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top 200 commentsshow 500

[–]fredtheotherfish 269 points270 points ago

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Dangit. After seeing this picture I just spent the 30 minutes reading about Easter Island on Wikipedia and Google.

[–]callmesnake13 82 points83 points ago

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Now look up Nan Madol and get ready to have your mind BLOWN

[–][deleted] 58 points59 points ago

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"I've not set foot in glorious Kurast for many years."

[–]wildfyr 19 points20 points ago

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place turned out to be a shithole

[–]Magnetic_Balls 14 points15 points ago

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I hated act 3.

[–]AMISHassassin 29 points30 points ago

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A local story holds that when Nan Madol was being built a powerful magician living in the well inhabited region on the northwest of the island was solicited, and that his help was a major factor in completing the buildings. In particular, he was responsible for supplying the huge stone "logs" used in much of Nan Madol by "flying" them from their source to the construction site.

Bro

[–]dhpii 351 points352 points ago

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[–]this_sort_of_thing 114 points115 points ago

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Captcha Art is the most underrated artform of all history

[–]dhpii 325 points326 points ago

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[–]Capn_Danger 26 points27 points ago

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GOLDEN, NEED MOAR!

[–]IHaveItAllFiguredOut 4 points5 points ago

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Wow, that is the hardest I've laughed at something on reddit in a long time! Well played!

[–]Hrodrik 30 points31 points ago

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That is the best captchart I've ever seen. And I haven't seen many.

[–]Mechakoopa 60 points61 points ago

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And now you're smarter. Good job! :)

[–]Hoobleton 169 points170 points ago

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More knowledgable perhaps.

[–]tokomini 41 points42 points ago

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But now he knows some trivia that he can bust out at parties and the ladies will all jump at the chance to get his dick wet.

Seems pretty smart to me.

[–]FrankReynolds 46 points47 points ago

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If I know anything, it's that the ladies swoon over socially awkward nerds who start conversations with, "Did you know the first settlement on Easter Island was at Anakena, which is one of only two small sandy beaches in the otherwise rocky coastline?"

[–]slightlyshysara 30 points31 points ago

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swoon

[–]my_own_wakawaka 29 points30 points ago

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Nothing says 'pussy magnet' like archeology.

[–]Mr_Stay_Puft 47 points48 points ago

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How about you direct your withering sarcasm to the good Doctor Indiana Jones of the University of Fuck You!

[–]my_own_wakawaka 13 points14 points ago

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Actually, I'm currently pursuing a graduate degree in wry cynicism from that very institution. Dr. Jones' own work is an area of study.

[–]Mr_Stay_Puft 3 points4 points ago

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Oh, are you now?

[–]sparklingwall 13 points14 points ago

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Bitches love random trivia.

[–]Dekkres 24 points25 points ago

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It doesn't quite work like that.

[–]kevlarvest1893 237 points238 points ago

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when was this taken??

[–][deleted] 673 points674 points ago

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around 2pm

[–]pepdek 357 points358 points ago

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50 years ago.

[–]fung45 200 points201 points ago

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It 'just' got more impressive

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]cphd 560 points561 points ago

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tldr : 50 years ago is not today

[–]Buttbert 321 points322 points ago

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for a second i thought this said "TIL 50 years ago is not today" and i was giggling like a little bitch

[–]ididntwantausername 178 points179 points ago

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I just had to re-read his actual sentence 3 times before I realised it didn't say "TIL".

I think I'll go to bed now.

[–]soulcakeduck 30 points31 points ago

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Fifty Years Ago I Learned

[–]Deerz 21 points22 points ago

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I couldn't figure it out until I saw your comment.

[–]PureBlooded 16 points17 points ago

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My God you're all saying what I'm thinking!!!

[–]cmn006 3 points4 points ago

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But its only 2pm

[–]ididntwantausername 5 points6 points ago

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1:42 AM.

England.

[–]selter01 40 points41 points ago

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This used to be true.

