40 points by surprisetalk 2 days ago|15 comments
ButlerianJihad 33 minutes ago
"I just wanted to mention, for those who have asked... Absolutely nothing whatsoever happened today in Sector 83 by 9 by 12."

https://youtu.be/vZt5_27mGcE?si=PaeEaF9Ws0aDvMMt

I am totally sure I've seen that plaque in O'Hungry's. It's a San Diego classic. It's reassuring to know that there are such places around the world.

swader999 21 hours ago
I need this for some past companies I've worked at.
layer8 20 hours ago
It’s curious how there seem to be so few combinations of place and time where nothing important happened.
tolugenius 23 hours ago
Funny, does anyone know the history of any of the markers? I'm just curious why this is global thing really.
LahvacCz 23 hours ago
The one from Míšov, Czech Republic is tribute to the running joke of nonexistent genius Jara Cimmrman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%A1ra_Cimrman

cryzinger 22 hours ago
The bust (if you even can call it that...) pictured in the article is terrifying!
Photogrammaton 22 hours ago
The plaque is identical in two of the photos (one from Ireland, one from Luxembourg), and the wording is identical in those two plus a third (from Western Australia). That makes me curious.
wccrawford 23 hours ago
You don't think this is just a joke that multiple people thought of independently?

Some of them might be in reaction to a local event, or even a worldwide event that had no local impact. But I think they're mostly just jokes.

clickety_clack 21 hours ago
Was it in a Monty python sketch or something?
bckr 23 hours ago
My great grandmother taught me that “nothing doing” meant something similar to “there’s nothing for it”.
arjie 23 hours ago
I’m in my late thirties and it was still in common use in India, and perhaps specifically among Anglo Indians? But it meant more like “no chance”.

“Can I go out to the movies with my friends?”

“Nothing doing! You have an exam tomorrow”

Or failure to do something.

“I tried to fix it myself but nothing doing”.

HappMacDonald 22 hours ago
Looney Toons / Merry Melodies also bear out this connotation quite well
TRiG_Ireland 23 hours ago
The Futility Closet website (and, formerly, podcast) is an amazing treasure trove of fascinating facts.
alucardo 17 hours ago
Yes! and thank you for making me remember its existence
rzzzt 23 hours ago
1897 seems like an important year.