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The Yellow Emperor as depicted in a tomb from the mid 2nd century AD. The inscription reads: "The Yellow Emperor created and changed a great many things; he invented weapons and the well-field system; he devised upper and lower garments, and established palaces and houses."

The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch, or Huangdi (traditional Chinese: 黃帝; simplified Chinese: 黄帝) in Chinese, is a mythical Chinese sovereign and culture hero included among the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. He is revered as a deity individually or as part of the Five Regions Highest Deities (Chinese: 五方上帝; pinyin: Wǔfāng Shàngdì) in Chinese folk religion. Regarded as the initiator of Chinese culture, he is traditionally credited with numerous innovations – including the traditional Chinese calendar, Taoism, wooden houses, boats, carts, the compass needle, "the earliest forms of writing", and cuju, a ball game. Calculated by Jesuit missionaries, as based on various Chinese chronicles, Huangdi's traditional reign dates begin in either 2698 or 2697 BC, spanning one hundred years exactly, later accepted by the twentieth-century promoters of a universal calendar starting with the Yellow Emperor.

Among his many accomplishments, Huangdi has been credited with the invention of the principles of Traditional Chinese medicine. The Huangdi Neijing (Inner Canon of Huangdi) was supposedly composed in collaboration with his physician Qibo. However, modern historiographers generally consider it to have been compiled from ancient sources by a scholar living between the Zhou and Han dynasties, more than 2,000 years later.

His interest in natural health and the prevention and treatment of diseases, according to historical sources, allowed him to live until the age of 100, and attain immortality after his physical death.

Legends

In legend, his wife Lei Zu taught the Chinese how to weave silk from silkworms, and his historian Cong Jie created the first Chinese characters.

His conception was supposed to have been signaled by a thunderclap on a clear day by the Heavens.

Legend says that Huangdi became the leader of his tribe which bore the totem of a bear (Youxiong, lit. possess bears). His tribe went to war with a neighboring tribe bearing the totem of a bull, headed by Yandi. Huangdi, through his superior military and leadership skills won the war and subdued Yandi's tribe. The two tribes united and became one. Legend then says that the Chinese civilization began with these two tribes. Some sources name Yandi as a brother or half-brother.

Huangdi's people were then threatened by a tribe under the leadership of Chi You, who was said to have magical powers and had 81 brothers, each having 4 eyes and 8 arms wielding terrible sharp weapons in every hand. Huangdi called upon 8 neighboring tribes to join forces with him and sent the combined army to meet Chi You and his brothers. The two great armies fought for days without a clear winner. Just as Huangdi's army began to turn the tide of battle, Chi You breathed out a thick fog and obscured the sunlight. Huangdi's army fell into disarray and could not find its way out of the battlefield. At this critical moment, Huangdi invented the South Pointing Chariot, and ordered its construction on the battlefield. With the South Pointing Chariot, Huangdi was able to lead his army out of the fog. Chi You then conjured up a heavy storm. Huangdi then called upon the gods who blew away the storm clouds and cleared the battlefield. Huangdi then was able to defeat Chi You and his tribe once and for all.

With this great victory, Huangdi not only safeguarded his own tribe, but the tribes of his allies. The nine Tribes joined together as one tribe under the leadership of Huangdi.

Huangdi is said to have ruled for a hundred years. He was said to have had 25 children, 14 of whom were sons. Of these 14 sons, 12 chose last names for themselves. It is also said that all the noble families of the first 3 dynasties of China, Xia, Shang, and Zhou were direct descendants of Huangdi.

When Huangdi had lived for over a hundred years, he arranged his worldly affairs with his ministers, and prepared for his journey to the Heavens. One version said a Dragon came down from the Heaven and took Huangdi away. Another version said Huangdi himself turned into half-man and half Dragon and flew away.

The South-Pointing Chariot was said to have been invented in the time of Huangdi. This was a two-wheeled war chariot that had a pole in the center of the carriage. A small figurine stood on top of the pole. A set of gears connected the two wheels to the pole, so that no matter which way the chariot turned, the figurine on the pole always pointed at a preset direction, usually South. The South-Pointing Chariot did not require magnetism to work, and in models was depicted as the earliest form of the differential gearing system found in modern automobile transmission systems.

Huangdi is also said to have played a part in the creation of the Guqin, together with Fuxi and Shennong, and to have invented the earliest form of the Chinese calendar, and its current sexagenary cycles are counted based on his reign.

