Improbable research
An ongoing series from the Guardian. This week about law and the paper clip…
Digesting Duck
The Canard Digérateur, or Digesting Duck, was an automaton in the form of a duck, created by Jacques de Vaucanson in 1739. The mechanical duck appeared to have the ability to eat kernels of grain, and to metabolize and defecate them. While the duck did not actually have the ability to do this – the food was collected in one inner container, and the feces being ‘produced’ from a second, so that no actual digestion took place – Vaucanson hoped that a truly digesting automaton could one day be designed.
White House Pets
Wikipedia has a list of United States presidential pets.
And I know now also that the unofficial title of the official resident cat of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at 10 Downing Street is The Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office.
Europe’s Weird Ways
Everyone knows about that annual tempting of fate known as running with the bulls in Pamplona. It’s one of those festivals that make the saner among us scratch our heads in confusion and wonder, “How was that ever a good idea?”
But just because it is Europe’s most famous oddity certainly doesn’t make the Pamplona festival an isolated case. Indeed, the more traditions and customs one comes across, the stranger the Old World starts to look.
Spiegel online has a series of stories to bring you up to date on the ins and outs of Europe’s Weird Ways ! What to think e.g. about slurping down live fish, or the flour wars of Galaxidi (‘alevromoutzouromata’ in Greek…) ?
Schrödinger’s cat
Schrödinger’s cat, often described as a paradox, is a thought experiment devised by Erwin Schrödinger. It attempts to illustrate what he saw as the problems of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics when it is applied beyond just atomic or subatomic systems. A translation of his original paper.
The Morning of the Magicians
Well, why not give this a try for a change ? Le Matin des Magiciens was a book written by Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier in 1960 or in October 1959. It was first published in English in 1963 with the title The Morning of the Magicians. The book was a general overview of the occult and the works of Charles Fort. It is the best known example of Fantastic Realism (Réalisme fantastique), a literary movement in the 1960s.
Sleeping on the job
Sleeping on the job is tolerated in Japanese work culture, as long as you remain upright and obey certain other rules. It’s called inemuri (居眠り– from 居 -be present- and 眠る -sleep-). More here.
International year of the potato
2008 is the international year of the potato… This 2008 celebration “will raise awareness of the importance of the potato — and of agriculture in general — in addressing issues of global concern, including hunger, poverty and threats to the environment.” Provides background about potato plants and potato production around the world, activities for children, events listings, and related material. Also available in Spanish, French, Arabic, and Chinese. From the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
More on the potato: the International Potato Center, Potato Information & Exchange, the Potato Museum and of course the Belgian Fries Website, and see also the links here.
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