We don't define time by that anymore, we now have an atomic clock, which does not rely on orbits. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second

[–]NULLACCOUNT 11 points12 points ago*

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Yes, but leap seconds are added each year every few years to keep the atomic clock in sync with the changing orbits. So each year is a little (and different) amount longer or shorter than 365 days * 24 hours * 60 minutes * 60 seconds. So 2pm 10/22/1961 is not exactly 2pm 50 standard years ago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_second

[–]FallingAwake 16 points17 points ago*

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Time as in the relation of the Earth's position to something else? No. It's still been 50 years of time length, though. Time isn't real.

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points ago

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That is not a fun fact when you melvin it in

[–]tokomini 44 points45 points ago

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I can confirm this picture was taken 50 years ago at exactly 2 pm.

[–]pepdek 24 points25 points ago

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By the pixels?

[–]Fandy14 21 points22 points ago

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Carbon Pixel dating in action.

[–]theshoupguy 799 points800 points ago

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Eastern time.

[–]LashFlashingLeda 62 points63 points ago

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I feel compelled to upvote you for the fact that you got almost 250 karma for this terrible (even by reddit standards) pun. Good show.

[–]DUDE_TIME 49 points50 points ago

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The denim suit on the right says not very recently.

[–]SkippySandwich 100 points101 points ago

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The denim suit on the right says "i'm canadian".

[–]saveferris89 68 points69 points ago

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denim suit = Canadian tuxedo

[–]kitchendancer 10 points11 points ago

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Archeologists are noted for their trendy fashion.

[–]PoochTheKiller 61 points62 points ago

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The crotch grab is very similar to the Balikli statue, possibly the oldest known sculpture. http://essayweb.net/history/ancient/images/statue_large.jpg

[–]drakegta 4 points5 points ago

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Interesting read, I guess they draw a line between this statue and the Neolithic Venus_figurines

[–]DeathKillBot 5 points6 points ago

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I think that's a super interesting connection. Why did two completely separated groups of people choose that similar pose? The Balikli statue was found in Turkey and these off the coast of Chile on Easter Island.

[–]pieguyfry22 11 points12 points ago

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Men from all over the world occasionally find themselves grabbing their crotch for whatever reason, no matter what culture they're from. It's an ancient tradition, crotch-grabbing.

[–][deleted] 1060 points1061 points ago

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Squidward's house has a basement!?

[–]mmmarius 183 points184 points ago

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i can stop reading this now. no comment can be better than this.

[–]lampshade14 44 points45 points ago

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Fine, guess I'll post tomorrow's winning lottery numbers on some other website then

[–]Fetus_Flinger 143 points144 points ago

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It has hands? Shit. I was hoping to see some clamps.

[–]Snufflesaur 45 points46 points ago

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It looks like it's reaching for its junk.

[–]I_donut_understand 274 points275 points ago

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[–]regularbean 146 points147 points ago*

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My grandpa and grandma have been staying on Easter Island on and off since 2006. He's a photographer and has gotten some amazing pictures (and life long friends) out of it. Here are just some of his photos (he does color as well):

http://jamescraigphotography.com/Easter_Island_Images.html

He also keeps a blog of his experiences of the island. There's an archive that goes all the way back to 2006!

http://www.easterislandjournal.com/Blog/Blog.html

Now I hope this isn't too plug-y, but he released a book of his photographs/anecdotes from the island. I figured I should put that here, too.

http://www.themoonhasbeeneaten.com/themoonhasbeeneaten.html

Additionally a few years ago I got to visit and stay on the island for about two weeks. If anybody has any random questions about what it's actually like there, feel free to ask and I'll answer to the best of my knowledge :) By the way, what would you guys think of him doing an IAMA? Or maybe getting somebody from the island to do an IAMA? After living on the island for so long he has extensive connections to all kinds of people in the community and knowledge.

EDIT: Just e-mailed my grandpa about an AMA. Let's see what he says!

[–]zeppoleon 11 points12 points ago

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What is the culture like on the island now? How was the vibe/atmosphere of the place?