Huang Ti captured Bai Ze atop Mount Dongwang. The beast described to him all the 11,520 types of monsters, shapeshifters, demons, and spirits in the world. Huang Ti's retainer recorded this in pictures, which later became the book "Bai Ze Tu", which no longer exists.

In legend, Ling Lun gave the emperor flutes tuned to the sounds of birds, which is said to be the foundation of Chinese traditional music.

According to the Shiji

Born Gongsun Xuanyuan, his father was the lord of Shaodian. He lived in a time of warfare as the declining House of Shennong was unable to stop the feudal lords from fighting. He subdued them and gained their allegiance with the exception of Chiyou. The Yan Emperor wanted to punish the lords but they rallied behind Xuanyuan's protection. He trained wild animals, including bears, in combat and used them to defeat the emperor at the Battle of Banquan. He then defeated Chiyou at the Battle of Zhuolu and executed him. Thus, the House of Shennong fell and Xuanyuan became the Yellow Emperor, the color being associated with earth.

He moved around nomadically with his army until settling at Xuanyuan Hill. He had 25 sons, 14 began their own surnames and clans. His first wife, Leizu of Xiling, gave him two sons. The oldest, Xuanxiao (possibly identical to Shaohao) who lived in Qingyang by the Yangtze River. Changyi, the younger, lived by the Luo River. He died and was succeeded by Changyi's son, Zhuanxu.

Religious views

Huangdi is an important figure in Chinese religions, particularly Taoism and Confucianism. He introduced the earliest form of martial arts into China, because he was also good in medicine, and he knew that the art was beneficial for both good health and self-defense. Ye Shuxian associated the Yellow Emperor with the bear legends among northeast Asia people and the Dangun legend.

History

One explanation is that Huangdi was euhemerized from a mythical god during the early Zhou Dynasty into a legendary emperor during the late Zhou dynasty - his legendary deeds embellished along the way. Indeed, the mixture of mythical and historical elements must be considered, especially in the case of the Yellow Emperor. However, considerable weight to the historicity of Huangdi must be given to the fact that Sima Qian refrained from beginning his Historical Records with any of the numerous legendary figures of greater claimed antiquity; for example, the "Three Sovereigns:" Fu Xi, Nüwa, and Shennong. Sima carefully chose to begin his history with the Yellow Emperor. Huangdi's reign thus can be seen to provide a useful and validated reference point, from whence a consistent historical narrative has been developed: through Yao and Shun, the Xia and Shang dynasties, and so historically onwards. Thus, the Yellow Emperor can be seen as a figure centrally grounded, in a purely historical position, as well as being similarly important from the perspectives of religion, legend, and popular culture.

Inquiring of the Dao at the Cave of Paradise, hanging scroll, color on silk, 210.5 x 83 cm by Dai Jin (1388–1462). This painting is based on the story, first recounted in the Zhuangzi, that the Yellow Emperor traveled to the Kongtong Mountains to inquire about the Dao with the Daoist sage Guangchengzi.

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[-] gramxi@hexbear.net 18 points 1 month ago

y'all ever feel like you're the designated person in a group that isn't allowed to have a bad day because everyone else is constantly having bad days? I just want everybody to be alright kitty-cri-texas

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[-] ShimmeringKoi@hexbear.net 17 points 1 month ago
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[-] Wmill@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago

There are days when many replies show up in my inbox and weeks were I wonder if I been shadowed banned by the admins/mods for being so clever and beautiful

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[-] SexUnderSocialism@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago

I think politics are too political. We have to take the politics out of politics. theory-gary

[-] hexaflexagonbear@hexbear.net 13 points 1 month ago

Unironically what third way/centrists argue

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[-] thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago

New Megathread nerds!

