I was today years old when I learned...

According to a Google search for the Greek roots of the word "gymnasium:"

The Greek word gymnasion (γυμνάσιον) translates to "public place for physical exercises" or "exercise area". It is derived from the Greek adjective gymnos (γυμνός), which means "naked" or "nude", and the related verb gymnazo (γυμνάζω), which means "to train naked", "train in gymnastic exercise", or "to train, to exercise". The word gymnasium literally translates to "school for naked exercise".

So it's just something I learned today. You can use this thread to share interesting things you might have learned recently, or just comment on this post.

Also "muscle" comes from the greek "mus", which means mice, for flexed muscles resemble a mice under your skin.

Well, @cgsweat, as a regular gym-goer, I'm having a hard time deciding how keen I would be for the word to revert to its true meaning.

Well the original Olympic games in Greece were all performed naked I believe. Shows what prudes we are today?

Well the original Olympic games in Greece were all performed naked I believe. Shows what prudes we are today?

Yes but only men could attend the games.

Linda Hamilton, who played Sarah Connor in the Terminator movies, has a twin sister, Leslie, and they appeared together in a scene from Terminator 2.

lol that explains why the "other" sarah connor looked so small

This is a great idea for a thread.

Today I learned that you can use the Fibonacci sequence to go from miles to kilometres and vice versa. (I listened to an episode of a German history podcast, which was about Fibonacci).

I already knew the Fibonacci sequence. For those who don't: the next number in the sequence is determined by adding the last two: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, etc.

What I didn't know is that if you take a number from that sequence as the amount of miles, the next number will roughly be the equivalent in kilometres. So 5EM ≈ 8km, 8EM ≈ 13km, 13EM ≈ 21km etc.

This happens because the ratio of the next number (n+1) and the current one n, that is (n+1)/n, goes to 1.618... which is the "golden ratio" φ. And that number is remarkably close to the conversion factor from miles to kilometres: 1,609...

Linda Hamilton has a twin sister, Leslie and they appeared together in a scene from Terminator 2.

May she RIP (2020)

This is a great idea for a thread.

Thanks.

Today I learned that you can use the Fibonacci sequence... This happens because the ratio of the next number (n+1) and the current one n, that is (n+1)/n, goes to 1.618... which is the "golden ratio"

Very cool! Did you fall upon this realization on your own, or did someone else point it out to you? Either way it's very interesting info.

They told this in the podcast I listened and my mind went 🤯

I heard about the golden ratio before. Long ago. Probably has even been taught in the math classes in high school. But I forgot what it was.