[–]regularbean 34 points35 points ago*

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When I was there it was 2007 or so, so I can only speak for the time that I was there. As for the culture it isn't quite what many people think it is. There aren't just 'tribal' people running around with facepaint. Those sort of costumes/shows are put on for tourists. The island economy, to me, seemed fairly reliant on tourism. The Rapa Nui put on dancing shows and sell sculptures/jewelry/other works to tourists for money. They're also reliant on the 'mainland', Chile, for many things. There's a flight that goes between Easter Island (aka Rapa Nui, which is the name of the island, as well as the indigenous people, as well as the Rapa Nui language) and Chile, as I recall, only a few times a week. I can't remember the exact number but it might have only been 2 times a week at the time. I believe the flight is LAN Airlines. Anyway, they get shipments of food and supplies and whatnot from that plane. Chilean culture has a large influence on the island. For example much of the food there (there are several restaurants) is ordinary South American cuisine, for example ceviche is popular there.

As for the people there is generally a more easy going, accepting feel to them. From what I could tell (and my grandpa has remarked on this before) it's not so much apart of the culture to mock/make fun of people in a mean spirited way. It's just not done too often. Although, I do know that some people born on Rapa Nui are eager to 'get out' and go find a job on the mainland. Another random thing-- they love to drink. Not in the 'oh they're drunkards!' way, but just in a 'let's kick back and drink' sort of way. Red wine mixed with Coke is popular. You'll sometimes find old Coke things there in general, like old red Coke lawn chairs. Also wakes (I attended one while I was there) are done mostly outdoors and are, basically, public parties. It's a celebration of life and they cook a shit ton of food for everybody. One big barbecue. I can't recall the name for it but (and I know this is done in other cultures as well) they cooked a pig by digging a hole in the ground and putting leaves and stuff over it.

Save for a bigger hotel for tourists that's a bit of a drive from the main town Hanga Roa (there's only one town on the island, really) it's not upscale living. I mean, it's not a ghetto (there's electricity, running water), but some of the homes are fairly dilapidated/getting toward run down. There aren't many cars there, it's very common not to own a car. From what I remember most of the roads are dirt, bit I can't remember if all of them were. As for internet at the time there was an internet cafe for that. The internet wasn't so fast.

Hope that answer satisfied your question!

EDIT: Forgot to mention, what few cars are there are for the most part old Jeeps. Random fact.

EDIT the 2nd: I should have made it more clear, the pig was already dead when it was being roasted. Don't worry, haha!

[–]od_9 21 points22 points ago

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The internet wasn't so fast.

That's it, I'm not going.

[–]SmarterThanEveryone 3 points4 points ago

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Geek question:

How does the island actually get connected to the internet? Anyone know how that is done actually? It's over 2000 miles from the mainland Chile. Is a satellite link the only option?

[–]bamb00zled 857 points858 points ago*

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Fun fact: many believe that there used to be trees covering the island, but the Rapa Nui (the people who built the Moai) cut them all down, partly because they were used as rollers to help transport the monoliths. The people also brought rats with them which consumed vegetation, including seeds, exacerbating the dilemma.

Edit: Not a fun fact. Not a fun fact at all.

Ninja Edit: Look below for more extensive information on both the human and vermine factors in the collapse of the Rapa Nui, as well as alternative theories on the transportation of the Moai, etc.

[–]tora22 781 points782 points ago

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Not that "fun" when you read about what happened next.. mass starvation, people literally digging up and eating corpses.. a rather brutal lesson about taking care of your natural resources.

[–]Lampmonster1 1049 points1050 points ago

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It just occurred to me that cannibalism is probably just about the worst possible outcome of any plan.

Let's make some statues to please our gods!! - Cannibalism.

Let's move to California!! - Cannibalism.

Let's take the cheap flight to our soccer game!! - Cannibalism.

[–]Howard_Beale 619 points620 points ago

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What is "Easter Island, The Donner Party, and Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571"?

[–]nakedapedude 801 points802 points ago

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What's even worse is when that soccer team finished eating the corpses they had to eat the airline food.

[–]boomHeadSh0t 176 points177 points ago

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[–]TesticleToe 134 points135 points ago

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That wasn't instant at all! I had to click!

And now I'm tired.

[–]angryviking 22 points23 points ago

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This is a fucking goldmine! You have made me and my coworkers happy for at least the next year. We use the sad trombone(downer) 20 times a day at least. I cant wait to use The Price is Wrong! JACKPOT!

