than stellar reputation among anthropologists and to cite his work as representative of the "facts" of anthropology is a disservice, to put it mildly. Hos views were used be segregationists to "prove" Blacks were inferior to whites. His original book on race deviated from the consensus reached by anthropologists (and the DNA evidence, among others) when he claimed that Whites were descended from Chimpanzees, Blacks from Gorillas, and Asians from the Orangutan. I don;t thoink you will be able to find any contemporary competent anthropologists who would make the kinds of claims you are making here supporting Coon, whose ideas have been thoroughly discredited in anthropological circles.

      --
      How about a moderation of -1 pedantic.
    2. Re:But... but... "We're all the same"! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know about blacks, or whites, or whatever, but you sure are inferior in your bigotry.

    3. Re:But... but... "We're all the same"! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm not saying that other 'FACTS' are not bull but FACT #28 is easy to prove wrong: Kenyan long distance runners.

    4. Re:But... but... "We're all the same"! by thinkwaitfast · · Score: 1

      There is no such thing as more or less evolved. There is no end goal to evolution.

    5. Re:But... but... "We're all the same"! by Holi · · Score: 1

      "His views were used by segregationists". Worse he colluded with segregationists and actively aided them while ignoring his scientific objectivity.

      --
      Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
    6. Re:But... but... "We're all the same"! by Holi · · Score: 2

      Then again we are responding to a racist troll.

      --
      Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
    7. Re:But... but... "We're all the same"! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Evolution doesn't have a direction, so saying some species is "ahead" or "behind" another is ridiculous. We are all the product of some 3 billion years' worth of evolution from the first replicating organisms.

      If caucasions are 200,000 years differently adapted than africans, it's because 200,000 years ago their ancestors moved to a different environment which required those different adaptations to survive in, while others (the smart ones?) stayed behind in an environment they were already suited to.

    8. Re:But... but... "We're all the same"! by dryeo · · Score: 2

      The end goal of evolution is survival and the most evolved are those genes that are still around.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
    9. Re:But... but... "We're all the same"! by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Carlton S. Coon

      Pure comedy gold.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  14. I've seen a lot of "conspiracy theory" videos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    See subject: ... on youtube regarding oddly shaped skulled peoples who are said to have been an "alien overlord" of early civilizations, creating the pattern for them (both technologically & culturally).

    * I don't KNOW what to believe on that account - I can say it might be a possible, but then again, it may NOT be. I wasn't there to witness it myself...

    APK

    P.S.=> In those same videos, there's accounts of cultures 'binding' various children's skulls to shape them thus also (pretty much stating they were trying to be "like their Gods" & I do believe this much though, based on history & patterns of humanity - we INVENT OUR OWN "GODS", & generally to cow the populace via "the opiate of the masses" to be abused by said "ruling classes" by giving their subordinate constituencies 'hope for an afterlife' - kind of like the 10 commandments are (though I hate saying that) - "you be good & do these things, you will go to 'heaven'"...

    Only problem is, the ones doing the ruling DON'T FOLLOW THOSE RULES THEMSELVES & break those commandments daily... - that's right!

    Those "rulers" are probably thinking "that's right CHUMPS - you keep being 'good' & GOOD SLAVES while we take over, keeping you DOWN, simply because you follow those rules that WE invented to rule over your dumb asses with"...

    Of course, I also believe such rules ARE GOOD & are the foundations of the social contracts that allow for orderly societies!

    (HOWEVER: Some asshole always ALWAYS comes along & breaks them, forcing others' hands to do so as well in order to survive, rotting the entire barrel of apples & the principles behind "the general good")... apk

  15. Re:Prehistoric NBA player? Chess players by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I would love to hear you conclusions for the dominance of certain other ethnic groups in, say, chess

  16. Tell me more... by Dr.+Zim · · Score: 1

    What of these lightly-built female researchers? Scantily clad Lara Croft types? Mmmm?

    --
    (name withheld by request)
    1. Re:Tell me more... by Pharmboy · · Score: 1

      Lara Croft types wouldn't have fit through the 8" crevice.

      --
      Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
    2. Re:Tell me more... by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 2

      There are two big reasons Lara Croft wouldn't fit through those crevices.

  17. Tolkien by Ugmo · · Score: 1

    Homo Florensis is the Hobbit.
    Now bones of oddly shaped humanoid creatures found piled in the bottom of a cave?

    A. Balin and his Dwarves in Moria.
    B. Gollum's leftover Orc bones in his original cave before Bilbo met him.

  18. "We just dug up some bones in the family plot..." by tlambert · · Score: 1

    "We just dug up some bones in the family plot..."

    "Was it uncle Frank?"

    "No, uncle Frank is buried in the North end..."

    "Was it uncle Sal?"

    "No, uncle Sal is in the South end. There wasn't supposed to be anyone buried in the west end..."

    "Are you sure it wasn't aunt Daisy's chimp?"

    "No, no, it's definitely a human..."

    "So you're saying... It's A Previously Unknown Human Relative?!?"

  19. It looks like Gollum! by MagickalMyst · · Score: 1

    My precious!

    --
    Political correctness is really just herd psychology pushed by insecure people who desperately seek social conformity.
  20. I know who they are... by dark.nebulae · · Score: 1

    Pinheaded? Must be Bennett's ancestors...

  21. Agreed, to an extent... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Some are outrageous, & definitely delivered by folks with some "issues" - I personally tend to "filter those out".

    APK

    P.S.=> I take them all with a grain of salt, but I don't COMPLETELY discount many of them totally... apk

  22. I am disappoint by bmo · · Score: 1

    >pinheaded

    CTRL-F "zippy"

    0

    Yow.

