7mo ago

Well, does it?

Found this post on IG and I'm wondering what this community's stance is. With winter now officially here*, I think it's a valid question.

Edit: *where I live

79 comments

Local variants of sticks are acceptable.
I just realized there is an entire continent where there are no trees, and thus no sticks.
And it isnt a small continent either. it is larger than all of Europe and also larger than Australia. We arent talking about an island or archipelago or even some random landlocked desert. It is a continent.
the fact that there are no sticks that naturally occur there at all... it confuses and concerns me.
This is deeply unsettling to me.
- Don't worry, flowers are starting to bloom more and more on Antarctica.
  Soon, trees will start to grow so even that continent has sticks!
  Wait ... that is even a bigger concern to worry.
  
  When humanity has to move to the poles to survive, I'd rather have trees than not.
- Don't worry. At this rate, the ice will be gone soon and... oh
  
  So i did a little research. The sad/fun part about my realization is... if you go back far enough in time, before the ice and nothingness, archeologists have pointed out that Antarctica was once a massive forest continent.
  Millions of years ago, it had trees, and thus, sticks for days and days.
  Once again we are living in the wrong time. Too late to explore all continents having sticks. But also too early to live where all continents have sticks. In the grand scheme of things, we exist in the uneven ground.
  It's a sad equilibrium to be sure.
- also larger than Australia
  Not all that well-known, but Australia claims about 42% of Antarctica as part of it's territory.
  
  Claims vs. recognized.
  
  Maybe but usually when people talk about Australia in this context they mean the continent, not the country.
  
  Australia can go fuck itself
- Before it slipped down to the bottom of the world, it used to be covered in jungles.
- It makes sense why there are no sticks. But I agree, the thought of a lack of sticks seems to be unsettling, not a lack of trees or bushes.
  Are we that naturally attracted to sticks because of primate evolution? I wonder if the earliest human ancestors developed this awareness of sticks as it is a primitive tool used to survive.
- It's hell for doggos.
This is likely an extremely powerful weapon that can only be used once before it breaks so save it for the last boss.
- Fuck, I beat the last boss and I forgot this was in my inventory...
  
  Along with 999 medium health elixirs
We grant you the rank of honorary stick.
- "This is acceptable! This is fair!"
- Motion seconded
Can you poke things with it? Can you swish it around and pretend it's a sword? Does it bring joy to your heart? Then it's a stick.
That's an icicle, sticks are wooden. I like his spirit though, that icicle has stick vibes.
- I'd say an icicle defines as a stick. A stick does not need to be wooden (like a stick of dynamite).
  
  I guess it depends on how much of a stickler you are.
  
  the “stick of dynamite” argument really gums up the works here. i reckon it’s under the larger stick-umbrella, but still doesn’t meet the criteria of JUST “a stick”. think like, a capital-S-stick in the same way christians refer to capital-G-god.
  an icicle is the “other minor deity” of sticks.
  
  Yes, it's a stick of ice.
- ice-stickle
- My first glance I thought it was a narwhal tusk o_o
It is an ice sculpture of a stick.
Is there no flotsam from elsewhere washed ashore in Antartica?
But independent of that, I think that's an awesome ice stick!
- I now need to know whether there is flotsam in Antarctica
  
  I just learned that flotsam (and jetsam and lagan) are specific terms with specific meanings.
  IDK if sticks that fall out of trees really belong to any, I think maybe that would just be floating debris.
  Something man made has to be either flotsam (from a sunken wreck) or jetsam (intentionally discarded) but a stick that fell from a tree is neither of those.
Nope. Ignore the pandering milquetoasts.
A stick is a stick. This is not one. Do we have no standards?
- What are you, some kind of stick adjudicator?
  
  I'm a stickler for correctness.
can't bring sticks? i have questions
- You can't bring anything that could carry non-native lifeforms on it, to preserve Antarctica's unique Flora and Fauna from invasive species.
  
  What, not even our nice Norwegian _{shape-shifting assimilating microbes}dogs?
  EDIT: I am sad lemmy doesn't appear to support strikethrough.
  
  Wouldn't anything that didn't evolve to deal with Antarctica's brutal climate just immediately die?
It does.
Nice stick
Just like dopamine and serotonin: If you don't have homemade, store bought is just fine
- shore brought is fine
"...there are no sticks here. Nothing grows..." so far...
[...] we demonstrate a clear but nonlinear trend towards a greater area of vegetation cover across the [Antarctic Peninsula] in recent decades [...] Crucially, the rate of change in vegetation cover has increased considerably in recent years
[...]
Regardless of the complexities discussed in the preceding, the overall statistically significant trajectory of APwide greening from 1986 to 2021 [...] provides strong evidence of rapid and ongoing response of AP vegetation to climate change, and presents a compelling case for future widespread changes in the AP’s terrestrial ecosystems.
.... I'm just going to be technical and point out that it's currently summer in Antarctica .....
This is why there are 12 types of Christianity. No it's not a stick and I will crusade against anybody who claims it is.
You bet you're cold white pasty ass it counts. Now go spear a narwhal or do something cool with it!
- A narwhal horn would make the best stick.
Can you poke someone in the butt with it?? Fuck yeah you can.
- ...that's not a poke!
  Seriously - this doesn't count as a stick - this is a close approximation of a stick in that it has many similar properties but it is far from it. Watch how in a few hours it dissolves on the ground (or inside?).
  However it does beautifully capture the novelty-based appreciation of sticks. There's something to this, for sure...
Bread sticks
Stick of butter
Stick of dynamite
Carrot sticks
Stick shift
I feel like there's enough precedent to allow the Ice stick, given the circumstances
- Disagree. In each of the cases you've cited the term "stick" describes the form of the subject, and no better term exists.
  If small shafts of carrot were commonly called carroticles, then you couldn't call one a carrot stick.
  Clearly the object pictured in this post is an icicle. It is not an ice stick.
  
  The voice of reason.
Throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks.
- Well played.
You can melt and solidify metal but that is considered a rod, not a stick
You can melt and solidify water
That is a rod of ice
Can't bring sticks
What?! Why?
Curious, why can't you bring sticks?
- I would assume biosecurity concerns
  
  That doesn't make sense, if that were the case it wouldn't be relevant anymore as humans simply walking on the continent would introduce incredible amounts of bacterias and viruses.
  Even with the sterile processing of Moon and Mars rovers have observed this. It's impossible to prevent, only reduce.
I’m pretty sure this is a narwhal disguised as a human…

79 comments