[–]notLOL 48 points49 points ago

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Airline jokes are fun

[–]jdsamford 54 points55 points ago

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Nice try, Jerry Seinfeld.

[–]Flavis 46 points47 points ago

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Err...It really had nothing to do with the price of the flight. It was chosen because the government usually offers their air force planes when a group of people are going to represent our country abroad.

[–]Drumlin 94 points95 points ago

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So it was free? Can't get any cheaper than that.

[–]cadencehz 96 points97 points ago

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There's no such thing as a free lunch.

[–]Mittonius 185 points186 points ago

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Usually flights across the Andes cost an arm and a leg.

[–]BDaught 49 points50 points ago

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But the meals are usually included.

[–]UruPol 35 points36 points ago

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..and it was a rugby team.

[–]MoOdYo 4 points5 points ago

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Ctrl+f Rugby

K, good.

[–]BlueJoshi 14 points15 points ago

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Yeah, but it's funnier this way.

[–]Picture_Me 22 points23 points ago

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They were going to play rugby.

[–]bloodfist 99 points100 points ago

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Well, that's the funniest thing I'll read all day.

[–]SrsSteel 58 points59 points ago

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Goodnight then

[–]SirFoxx 43 points44 points ago

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He'll be here all week folks, please try the veal.

[–]EltonJuan 56 points57 points ago

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Nice try, Cannibal Chef!

[–]isny 16 points17 points ago

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But it comes with a side of fava beans.

[–]Somsri 12 points13 points ago

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But it comes with a free frogurt!

[–]sporkfiend 24 points25 points ago

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The frogurt is also cursed

[–]ThisIsMyCouchAccount 7 points8 points ago

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"veal"

[–]BiffTheTimid 12 points13 points ago

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Then you're having a shpadoinkle day.

[–]Doomdoomkittydoom 9 points10 points ago

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Let's jump up and down in the elevator!! - Cannibalism.

[–][deleted] 69 points70 points ago

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I'm not sure about the California reference what event is it in regards to?

[–]nspriggs 67 points68 points ago

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The Donner party

[–]HerbertMcSherbert 153 points154 points ago

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To be fair, the Donner Party was only one letter away from being the Dinner Party anyway. They should have seen it coming.

[–]TheHorseYouRodeIn 68 points69 points ago

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Yeah, and Easter Island is almost Feaster Island so they should've seen that one coming too.

[–]TheNr24 38 points39 points ago

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Or the döner party.

[–]bugdog 6 points7 points ago

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We always had problems with hostesses pronouncing our last name right. Last time I went out with my parents, I told the hostess that we were Donner.

I don't know if anyone else in the restaurant thought it was funny, but when they called out "Donner, party of four," my dad and I laughed our happy asses off. My mom and husband were somewhat less amused.

[–]Scary_The_Clown 30 points31 points ago

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"Donner, party of six?"
"Oh, hey, we only need five seats now..."

[–]naveedy 12 points13 points ago

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Classic xkcd!

[–][deleted] 48 points49 points ago

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Thanks for the quick reply, it's too bad some douche bags felt that asking a question deserves down votes. Apparently they would rather reddit remain a learning free environment.

[–]Robbazorrathon 60 points61 points ago

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Learning is a dangerous habit that ultimately leads to - Cannibalism

[–]tokomini 97 points98 points ago

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HEY LOOK EVERYONE, THIS GUY'S TRYING TO LEARN THINGS! BRING YOUR PITCHFORKS AND YOUR DOWNVOTES!

[–]jaroberts24 45 points46 points ago

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HE'S TRYING TO LEARN ON HIS OWN!!! GET HIM!!!!!

[–][deleted] 27 points28 points ago

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WE DON'T TAKE KINDLY TO THOSE TRYIN TO LEARN ROUND HERE

[–]Sudtle 18 points19 points ago

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[–]Emperor_Zar 8 points9 points ago

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Upvote for learning!

[–]420BeefChalupas 9 points10 points ago

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did someone say the donner party?