    --
    BMO

  23. I've seen a lot of "conspiracy theory" videos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    See subject: ... on youtube regarding odd shaped skulled peoples who are said to have been an "alien overlord" of early civilizations, creating the pattern for them (both technologically & culturally).

    * I don't KNOW what to believe on that account - I can say it might be a possible, but then again, it may NOT be. I wasn't there to witness it myself...

    APK

    P.S.=> In those same videos, there's accounts of cultures 'binding' various children's skulls to shape them thus also (pretty much stating they were trying to be "like their Gods" & I do believe this much though, based on history & patterns of humanity - we INVENT OUR OWN "GODS", & generally to cow the populace via "the opiate of the masses" to be abused by said "ruling classes" by giving their subordinate constituencies 'hope for an afterlife' - kind of like the 10 commandments are (though I hate saying that) - "you be good & do these things, you will go to 'heaven'"...

    Only problem is, the ones doing the ruling DON'T FOLLOW THOSE RULES THEMSELVES & break those commandments daily... - that's right!

    Those "rulers" are probably thinking "that's right CHUMPS - you keep being 'good' & GOOD SLAVES while we take over, keeping you DOWN, simply because you follow those rules that WE invented to rule over your dumb asses with"...

    Of course, I also believe such rules ARE GOOD & are the foundations of the social contracts that allow for orderly societies!

    (HOWEVER: Some asshole always ALWAYS comes along & breaks them, forcing others' hands to do so as well in order to survive, rotting the entire barrel of apples & the principles behind "the general good")... apk

  24. I've seen a lot of "conspiracy theory" videos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject: ... on youtube regarding odd shaped skulled peoples who're said to have been an "alien overlord" of early civilizations, creating the pattern for them (both technologically & culturally).

    * I don't KNOW what to believe on that account - I can say it might be a possible, but then again, it may NOT be. I wasn't there to witness it myself...

    APK

    P.S.=> In those same videos, there's accounts of cultures 'binding' various children's skulls to shape them thus also (pretty much stating they were trying to be "like their Gods" & I do believe this much though, based on history & patterns of humanity - we INVENT OUR OWN "GODS", & generally to cow the populace via "the opiate of the masses" to be abused by said "ruling classes" by giving their subordinate constituencies 'hope for an afterlife' - kind of like the 10 commandments are (though I hate saying that) - "you be good & do these things, you will go to 'heaven'"...

    Only problem is, the ones doing the ruling DON'T FOLLOW THOSE RULES THEMSELVES & break those commandments daily... - that's right!

    Those "rulers" are probably thinking "that's right CHUMPS - you keep being 'good' & GOOD SLAVES while we take over, keeping you DOWN, simply because you follow those rules that WE invented to rule over your dumb asses with"...

    Of course, I also believe such rules ARE GOOD & are the foundations of the social contracts that allow for orderly societies!

    (HOWEVER: Some asshole always ALWAYS comes along & breaks them, forcing others' hands to do so as well in order to survive, rotting the entire barrel of apples & the principles behind "the general good")... apk

  25. To whoever's downmodding this post of mine? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject, & realize 1 thing - I'll keep posting it for 2 reasons: 1st is to spite your ass, & 2nd is to see you blow thru your modpoints, exhausting them... why?

    Well - because I can! I have NO LIMITS in my abilities to post/repost as AC (as most do @ 10 per day) - whereas by way of comparison, you DO have limits on your modpoints.

    * So, believe me, I'll win here, & you WILL lose.

    APK

    P.S.=> Keep it up - I figure I'm doing some other slob a service by burning you out of your modpoints & running you dry of them, so you can't do it to others... apk

  26. 8 inches by Kanasta · · Score: 1

    I'm more interested in knowing how any modern human squeezed through a 25cm and 20cm pathway to the cave. Wearing headlamps and helmets or not, unless they had contortionist scientists?

    1. Re:8 inches by LordWabbit2 · · Score: 1

      that the team brought in a group of lightly-built female researchers

      And if you had bothered to RTFA you would have seen that whilst narrow the opening is relatively straight, and you can always push / pull your gear through, you don't HAVE to be wearing everything.

      --
      There are three kinds of falsehood: the first is a 'fib,' the second is a downright lie, and the third is statistics.
  27. To whoever's downmodding this post of mine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject, & realize 1 thing - I'll keep posting it for 2 reasons: 1st is to spite your ass, & 2nd is to see you blow thru your modpoints, exhausting them... why?

    Well - because I can! I have NO LIMITS in my abilities to post/repost as AC (as most do @ 10 per day) - whereas by way of comparison, you DO have limits on your modpoints.

    * So, believe me, I'll win here, & you WILL lose!

    APK

    P.S.=> Keep it up - I figure I'm doing some other slob a service by burning you out of your modpoints & running you dry of them, so you can't do it to others... apk

  28. To whoever's downmodding this post of mine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject, & realize 1 thing - I'll keep posting it for 2 reasons: 1st is to spite your ass, & 2nd is to see you blow thru your modpoints, exhausting them... why?

    Well - because I can! I have NO LIMITS in my abilities to post/repost as AC (as most do @ 10 per day) - whereas by way of comparison, you DO have limits on your modpoints.

    * So, believe me - I'll win here, & you WILL lose.

    APK

    P.S.=> Keep it up - I figure I'm doing some other slob a service by burning you out of your modpoints & running you dry of them, so you can't do it to others... apk

  29. Do they come from France? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'll bet that's what they'd claim.