# Today in Civilization I Saw **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** photo\ **Created:** [May 23, 2025, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708 "2025-05-23T15:59:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2025, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/61 "2025-08-17T21:18:26Z")
Gigantic playing cards. [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNcivfxAjsW3u_ikkpKTUfbcRrMbk5JAmxGHeVET8t1UTs8OmgFqA3tLrbblroUJ-MseHzJsUnDWpExxj40w8Wrpl26nEabTpQyoaXkdLHQFE6AMAU=w480-h315-p-k "New photo · Sunday, Aug 17 📸") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/65e51rY19qFqpsSC6) Larger than standard US printer paper size. Why? j ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2025, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/62 "2025-08-18T13:48:36Z")
Some people just have big hands, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2025, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/63 "2025-08-18T21:49:09Z")
Did you not watch ‘Play your cards right’? Or the USA original version ‘Card Sharks’? They both used giant playing cards. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2025, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/64 "2025-08-19T14:18:51Z")
Rainbow over a dragon: [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/dFDE6ku.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/dFDE6ku) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2025, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/65 "2025-08-19T14:30:33Z")
Cool shot! ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/66 "2025-09-10T20:40:57Z")
This was a few days ago, but I’m doing a lot of catchup at the moment. [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPv8Mk_25W5_s5sbltfYdJI4zMMCsxdALHihdanAHbvTeGic-aqVy1B5kzeZuwb4cdxwv9aMcU5IUmAiqYRmvAOaNHFUuexEhYaNb0DG5poka3BEfk=w600-h315-p-k "New photo · Wednesday, Sep 10 📸") ](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipONpbshXsF2Bhx5AtYN6HdRyzzgZ4E8rxVocQOMQEBIk8kBZj3rzBAd5thfbW7Gjw?key=cEVLVGpQbFFnUEN5bm9pRWdMZWszX2JTOE1HT3hR) These days this is an unused sloping parking lot by the sea shore. So what? - you might ask. Well, it’s kinda tricksy. If you look closely amongst the buildings in shot, you’ll see a hovercraft. Indeed, that’s a hovercraft museum .And behind me as I took the photo, a couple of miles across the water, is the Isle of Wight. So I assumed - as you might - that it was a slipway built for a hovercraft ferry service to the island: how interesting - and completely wrong. In fact those buildings back onto what was The Royal Naval Air Station Lee-on-Solent, aka (back in the day) HMS Daedalus. (Not all HMSs are ships). Daedalus was established as a seaplane base and training center in 1917, and the Daedalus Slipway (as it is properly called) was built for the purpose of launching seaplanes. Cool huh? A couple of links, if anyone is interested. > **[History of Daedalus](https://www.fareham.gov.uk/daedalus/daedalushistory.aspx)** > > Information about the history of Daedalus > **[RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNAS_Lee-on-Solent_(HMS_Daedalus))** > > Royal Naval Air Station Lee-on-Solent, (RNAS Lee-on-Solent; or HMS Daedalus 1939–1959 & 1965–1996 and HMS Ariel 1959–1965), is a former Royal Naval Air Station located near Lee-on-the-Solent in Hampshire, approximately 4 miles (6.44 km) west of Portsmouth, on the coast of the Solent. The airfield is now mostly civilian, however is still used by HM Coastguard; flying the AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters. > It was one of the primary shore airfields of the Fleet Air Arm and was first established as... j ETA - I forgot to mention that the slipway _ **was** _ later used for hovercraft, as Daedalus played a role in evaluating them for military use. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/67 "2025-09-10T21:14:40Z")
There are a couple of fun 1930s military or airline seaplane facilities still left in existence around the US. It’s hard now to get a current photo of them except from the water. Most of them are long gone as waterfront perimeter in working ports is at such a premium. Lots of the old sites are now landlocked (and buried) as the commercial harbor has been partly filled to make more land-side port capacity and more piers to pull ships alongside of. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2025, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/68 "2025-09-11T02:54:58Z")
