this post was submitted on 08 Apr 2025
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Science Memes

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[–] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 15 points 5 days ago (2 children)

The ocean has killed more billionaires than the Moon has.

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[–] MisanthropiCynic@lemm.ee 17 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Whales suffocate to death; they don’t drown.

Human breathing is controlled by the autonomic nervous system. We have to hold our breath on purpose to stop ourselves from automatically breathing. This makes us passive breathers. Whales, however, are active breathers. They must choose to inhale which is why they can sleep without sucking in air. When they get too old, sick, or weak to surface, they suffocate.

Bonus fact: whales can’t breathe through their mouths; it goes straight to the stomach. The blowhole is the only respiratory tract.

Bonus bonus: a blue whale’s throat is so small it could choke to death on a grapefruit.

[–] 5too@lemmy.world 6 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Bonus bonus: a blue whale’s throat is so small it could choke to death on a grapefruit.

I'm sure their throat can be blocked that way; but if they can't breathe through their mouth anyway, is it actually choking? Or just terminally blocked?

[–] MisanthropiCynic@lemm.ee 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Fair point. I didn’t even consider the ramifications of wording it like that instead of just saying it has a small throat. I tend to use analogies a lot

[–] 5too@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

Nah, it makes sense, and ice heard this phrasing before - just always wondered if they meant the poor whale couldn't breathe, or basically just had indigestion!

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[–] tino@lemmy.world 36 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Norwegian fjords are freaking deep. When you're on the shore of Sognefjord, you're standing in front of a 1300m deep canyon filled with ocean water.

[–] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

What I like to think about is that fjords were carved out by glaciers and the sea level has certainly been lower that it was now in the past... but 1300m deep what????

....so how did Glaciers cut rock BELOW sea level? Like wayyyyyy below sea level?

It is the weight of the entire glacier bearing down and carving wayyyyyy below a depth that a chunk of ice would make sense being at, the entire glacier basically serves as a trench digging machine and as you pointed out these fjords are REALLY deep.

[–] _core@sh.itjust.works 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

They were carved by Slartibartfast, not glaciers.

[–] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

where is your proof? If Slartibartfast did it you would be able to find his signature somewhere in the work.

[–] stringere@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The mouse's design specifically excluded any artists' signatures.

[–] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Typical mice nonsense, did they even thank us for all the cheese?

No but the dolphins said "thanks for all the fish" before they leave.

[–] Merritt@lemm.ee 5 points 6 days ago

New anxiety unlocked.

[–] CitizenKong@lemmy.world 23 points 6 days ago (4 children)

Sharks are older than trees and the north star.

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[–] Homefry@infosec.pub 10 points 5 days ago

The Blue Whale is so large, that if you laid one out on a standard NBA basketball court, the game would be postponed.

[–] whoisearth@lemmy.ca 21 points 6 days ago (3 children)

We are killing the ocean by increasingly acidifying it. This has been known by scientists for decades.

[–] andros_rex@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago (3 children)

Ocean acidification occurs because the ocean serves as a carbon sink. Excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere forms weak carbonic acid in ocean water. The ocean has historically been slightly basic, and as it inches towards a neutral pH, it makes it impossible for things like oysters to form their shells.

One big problem is that it’s one of the biggest carbon sinks. It’s keeping that greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere. However - as you might notice if you leave a can of Coke out on a hot day - the solubility of gases in liquids decreases when it’s hotter. The world heats up because of greenhouse gasses, less greenhouse gasses can be stored in the ocean and re-enter the atmosphere, which heats the world up more…

Then we also have the lovely “ice albedo” positive feedback loop - dark ocean water absorbs more of the suns radiation, sea ice reflects more of it. Sea ice melts as earth heats up, exposing dark ocean which absorbs more heat and melts more ice….

[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Well at least there's not a fuckton of methane hydrates on the ocean floor that are now releasing a greenhouse gas 30 times more potent than CO2 refrom the ocean floor as the water gets warmer. And that isn't a self-feeding loop that means it's probably too late to save ourselves now.

Because that would be bad.

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[–] yoshman@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago (1 children)

But have you thought of the benefit? Free club soda!

[–] whoisearth@lemmy.ca 6 points 6 days ago

All crabs are now soft shell crabs! Think of the deliciousness!

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[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 16 points 6 days ago (1 children)

A teaspoon of seawater typically contains about fifty million viruses

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

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 5 points 5 days ago

Well yeah our water companies keep dumping raw sewage into them

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 14 points 6 days ago

goes to moon

Sea of Tranquility

Nooooooo!

[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 19 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Thalassaphobia is a real thing

[–] Soup@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago (2 children)

I, for one, think it’s completely fucking reasonable to afraid of deep, dark water. Phobia my ass.

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[–] ArtemisimetrA@lemm.ee 7 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Earth's atmosphere is an ocean of gas. The ocean is an atmosphere of liquid. Words are made up.

Yea, for a reason.

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