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]thepizzlefry 20 points21 points ago

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[–]JebBartlet 233 points234 points ago

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Coming next summer: The Lorax directed by Rob Zombie

[–][deleted] 61 points62 points ago

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Written by M. Night... ahh fuck it.

[–]maytawlli 57 points58 points ago

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..shaymalalalala

[–]come_to_butthead 145 points146 points ago

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na...naga...notgonnaworkhereanymore

[–]djmichaelb 51 points52 points ago

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I told those fudge packers I liked Michael Bolton.

[–]BloodSoakedDoilies 25 points26 points ago

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Shama lama ding dong.

[–]V1ruk 12 points13 points ago

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Am I the only one who thinks this would be an amazing movie! Just follow a person in a seat of power, as he describes an entire island going MAD! First as they waste all their time building giant statues, then as it descends into cannibalistic mayhem. It has great potential!

[–]spork22 9 points10 points ago

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[–]fitzroy95 9 points10 points ago

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Indeed. The movie can follow the great region of the USA waste all its resources blowing up bits of the world while allowing it's own infrastructure to fall into rack and ruin and handing buckets of cash to the 1% to hide off shore as a militant theocracy drives education down, then watch them descend into 3rd world poverty and ignorance in a polluted and toxic industrial wasteland.

May not make it into cannibalism, but its the same ignorance on a larger scale.

[–]GimmeSomeSugar 47 points48 points ago

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If I recall correctly, they were in pretty bad fucking shape. Then the Europeans showed up... And introduced syphilis.

[–]I_SELL_MONORAILS 35 points36 points ago*

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Nope. Europe may have given the New World smallpox, influenza, pneumonia, and the bubonic plague, but syphilis actually originated from America and was brought back to Europe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_syphilis

EDIT: Wow, I totally had a brainfart. For some reason I thought Easter Island was in the Americas. My apologies.

[–]atomfullerene 5 points6 points ago

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Well, it sort of is...it's owned by Chile, and it's closer to South America than to any other continent-but not really close at all. Still, syphilis certainly wasn't native to the island.

[–]RighteousCookies 18 points19 points ago

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Damn Europeans, going to new worlds and spreading syphilis all over the place.

[–]Howard_Beale 28 points29 points ago

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"There were natives there called Guanches; Guanches by the score. Bullets, disease, the Portuguese; they aren't there anymore."

[–]Rmhourglass 19 points20 points ago

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"Guns, Germs, and Steel".
-Jared Diamond

[–]Howard_Beale 9 points10 points ago

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Actually it's from a song called "The Great Nations of Europe", by Randy Newman.

[–]CiXeL 2 points3 points ago

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not necessarily

The exact origin of syphilis is unknown.[1] Of two primary hypotheses, one proposes syphilis was carried to Europe by the returning crewmen from Christopher Columbus's voyage to the Americas, the other proposes syphilis existed in Europe previously, but went unrecognized. These are referred to as the "Columbian" and "pre-Columbian" hypotheses respectively.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syphilis

[–]Spades_Slick 96 points97 points ago

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People, people, people. None of this is true. This is a myth that has been circulated by Europeans and further popularized by Jared Diamond's book, "Collapse." The people didn't die when the trees left (rats killed the trees, by the way), there was no societal collapse, no huge competition for resources; the people lived off the land with ease and plenty of leisure time. Moving the Moai required no wood and no armies of slaves as most Europeans are prone to think - took a bit of rope and less than 30 people to "walk" it into position.

http://www.thestatuesthatwalked.com/The_Statues_That_Walked/Home.html

P.S. Europeans bringing disease is what killed off the islanders, if you're curious.

[–]tora22 47 points48 points ago

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You paint a whitewashed version of even the most ideal circumstance of the Easter Islanders prior to the arrival of Europeans.

Total deforestation had no consequence to a people that would naturally populate the island to the maximally supported count? I'm not saying Diamond's theses are all correct, they're a shot in the dark based on some interpretation of the evidence, but I completely believe that a people would move in, consume resources without appreciation for the looming consequences, and then suffer.

I'm not saying you are making the claim, but I do believe Diamond's introductory points about people wanting to believe that non-industrialized societies lived in harmony with nature.

