So my buddy and I watched that old Keanu Reeves film Point Break the other night, and we got to talking. We're thinking that more air pressure causes you to bleed at a more furious pace. So if someone's in a knife fight in a plane, is cut, say across the arm, then jumps out of the airplane to parachute to the ground - will they bleed to death before they hit the ground because the air pressure is causing them to bleed so quickly? It doesn't have to be skydiving, it could be on like, Everest. Will you bleed crazy fast higher up? I know that there are a lot of variables here, but I'm just curious if the thinking is sound.
posted by Sully on Jun 7, 2009 - 22 answers

What technology would have been available to Biblical census-takers? [more inside]
posted by Fiasco da Gama on May 3, 2009 - 10 answers

Looking for sci-fi/speculative fiction that deals with the issue of colonization, immigration, and refugees. The more details the better! Specifically looking for stories that deal (at least partly) with the stories of the immigrants themselves, and not just the abstract idea. [more inside]
posted by sarahkeebs on Apr 4, 2009 - 40 answers

After reading Y: The Last Man I'm finding myself haunted by the questions posed by the series. Where might one go (preferably online) to find statistics or evidence of how many women currently excel in various industries? [more inside]
posted by ZachsMind on Jan 7, 2008 - 39 answers

Hypotension/hypovolemia as a low-pass filter: I got cut, I went into shock, and then everything started sounding funny. I'd guess it was a 40 dB (±10) rolloff, which began near 200 Hz (±50) and left me with nothing above 1kHz. How in the world? Story, discussion of numeric estimates, off-the-cuff physiological speculations, etc... [more inside]
posted by eritain on May 12, 2007 - 24 answers