Nerd Call@Acute_Engles@hexbear.net @AernaLingus@hexbear.net @anarchoilluminati@hexbear.net @AntiOutsideAktion@hexbear.net @buh@hexbear.net @CDommunist@hexbear.net @ClathrateG@hexbear.net @Comrade_Mushroom@hexbear.net @context@hexbear.net @corgiwithalaptop@hexbear.net @Cowbee@hexbear.net @CrispyFern@hexbear.net @CriticalOtaku@hexbear.net @CyborgMarx@hexbear.net @Dort_Owl@hexbear.net @ElChapoDeChapo@hexbear.net @EstraDoll@hexbear.net @FALGSConaut@hexbear.net @Frogmanfromlake@hexbear.net @FuckyWucky@hexbear.net @FunkyStuff@hexbear.net @FumpyAer@hexbear.net @GalaxyBrain@hexbear.net @gay_king_prince_charles@hexbear.net @Grownbravy@hexbear.net @GVAGUY3@hexbear.net @HarryLime@hexbear.net @hexaflexagonbear@hexbear.net @InevitableSwing@hexbear.net @Infamousblt@hexbear.net @iridaniotter@hexbear.net @Lemmygradwontallowme@hexbear.net @LocalOaf@hexbear.net @MaxOS@hexbear.net @Mindfury@hexbear.net @mkultrawide@hexbear.net @Moss@hexbear.net @Nakoichi@hexbear.net @PaulSmackage@hexbear.net @plinky@hexbear.net @PorkrollPosadist@hexbear.net @Ram_The_Manparts@hexbear.net @RedWizard@hexbear.net @RION@hexbear.net @RNAi@hexbear.net @Rojo27@hexbear.net @SeventyTwoTrillion@hexbear.net @SorosFootSoldier@hexbear.net @Sickos@hexbear.net @Sphere@hexbear.net @Tervell@hexbear.net @VHS@hexbear.net @viva_la_juche@hexbear.net @WhatDoYouMeanPodcast@hexbear.net @Wheaties@hexbear.net @WhyEssEff@hexbear.net @WIIHAPPYFEW@hexbear.net @Wmill@hexbear.net @wombat@hexbear.net @Zoift@hexbear.net

@sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml @lelkins@lemmygrad.ml @666@lemmygrad.ml @TrippyFocus@lemmy.ml

@thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net

@CARCOSA@hexbear.net @Alaskaball@hexbear.net @liberal@hexbear.net @ella@hexbear.net @KiraNerys@hexbear.net @BoarAvoir@hexbear.net @dialectical_analysis_of_gock@hexbear.net @RotundLadSloopUnion@hexbear.net @tls123@hexbear.net @cloudy@hexbear.net @IgnusNilsen@hexbear.net @Lyudmila@hexbear.net

No current struggle session discussion here on the new general megathread, i will ban you from the comm and remove your comment, have a good day/night :meow-coffee:

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[-] WhyEssEff@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

the whole kayagate is teaching me one thing and that is that the layman conflates the concepts of 'proof' and 'evidence' and its such an easy thought-terminating cliche to propagate and is one of the major lynchpins behind why almost all internet 'investigations' are deleterious, as they also equally confuse 'suspect' and 'culprit'. everything is We Did It Reddit

it's been proven that the CIA killed JFK *circles the grassy knoll and JFK's car* *pulls up the 'scatter to the winds' quote* you cant argue with the facts

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[-] this_dude_eating_beans@hexbear.net 15 points 1 month ago

Thinking about this manbaby chud coworker I used to have, dude in his mid 40s, that told me he showered in the dark with his eyes closed because his shower was so dirty but he refused to clean it because cleaning was "woman's work".

Refused to boil water to make pasta or even microwave anything because that "sounds too much like cooking" and, you guessed it, that's woman's work.

I asked him what he ate and he said he'd buy a week's worth of taco bell and just eat it everyday but didn't microwave it because it was too much trouble.

Life in the empire is pretty great I guess.

[-] someone@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago

I sometimes think my life is a mess, and then I hear about situations like this, and I think maybe I'm actually doing OK.

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[-] GalaxyBrain@hexbear.net 15 points 1 month ago

Retro gamer who gets into reading but never uses a bookmark cause save states are cheating

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[-] GeckoChamber@hexbear.net 15 points 1 month ago

Interesting to see American liberals immediately get why having a foreign military base in your country sucks now that it could happen to them, surely this will make them change their views about all the American bases clueless

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[-] CrispyFern@hexbear.net 14 points 1 month ago

The cat is sad coz it’s not getting likes

     />  フ

     |  _  _ l

     /` ミ_xノ

     /      |

    /  ヽ   ノ

    │  | | |

[-] KuroXppi@hexbear.net 13 points 1 month ago

I want to live the kind of life the packaging of this black sesame powder thinks I live

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[-] hexaflexagonbear@hexbear.net 13 points 1 month ago

It should actually be “these are Sparta” since it’s a plural noun, the singular is spartum.