[–]erie_bound 64 points65 points ago

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I don't know that we can dismiss the traditional explanation as "myth." At best, we can say that there's disagreement in the scientific community. For example, here's Diamond's response to the publication of the book you link to above, and note how Diamond links to publications by other experts to back his claims.

I haven't read the book you link to, and I can't vouch for any of the underlying research backing Diamond's claims (or the claims of the other scientists who back his position). But to call this a "myth" is more than a little premature.

EDIT 6:26 PM CDT: For full disclosure, here's the authors' response to Diamond's critique.

[–]mikbe 162 points163 points ago

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You hippies with your science and reality! Everyone knows there's no such thing as "natural resources" and the "environment." It's just a plot by Obama to take away your gun rights using his Acorn Army so he can kill you by making sure you have health care. Stupid hippies.

[–]moneymark21 100 points101 points ago

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I really was hoping someone would drag modern day politics into this conversation unnecessarily somehow. Thank you sir.

[–]Elidor 4 points5 points ago

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I mistakenly thought this was a continuation of the Lorax theme from above, and expected it to rhyme.

You hippies make me sick with your science!

Always going on about the environment!

There is nothing that's natural about trees, can't you see?

It's a plot by the Acorn Alliance!

Well you know you can bet your sweet bippies

And your arugula and your chickpeas

That it won't seem so fun when they come for your guns

If you have any, you stupid hippies!

[–]aboynamedsu 41 points42 points ago*

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For the sake of discussion, this fun fact is disputed by some.

And here's the rebuttal by Jared Diamond, whose research the above article disputes.

Also, here's a good reddit thread discussing the above linked articles.

Not saying I subscribe to all the conclusions either side arrives at, but they do raise interesting points.

Edit: added Diamond's rebuttal for balance.

Edit2: Seems I've duplicated links others had already posted.

[–]VerdammtesAutomat 66 points67 points ago

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I think I'm going to have to go with the History Channel and disagree here. I'm pretty sure it was ancient aliens.

[–]Leeham721 21 points22 points ago

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Actually ALIENS MOVED THEM THERE there's no other explanation!

[–]mexicodoug 5 points6 points ago

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I met a construction contractor who built skyscrapers in Los Angeles for a living who had recently returned from a visit to Machu Pichu in Peru and was marveling, as most people do, at how the ancient Incas built structures from stone so finely carved that no mortar was needed and you can't slip a knife blade between the stones.

He claimed that the Incas had to have had lasers to cut the stones. I suggested that there might be some other way of stone cutting that we in our modern society haven't developed yet, but he insisted that there was absolutely no way those stones could have been shaped by the Incas other than with lasers.

[–]DrollestMoloch 97 points98 points ago

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Fun fact, they did not cut them all down.

They deleteriously modified the ecosystem by cutting down a few of them, introducing rats, etc. There was no one guy going "Hey, let's just cut down the last tree! This makes sense!"

[–]DrollestMoloch 95 points96 points ago

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It's been a while since I read Collapse, I was under the impression that Diamond himself agrees with my point- that nobody was responsible for cutting down the last tree, the Islanders sufficiently damaged the ecosystem with nonnative wildlife/deforestation that trees ended up dying faster than they were growing.

Other than that, there are some good sources for the rat hypothesis:

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/311/5767/1603

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/rats-not-men-to-blame-for-death-of-easter-island-431105.html

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2009-11-13-easter-island_N.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2005-12-05-easter-island_x.htm

The 'they were so blind with a limited number of resources how could they oh look at the parallels today' parable is one with noble intentions and a good message, but it's not necessarily completely correct.

[–]gm2 11 points12 points ago

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That motherfucker Jared Diamond is always taking the trees' side.

[–]DigDugDude 52 points53 points ago

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He went to Jared.

[–]Spades_Slick 31 points32 points ago

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http://www.thestatuesthatwalked.com/The_Statues_That_Walked/Home.html

Dr. Lipo, one of the co-authors of this book, spoke in my Anthro class not long ago, and cited the evidence that when the Europeans had their very first contact with the people of Rapa Nui, the islanders were a strong, friendly society that easily lived off the fertile volcanic land. It wasn't until AFTER FIRST CONTACT, when Europeans returned, that they found the society devastated by disease.