I guess this is in between civilization and nature. There is a project near me to dredge out the harbor and redeposit the sand in an area that has been heavily eroded by ocean currents modified by a several-decades-old breakwater. They have laid two big pipes about 1/4 mile long from the harbor to the deposition site and today have started pumping a slurry of sand and seawater through the pipes. You can see the outflow just below the bulldozer. Also, for some reason a bunch of seabirds have decided the new pool is an awesome place to hang out. [![](https://greenwoodsoftware.com/misc/dredging.jpg) ](https://greenwoodsoftware.com/misc/dredging.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2025, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/69 "2025-09-11T20:24:13Z")
The remains of an old mill along the Patuxent river in Maryland, probably abandoned about 100 years ago [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54569433394_e5e8718ca5_b.jpg "20250601\_181801") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/31573076@N00/54569433394/) Close up [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54569476198_a26635c3b5_b.jpg "20250601\_182322") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/31573076@N00/54569476198/) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2025, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/70 "2025-09-11T23:25:38Z")
[![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/XJGulca.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/XJGulca) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/71 "2025-10-01T20:18:36Z")
Heard, not saw: An unusual sounding jet. Flight Radar 24 told me it was a “IAI Kfir” [![](https://i.imgur.com/sFhaGYo.png) ](https://i.imgur.com/sFhaGYo.png) A _what_? I thought. > **[IAI Kfir](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAI_Kfir)** > > The Israel Aircraft Industries Kfir (Hebrew: כְּפִיר, "Lion Cub") is an Israeli all-weather multirole combat aircraft based on the French Dassault Mirage 5, with Israeli avionics and an Israeli-built version of the General Electric J79 turbojet engine. > The project that would ultimately give birth to the Kfir can be traced back to the IDF's need for adapting the Dassault Mirage IIIC to the specific requirements of the Israeli Air Force (IAF). > The all-weather, delta-winged Mirage IIICJ was the fi... So the Israeli air force was attacking rural South Carolina. (Back to Google) > **[ATAC wins F-16 chase flight contract in Greenville](https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/atac-f-16-chase-flight-greenville)** > > Textron’s ATAC secures a $7.82M contract to provide chase aircraft for F-16 first and assurance flights in Greenville, South Carolina. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/72 "2025-10-01T21:19:33Z")
We just spent the day at Aigues Mortes on the Camargue (south of France). It’s a big medieval walled city, square in layout with huge city walls. Now. _La course camarguaise_ is a big thing around here - it’s the local version of bullfighting. The animals aren’t harmed - _raseteurs_ attempt to snatch things like pom-poms and ribbons off the head and horns of an annoyed bull. So it’s not harmful but I assume it properly pisses them off. The big festival at Aigues Mortes starts in a couple of days, so preparations are underway. The “Bullring” is…. Uh…. Well, it’s this (click thru as usual) [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNHlTWb-ZYFknp2ocd44pQIEr2fRGor6qWFjOiSujFpyav9-b-N5UkM5lHpC3wwlgfLD5GRAf0-WZ_TsNIf6OCLH73Z_nD0JKaqQfMZknIUgnaQ1bs=w600-h315-p-k "New photo · Wednesday, Oct 1 📸") ](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNYiizW2a2Cn5Stzh4TwQt5FdrWyUSrOEYcZb5eXx2l_kEdsZ4BJUpc9LgOnveQqA?key=ekUzLXdrSXVrUGJuTXlCUDRUYmZDZUExeUNjSVhR) So, couple of things. Yes, that two bar fence is meant to contain enraged bulls; and those uneven wooden structures contain the crowd. Here’s the view from the other side. [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczMWehrvOAJkNdF-QUSsS9qbxoy0hhVvEaZ3HFqPwVQ9BCJIc3IN-GZ9gro6z7adr0dj3t5yho5P7RP5MVXpm1dCwpcDQUu1ewvj316xV0jcoPUE3lo=w600-h315-p-k "New photo · Wednesday, Oct 1 📸") ](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipP-3FNlYv67bPnEnvOYHKwgF2iVUkAarg0GbUqUubeaM28c7uRR-v9lBlIdZ7cSmA?key=SVNRZDM1YVBsOHBsU3ZpZkM1U1J5LVZYSmstQTZ3) We were told the following by a woman working on the bullring. Those structures are all tiny, family owned grandstands. There are maybe a hundred of them (plus a couple of (temporary?) scaffolding-type stands). The family stands (“Theatres”) flat pack away, are got out and erected for the festival, and then afterwards packed away again. Note their bull-proof nature. Now. Returning to the two bar fencing - think that’s 100% bull-proof? Take a look at the fronts of the theatres and note the horizontal wooden spars on the front. Rather like the rungs of a ladder. Kinda handy if you need to get out of the arena in a goddamn hurry, huh? j ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/73 "2025-10-01T21:26:08Z")
