Free Republic

A military enthusiast bought a tank on eBay recently and discovered $2.5 million of gold bars hidden inside in one of the most unexpected and intriguing places where gold has been found. Nick Mead discovered the five gold bars stashed inside the diesel tank of the ex-Iraqi Army Type 69, a Chinese copy of the Soviet T-55, back in 2017. It’s believed the bullion was looted by plundering Iraqi soldiers during the 1990 invasion of Kuwait but forgotten about inside the 36.7-ton tank. Man regrets handing in the gold found in the tank from eBay Stunned by the discovery, Mead...

A new deck of playing cards designed by peace activists that has gone viral and sold out online has branded US politicians as “war criminals” over their support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza — and has taken aim exclusively at Democrats. In addition to President Joe Biden and his cabinet, the deck — reminiscent of the “Most Wanted” cards issued by the US military as it hunted down Iraqi officials following the toppling of Saddam Hussein — features Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders. Clinton, the former Democratic Party nominee for president, is the Three of Hearts while her...

Internet users were fascinated with the unique villa, and many said that they would love an opportunity to stay in it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The unique property is perchedatop the mesmerising Nyang Nyang Cliffs in Bali, Indonesia. Watch: Russian Man Transforms An Abandoned Boeing 737 Plane Into A Luxury Villa The unique property is perchedatop the mesmerising Nyang Nyang Cliffs in Bali, Indonesia. Industrialist Anand Mahindra, who is quite active on Twitter regularly posts about trending topics and engaging stories, for his 11 million followers. On Saturday, he shared a fascinating video of a man who turned a commercial plane into a...

When the going gets tough, the tough grab a good knife1. CRKT Karen Hood Chopper - Editor's Pick The Chopper is part machete, part knife, part axe and more. Designed by renowned survivalist Karen Hood, the CRKT Chopper has a 9.125-inch blade made from 1025 high carbon steel. It has a resin-infused handle that is sturdy and non-slip. The blade is slightly curved with a thick spine weighted at the grip. This gives this knife extended chopping power, making it good for cutting small trees, as well as brush and other stuff you might run into in the wilds. The...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

Tucker Carlson asks Hickok45 the tough questions.

Your PC without this CPU feature won’t boot Windows 11 24H2 KEY TAKEAWAYS Windows 11 24H2 update requires the POPCNT CPU feature, making it impossible to run on super-old PCs. Modern CPUs support POPCNT, so if you recently bought a new PC, you won't have any issues. PCs older than fifteen years will be affected by this change and won't be able to boot Windows 11 without POPCNT support. Windows 11 24H2 is the next big update that Microsoft will roll out later this year, and it might finally put an end to the practice of running Windows unofficially on...

“This project can be the beginning of something meaningful.”A California couple is set to move into a one-of-a-kind home later this year that will be resistant to wildfires. According to Highways Today, a robotic arm 3D printer created by RIC Technology began construction in January on the state’s first fire-resistant, 3D-printed concrete accessory dwelling unit in the city of Walnut. The general contractor Builtech Construction Group is leading the design in collaboration with the city of Walnut and the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Philips and Constance, a couple living in Walnut described as “eager to contribute to wildfire protection,”...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

Expect to taste up to 12 pizzas, 24 cheese samples a weekIf you possess a passion for pizza, cheese and all things dairy, your taste buds may be in luck. The University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Dairy Research is looking to hire a descriptive sensory panelist - in other words, a dairy taste tester - to join "a group of expert tasters" who can talk about their sensory experience, according to the job posting. The center wants someone to describe the taste of dairy foods "on the basis of appearance, texture, taste and aroma attributes" for product development and research...

It's National Pizza Day - so let's wrap ourselves in the warm, gooey embrace of cheese, settle into a heavenly array of toppings and chomp down on some delectable crust. The celebration comes every February 9, but it's hardly the only pizza-positive spot on the calendar. Still to come: National Cheese Pizza Day (September 5), National Pepperoni Pizza Day (September 20), National Pizza Month (October) and National Sausage Pizza Day (October 11). There's no doubt about it - folks do love their pizza in all its forms. Here are some absurd pizza facts, helpful tips and strong opinions to fuel...