[-] AernaLingus@hexbear.net 13 points 1 month ago

luv 2 fear for my health and the health of my loved ones when going into a healthcare setting because even basic airbone infection protocols are nowhere to be found covid-cool

I'm gonna try to advocate for myself and see if I can get the doctor to mask up for a change (I'm bringing extras) but I assume they'll tell me that Joe Brandon ended COVID in 2022 and then I'll just have to smile and nod so they don't tell me my health issues are psychosomatic pain

[-] hexaflexagonbear@hexbear.net 13 points 1 month ago

Days into the Hassan shock collar saga the only thing that I think has become more certain is that Liz and Brace’s thesis that the internet is making everyone more schizophrenic is true.

"my whole personality is that i'm italian" - guy from new york who's never been to italy, doesn't speak italian, does't have an italian passport, and doesn't know anyone who lives in italy

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[-] Frogmanfromlake@hexbear.net 12 points 1 month ago

The hatred some men have for single mothers sounds like it’s part of their “cuck” obsessions. The kid was conceived with another man so helping to raise them is like being cucked in some weird way to them.

[-] DragonBallZinn@hexbear.net 12 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Maybe this is just me and I’ve been brainrotted to hell, but has anyone else noticed a “smol beanification” of the rich and other higher ups?

Excuses for not hiring boil down to how it’s soooooo scawwy how gen Z is so ambitious to work that it leaves poor porky running for the hills. Or how the economy is sooooo uncertain that poor porky is so scared of everything he just has no choice but to twiddle his thumbs.

All the constant spoiling of porky because if he doesn’t 100% get his way, he’s just a smol bean mom and pop billionaire and he will destroy the economy in a massive temper tantrum if any laws apply to him to literally force his lazy ass to do anything.

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[-] Wmill@hexbear.net 12 points 1 month ago

Y'all should check out this thing called music it's fucking tight party-blob

[-] Aradino@hexbear.net 12 points 1 month ago

Sittin sippin sarsaparilla and going yee haw

[-] Aradino@hexbear.net 11 points 1 month ago

Only little yee haws though. Itty bitty

[-] mkultrawide@hexbear.net 12 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I've been assigned a lot of AI-related work/research for my job lately, especially around agentic AI, looking for ways to automate work processes. It's got me thinking about the potential unintended consequences of AI. I'm not talking about people losing their jobs (that's the unstated intentions of all this AI stuff). I am talking about how people's behaviours might change as a result of AI researchers and companies stealing everyone else's works to train their models. I wonder if, at some point in the future, certain portions of humanity will react to AI by basically not sharing knowledge publicly and definitely not on the internet. Could we see the widescale return of guilds and secret societies? Want to become an accountant? Well, the books are only available at the local accounting guild office and you have to sit there and read them as a pledged apprentice, since the books aren't allowed to leave the building and aren't for non-guild eyes. Like the Freemasons but for white collar workers. Are you a Level 33 Suppy Chain Wizard?

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[-] Dort_Owl@hexbear.net 12 points 1 month ago

I had a dream last night where someone kept trying to get me to vape and I was like "Haha no". But they kept pestering me so I was like "Fuck, fine". So I expected them to hand me a vape but instead they opened it and there was a little guy inside who was like " Hi, I'm vape." And then I woke up.

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[-] irelephant@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 1 month ago

The IDF managed to identify Red Cross vehicles and workers and not fire on them, truly today is a day of miracles.

[-] hexaflexagonbear@hexbear.net 12 points 1 month ago

Even without the part where he’s a cheerleader for genocide, Ethan Klein seems like such a deeply unpleasant human being. Like he could have more normal beliefs and I’d just be like please don’t talk to me.

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[-] Wmill@hexbear.net 11 points 1 month ago

This learning stuff is so goated, instead of spilling over all of my insecurities at the end of the day I'm surrounded by facts and logic I've gained as I fall asleep

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[-] LeeeroooyJeeenkiiins@hexbear.net 11 points 1 month ago

hey remember that time when the Queen of England paid 300 pounds of gold for an instruction manual that basically says "bury some poop and water it until potassium nitrate migrates through the soil and forms crystals"

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[-] HarryLime@hexbear.net 11 points 1 month ago
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[-] vegeta1@hexbear.net 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Janet Mills thing posted here is even worse than you think. They pulled off a bernie type interference by having the DSCC swoop in and fund raise for her and interfering because a perceived progressive is running in Maine. Mind you this guy is a fucking veteran all I see is him running on universal healthcare and veteran rights but he's a fucking vet. This vet gained a loooot of momentum and this is what they pull off in a national primary i-cant. I guess him being pro union is where they pull the trigger. Can't even do bare minimum on having someone who would likely gain headway with working class there (being a vet i yeah murica rahh rahh, oyster farmer background and being pro union) this was literally an alley oop i-cant

guy who thinks the journal of comparative physiology is the definitive scientific source on "who would win" scenarios between animals and humans

