This. So much this. And just in case anyone was wondering here is an actual quote from a recent discussion about vaccines in NZ:

"your belief in vaccines is an article of faith.

Vaccines are a purification ritual. A cult. And you couldn't care less about evidence and logic.

You will just shift the goalposts.

Since the widespread use of vaccines, childhood disability rates in the US have risen ten fold, healthcare expenditure has increased to be four times what it was as a per cent of GDP and currently one in two children have a chronic illness.

now rationalise away

This should be great to see all your religious, faith based reasoning as to why you should maintain your delusional faith in your cult."

The irony would be hilarious if the outcome wasn't so tragic.

Your video, NASA Developing Technology to Fold Aircraft Wings Mid-Air, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

This achievement has earned you your "Pop Star" Level 24 Badge!

My thought was it folds the barbs sideways so they don't hook in as well. Clearly they still catch some, but likely less than just tugging.

I can give you a description of the bit and my opinion.

A Tom Thumb bit is jointed in the middle and has shanks for leverage. So it has a dual action. When light pressure is used it works on the gums and corners of the mouth. When the reigns are pulled harder the jaw is squeezed while the shanks multiply the force and the center joint folds upward to apply pressure to the roof of the mouth. It's kind of like the volume going from 1 to 11.

Uses:
In theory it should act like a traditional Western bit with the added advantage of rotating the shanks independently...so you can make pressure changes on each side of the mouth independently. In actual practice, it pinches the horses lip in this situation and horses tend to react by tossing their head up or holding their head in an unnaturally high position. With a strong pull it becomes extremely severe. Using it requires a very light hand.

I have used a Tom Thumb successfully with a well trained horse that required no head control but had developed a bad habit of testing his rider by picking up his gate and then bolting. The bit allowed me to ride with no hand but when the horse stretched his neck to take control he ran into the bit. When he relaxed back to the correct position, the pressure was gone. Eventually he didn't want to cause his own discomfort and once he'd broken his bad habits the bit wasn't necessary.

In my opinion, the Tom Thumb appears to check a lot of boxes but in reality it does few of them well. It can work for the right horse, with the right rider, in the right circumstances.

Roy is clearly an inexperienced rider and his personality demands that he assert control, even when he's out of his depth. He's riding a gaited horse (I think it's a Tennessee Walker but my daughter disagrees) and he seems to be trying to make it move like a Quarter Horse. My guess is he's trying to ride in like a cowboy but the horse naturally moves like pretty princess horse. Chaos ensues.

I hope that makes sense. I tried to avoid horse-people terms. If something's unclear or if anyone feels I'm wrong, then I welcome comments.

Somebody stop that old man...he's going to use up all the rice, that has to last a full year. We can use that folding shovel...defend the rice!

I'll throw my hat into the internet justice ring for funsies.

I'm guessing the "pro cyclist" folks that view this have never lived in a location with:

1.) A city that spends millions of tax revenue on shared roads, road diets and special lanes for cyclists
2.) A large population of self righteous, passive aggressive cyclists that ignore road warnings, laws or common sense
3.) Or had their vehicle leaned on, mirrors folded in, kicked/punched or spat on while sitting at a traffic crossing

As a cyclist and motorist, I'm glad they got soaked.

i mean, why throw them on the table to take a sip of water... and you can clearly see the "black paper" isnt holding the "fold" at all during the pre unveiling scene... sheesh

How did that eagle not break anything? I was expecting it not to be able to fold its wings after those impacts but...damn...tough birds!

not origami which is paper folding. Closer to kiragami (cutting). But this also involves sticking

So why the crap did his car not fold up in to a briefcase?

I demand answers!

Your video, Doctor Strange -- chase through a city folding in on itself, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

I still think saying something like "the beginning of everything" is a little presumptuous for us recently technological monkeys to say. I feel like there is an awful amount of knowledge that we don't know or understand, yet. I love thinking about it though - kinda like that Sun Ra song - "There are other worlds (they have not told you of)" A Big Bang might just be a small aspect, that happens all the time all over a vast multiverse, outside multiverses, inside multiverses, folded into trillions of dimensions that exist as free flowing holographic data, that really just exists inside a super-technological golden egg, on the table of a very wise alien and your life was just you dreaming and then you wake up as the wise alien and you say "How the hell did I forget about this strange ass egg?!"

! Nice. Technically, no, but I see how it could be read that way. They need a better editor. They should call my mom, she worked at Stanford for decades as lead editor.
Clearly what it means is , 'the magnitude or level of risk associated with smoking is considerably higher from those associated with daily consumption of processed meat. (for example, for lung cancer from smoking, there's about a 20 fold, or 2000% increased risk, while for colorectal cancer from daily eating processed foods there's about an 18% increased risk).
I'm pretty sure you're intelligent enough to understand that.