Sound familiar? Hint: it happened in the Americas, too.

The whole "cannibalism"/"violent, competitive" thing was perpetuated by Europeans to point attention away from the fact that it's probably Europe's plethora of contagious disease that wiped out the islanders.

[–]procastarchaeologist 26 points27 points ago

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Do you have a citation for that?

[–]KaptainKrunch 105 points106 points ago

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AWWW SNAP

[–]Christosconst 5 points6 points ago

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Bring cats, millions of cats.

[–]WarbossPepe 55 points56 points ago

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Thats actually been proven as a myth.

When the locals were asked how they moved the large monuments, their response was that they "Walked" them into position. They were ridiculed of course as indigenous cretins.

Its now accepted that the Statues were gradually "walked" into place, just like you'd move a fridge into the Kitchen

Here's a story on it and their apparent "ecocide"

[–]psinet 74 points75 points ago

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I think you use of the word "proven" is a little spurious. Nothing in that article qualifies as "proof".

[–]BizRec 37 points38 points ago

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Perhaps you should read the follow up to that article: http://www.marklynas.org/2011/09/the-myths-of-easter-island-jared-diamond-responds/

[–]danthrax 15 points16 points ago

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The amount of back-and-forth discussion and citing of experts in the comments on /r/pics gives me renewed faith in the reddit community.

[–]robo555 20 points21 points ago

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A fridge is about the same height as a person, so there's not much chance of it tipping over. "Walking" a huge statue over a dirt road on a hill sounds like a recipe for disaster, when a much safer alternative of horizontal rolling is available. They obviously got pretty good at it given how many status they made.

Secondly, if it was transported vertically, it would mean they originally cut the rock and carved it vertically as well, that just a stupid way to do things. Remember they didn't do this once, they did this hundred of times.

[–]colinstalter 3 points4 points ago

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The stones at Stonehenge are ~20ft tall and weigh about 44 tons. This stone is substantially larger than that, probably about 30ft tall. Lets lowball it and say that stone weights 50 tons. That is 110,000 pounds. That would take A THOUSAND people each lifting ~110 pounds. The only way to distribute a weight over that many people would be extremely long beams that would be placed under the stone.

What I'm getting at is that lifting such a monstrous stone with manpower is inconceivable. They most likely used the rolling method brought up by other commenters, or the ball-plank method that was most likely used at stonehenge. Here is a pretty in-depth show about the issue if you are interested.

[–]RoverHD 22 points23 points ago

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[–]Scary_The_Clown 47 points48 points ago

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[–]suivethefirst 13 points14 points ago

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Scumbag Earthling. Quotes himself saying he won't reveal their secret in illustrated story revealing their secret.

[–]vicsunus 19 points20 points ago

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Rapamycin was discovered from a bacteria in Easter Island. This is a well known antiangiogenesis drug which is important in treatment of cancers. What the drug binds led to the discovery of the mammalian target of Rapamycin molecule in our bodies which is a key molecule in many pathways.

Just a reason why Easter Island is important to me.

[–]MontegoBarbados 64 points65 points ago

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That statue is actually just the top of a hat of an even larger statue.

[–]brandon684 26 points27 points ago

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Just statues all the way down.

[–]hazyjen 4 points5 points ago

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just statues all the way down

[–]nopropulsion 76 points77 points ago*

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they also had hats

edit: alternative link to BBC source because I just realized above link is the daily mail

[–]shadow321337 52 points53 points ago

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[–]GoTeamShake[!] 22 points23 points ago

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Looks like Gabe Newell built himself a time machine.

[–]AstronautMillionaire 55 points56 points ago

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[–]Im_thatguy 47 points48 points ago

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Genius! As the amount of hats increases, the amount of hats increase! ... Although, surprisingly, its not completely linear

[–]IXIELCHINGONIXI 15 points16 points ago

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i am trying to figure out how come in all of the documentaries on Easter Island i have seen, this is the first time i have ever heard of these things having full bodies..?