Oh, and obviously the bullring is outside the city walls, so it’s easy to deliver the bulls to it. Right? Well kinda. They drive them straight through the city. The route is already prepared by laying down protective sand. [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNDqP3AYfvl15SAIvhg8VKm2W-MWFFX5rfdNGzn_kzGTLGxIjhgjXu30zKfYV1pbuuWZK3o6paiOv0809fA3BFWvAXqqPxMNnu3keIPXca2c-qrYH8=w600-h315-p-k "New photo · Wednesday, Oct 1 📸") ](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOaToixy2tgG-U-myhEr5TjfilRN_juU8NIFEX9_i0hxuPwrMkVeNh7AXQrHDU7tg?key=bUZldFQwNTFDS0wyb1lRMDdKejI1ZDZ6WTBjSFl3) j ---
**Author:** ![Cachalot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@Cachalot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cachalot)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2025, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/74 "2025-10-05T00:47:02Z")
At the supermarket today, I found the teenage (probably 16 or 17) cashier and bagger discussing the Eleusinian Mysteries. I told them that I found it refreshing to find people of their generation who even knew about the subject. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/75 "2025-10-08T19:17:21Z")
I assume that, in other countries as well as Britain, it’s tough to buy a loaf these days without someone wanting you to fill in a survey rating your bread buying experience? Same everywhere I assume - but this one was different. It’s flu vax time of year! My flu shot was scheduled for 5PM today - I walked to the surgery/doctor’s office because, well, you should. And because I wasn’t sure how long it would take, I actually checked in 12 minutes early. It turned out that I wasn’t the only one running early - I didn’t even get to sit down in the waiting room before I was called to room 11 and given my shot. _As I walked out of the surgery door_ the text arrived inviting me to complete a short survey… I was asked to rate the vaccination experience _eight minutes before my scheduled appointment time_. I wish I could say I was surprised. j ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/76 "2025-10-08T20:28:50Z")
Good bet the survey was triggered by the technician entering your completed vaccination into their computer. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/77 "2025-10-08T20:35:24Z")
Yeah, that’s my guess too. Is it just me, or does that sort of pushiness create a bad impression? I never complete the surveys anyway, on the grounds that it would only encourage them. j ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/78 "2025-10-08T20:40:44Z")
Here’s a recent thread on exactly that point: > [@Does not filling out a customer survey make me a bad person?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-not-filling-out-a-customer-survey-make-me-a-bad-person/1022901): > > I began working in the early days of Silicon Valley and worked for a number of start-ups. Because I was considered a people-person, I ended up managing the fledgling tech support department. I enjoyed working with customers, even when they weren’t happy, because I could usually find a way to make them happy. After a while, upper management wanted to know what our customers thought of us, so I created a customer satisfaction survey and emailed it to customers. I compiled the results and presented… ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2025, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/79 "2025-12-30T21:38:54Z")
I assume that a train implies civilization, right? [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55014826185_4e9c065015_b.jpg "8DC164C1-624D-4657-82E0-97B1CA7064CE\_1\_105\_c") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/11822576@N08/55014826185/in/dateposted-public/) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708/80 "2026-01-01T00:02:16Z")
We stopped at Honeyville, so my wife could get her sister some honey, and I took a picture of their Beehive-themed still: [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/RZ3Q05C.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/RZ3Q05C) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-civilization-i-saw/1018708.md?page=5)