Scientists in Israel have proven for the first time that the scent of women’s tears reduces aggression in men. Previous studies showed that the tears of other mammals, particularly rodents, have that effect on one another. For example, female mouse tears contain chemicals that impact aggression networks in the brain, thereby reducing fighting among male mice. Subordinate males of blind mole rats smear themselves in tears to reduce the dominant male’s aggressive behavior toward them. Human tears, as well, contain chemicals that serve as social signals, according to olfactory researcher Prof. Noam Sobel of the Weizmann Institute of Science. Back...

Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikva,” was heard on the stage in Doha, Qatar, on January 31 as Israeli fencer Yuval Freilich won the gold medal in the Doha Grand Prix. Israel does not have diplomatic relations with Qatar. Freilich, 29, began fencing at age eight while living in Australia, where he saw the sport at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. He was the first fencer representing Israel to win gold in the individual epee event at the European championships in 2019. sembling an Israeli flag, emblazoned with the words “Am Yisrael chai” (the people of Israel live), Freilich defeated one...

Don't keep your great burger ideas to yourself.Attention burger aficionados: Burger King wants to hear your ideas for its next great Whopper creation. And it’s willing to pay you $1 million for your idea. Starting today, February 5, burger fans and would-be chefs can submit their ideas to the Million Dollar Whopper Contest, outlining which ingredients they believe belong atop its famed flame-grilled meat. If selected, they’ll not only win the cash but also see their creation actually come to life and end up on menus across America. But you’re going to need to be seriously inventive with your topping...

I am modestly(!) familiar with 4 types of DC voltage output power supplies that offer some degree of regulation to a load. Those are: Zener regulated supply: This has a resistor in series with the incoming / source unregulated DC voltage rail, and a zener diode to ground that fixes the output voltage at the zener voltage. Usually a capacitor to ground at the output is added to help stabilize the voltage, esp. if the load tends to vary a bit. Zener-pnp transistor regulated supply: This adds a transistor and a couple more resistors for more current capability and better...

As a follow up to my thread* discussing (among other things) wimpy kitchen faucet flow rates, I stumbled across this single temperature (almost always cold water) faucet at my local Menards: https://www.menards.com/main/kitchen/kitchen-faucets/plumb-works-reg-single-handle-drinking-water-faucet/5146ss/p-1444429309019-c-8509.htm That's more like it, as the faucet has a flow rating of 4.94 gallons per minute (18.7 liters per minute) at 60 psi. Now, that's getting somewhere! Somewhere on Amazon I found a somewhat similar unit from so "never-heard-of-'em" Chinese brand, said faucet rated at 6.something"gallons per minute. Unfortunately I did not save the item to my Amazon "list" or cart "save for later", and now I can't...

Step-by-step time-lapse video of how to make a Roman sword from what appears to be leaf stock.

I've built power supplies using full wave rectifiers in the past, and a couple circuits with single diode half wave rectification for non-critical supplies, but in all cases the power requirements were low and the diodes I had on hand several times overrated for the current and voltage / power involved.This time though, I want to add a half power function to a 1500 watt 120 volt quartz heater. (Over-simplification - see below comments. But ~half of the 1500 watts is the design target.)*So... I know a diode in series with the quartz element and no power supply capacitor** will...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

The U.S. Embassy in London released an official statement to cool off this heated debate.We learned back in junior high history class that Americans and Brits have quite the contentious relationship regarding tea. And as of this week, when Michelle Francl, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, released her new book, she stirred the pot even more — so much so that the U.S. Embassy in London felt it necessary to step in. So what's Francl's proposition that's making waves across the pond? That your cup of tea is missing one very important ingredient that...