[–]CosmicCube 520 points521 points ago

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Just became? This discovery was made in the 60's.

[–]Gangreless 631 points632 points ago

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I'm sure the majority of people did not know about it.

[–]bikerchickelly 412 points413 points ago

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I didn't know about it!

[–]Manicplea 285 points286 points ago

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I still don't.

[–]El_Snuffy 170 points171 points ago

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Know about what?

[–]Tappen_Zee 227 points228 points ago

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Where am I? And how did you people get on my computer?

[–]Kornstalx 87 points88 points ago

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Help computer.

[–]HarvardCurlingTeam 92 points93 points ago

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Hey kid, I'm a computer.

[–]rawr359 39 points40 points ago

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I dunno much about compyootahs

[–]Kornstalx 27 points28 points ago

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We got one at home my mom put a few games on there

[–]muffinmonk 4 points5 points ago

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Oh god how did this get here I'm not good with computer.

[–]majority_of_people 16 points17 points ago

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You're right. I didn't.

[–]Anxietgeist 26 points27 points ago

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1 million percent? more like ~60%

[–]weirdasianfaces 18 points19 points ago

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I sometimes wonder about dummystupid (the OP)... I mean, a lot of people may not know about this, but I've seen it posted around Reddit before. The reason I mention this is because I tend to wonder if he is legitimately interested in this stuff or if he pays any relative attention to it.

A while ago I noticed he was on the front page multiple times and put a label on it with RES and noticed he posts just about everything he finds out on the web. http://www.reddit.com/user/dummystupid/ about 10 link submissions a day, that's dedication.

[–]jpaty 27 points28 points ago

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I've actually been to Easter Island before and it's absolutely unbelievable. If you ever get the chance, don't hesitate, just GO! Also, if you've never heard of Easter Island or the Moai, I definitely suggest reading up on it, some amazingly interesting stuff!

[–]MashimaroG4 7 points8 points ago

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We've seriously considered going a few times, the awkward flights and lodging and possibly unfriendly natives have always made us reconsider. We tend to be "do-ers" rather than lookers, so what is there to do after you look at some admittedly impressive lumps o' rock?

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]Media_Offline 106 points107 points ago

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I always see links to this guy on Reddit. Who is he?

[–]syriquez 233 points234 points ago

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Giorgio A. Tsoukalos.

He stars in a show on History Channel called Ancient Aliens (his fabulous hair is the only good part). Basically, his response to everything that isn't 100% cut & dry in history is "aliens did it".

[–]ziplokk 117 points118 points ago

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i always thought that he was the one with the most common sense on that show. almost everything he says begins with "I Think". where as almost everyone else says that there's no other explanation but aliens.

[–]emptygiants 51 points52 points ago

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He's certainly the most entertaining. He is genuinely passionate and seems like a nice guy, whereas most of the other interviewees look like douchebags trying to sell their book.

[–]JIGGER_MY_DIGGER 206 points207 points ago

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NICE TRY GIORGIO A. TSOUKALOS

[–]idlesway 13 points14 points ago

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"according to ancient alien theorists"

[–]MrBoog 8 points9 points ago

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Good god, 9 different Redditors gave the exact same answer to this question.

[–]Scarecroww 6 points7 points ago

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Do you know what the "T" stands for in "Model-T"?

[–]YesImThatJake 17 points18 points ago

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You mean they've been down there touching themselves this whole time?

[–]tokyosix 20 points21 points ago

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[–]hanahou 9 points10 points ago

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[–][deleted] 35 points36 points ago

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The hands are positioned as if to say "yeah I got yer aliens, right here."

[–]Three_of_Swords 19 points20 points ago

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I can't tell -- and I'm not going to spend the next hour on Wikipedia -- are his hands going to his belly button or his dingus?

[–]ddmyth 28 points29 points ago*

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The dingus went extinct like 250 years ago, must be his bellybutton.

[–]craig3010 4 points5 points ago

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There is a LOT more information at The Easter Island Statue Project. Its the website of the archaeologists doing this work.

[–]keiyakins 4 points5 points ago

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Just? You need to get out from under your rock more often.