[-] ShimmeringKoi@hexbear.net 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Sometimes I wish I could just be one of those apolitical dumb guys, the kind that drinks tall boys, listens to GUN and has at least one tattoo of an 80s slasher movie villain, but then I remember that no I don't, those guys are all insane now, Joe Rogan convinced them all that learning makes you gay and communist, they're an extinct species outside of a few hidden tidepools.

Evolutionary biologists will look back on this time of rapid politiciztion as a mass bottleneck event for our types of guys

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[-] WhyEssEff@hexbear.net 11 points 1 month ago

not enjoying the Groyper Cultural Hegemony at the moment. it is Insufferable

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[-] AntiOutsideAktion@hexbear.net 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

My landlord may be the most disgusting person I've ever met.

It's bad enough they don't provide a litter box for their two cats and just expect them to shit in the back yard

But when one of them shits in our shared bathroom AND THEY TAKE A BATH FOR OVER AN HOUR WITH IT A FOOT AWAY FROM THEIR HEAD AND STILL DON'T CLEAN IT UP HOURS AFTER THEY GET OUT it makes me consider picking it up for them and leaving it on their bed

visible-disgust visible-disgust visible-disgust

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[-] mkultrawide@hexbear.net 11 points 1 month ago

RIP D'Angelo

[-] WhatDoYouMeanPodcast@hexbear.net 10 points 1 month ago

Symptoms: stummy hurts, post nasal drip, stressy, irreverent mood

Request: I dont think I can care about any Internet drama or US government bullshit today. I need a day off

doggy-beg

[-] hexaflexagonbear@hexbear.net 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I only respond to dog social cues. Please don’t make eye contact, it makes me nervous. Instead do a play bow, expose your underbelly, sniff my ass.

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[-] tombruzzo@hexbear.net 10 points 1 month ago

This weeks thread is about the Yellow Emperor? Uuuuh, could this truly be a Detective reference?

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[-] ShimmeringKoi@hexbear.net 10 points 1 month ago

johnny cash voice There's

Staples in my dong

That shouldn't be in there

I used my stapler wrong

Got tangled in the hair

What have I become

Metallic D

Every time I go

Makes a clink

When I pee

[-] WhyEssEff@hexbear.net 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

olimar-point pikmin-carry-lcodec-snake codec-otaconpikmin-carry-r pikmin-onion
FWIIII ^Huh!^ ^Hooh!^ ^Huh!^ ^Hooh!^ ^Huh!^ ^Hooh!^ ^Huh!^ ^Hooh!^

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[-] AnarchoBolshevik@lemmygrad.ml 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I don’t know why this memory keeps irking me.

A couple of months ago somebody replied to my thread on Jewish–Christian friendships by cryptically quoting a Bible verse. After I responded to him, he started arguing with me and explicitly promoting his exclusionary ‘my way or the highway’ ideal of Christianity. Since the conversation was going nowhere and he was just talking at me, I gave up on him and contacted a moderator about the situation, who responded by booting him for Evangelism and ‘anti-semitism’ (technically it was anti-Judaism, but that is beside the point).

I should have stopped dwelling on this weeks ago but every other day it itches me. I take nearly one hour to compile this history, and somebody ignores it by simply promoting supersessionism? How is that natural? What compels somebody to do that? Was my thread too boring for him and he wanted to see what would happen by pushing his exclusionary thinking? What did I do to deserve this?

I try to bring more positivity into somebody’s day… and consequences like this one are what I get.

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[-] makotech222@hexbear.net 10 points 1 month ago
[-] Carl@hexbear.net 15 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

just wanted to say those things are super cool but imagine if instead of having tires they had like a V-shaped metal wheel that rolled along a track and instead of having expensive cameras and whatever to read the world around them they could operate on a dead simple system that told them how far away they were from each other and switched tracks for them so that they could get to where they were going

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[-] Kereru@hexbear.net 10 points 1 month ago

https://xcancel.com/abubakerabedw/status/1977554048304992553

Kind of scary when trump forms a coherent statement one in a while

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this post was submitted on 13 Oct 2025
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