Double-Half or One Ten without ham: science

Showing posts with label science. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Hungry?

When you go to our GDR-REWE - it must´ve been like that in former GDR: You are lucky when you get what you want!

Ingo likes a certain brand of soda. Not available since days. Again! So often you want something... sold out - since years. Doesn´t the system count how much goes out and needs to be ordered?

At EDESSA I once ordered a Döner. Hm... not again.

Right next:

As you know maybe: I LOVE pizza. But...

... nah, thank you.

This is for Toms´s Signs2.

The internet series:

"Habits of the 1960s that would be unthinkable today

Ready meals

Ready-made meals eaten in front of the television are still widespread today, but became surprisingly popular in the 1960s due to limited nutritional knowledge."

This was the last part of the series.

Next up: These mathematicians changed the world.

"The study of mathematics typically focuses on the application of mathematical operations and formulas, but it's also important to learn about the history of mathematics, which extends far beyond shapes and numbers. To fully understand and appreciate the subject, we must look at the famous mathematicians who shaped mathematics as we know it today and paved the way for modern engineering, technology, astronomy, and space exploration. Intrigued? Click through to discover some famous names in mathematics and their contributions to the world."

I hope you´ll like it.

Henry 🦁

Good boy - you live in the City of Science after all! - and have a happy Wednesday, everyone!

Wednesday, January 07, 2026

Felt, Naturally Good!

Just went by there on my way home.

Their website says: "The Gustav Neumann felt production facility, which has been in existence in Braunschweig since "1874, produces and processes felts of all types for every conceivable purpose."

On it goes: "Technical felts in prosthetics - Felt and leather can also be used – along with carbon and thermoplastics such as neoprene – as cushioning in ortheses and protheses to ensure good wearing comfort."

And... "Vehicle construction ICE 4 - Various NEUFILZ® material combinations are used here that are produced in a sustainable, environmentally friendly manner. Our products installed in the right places ensure a pleasant train journey for passengers!

And finally: "Music and instrument making - There are a lot of felt parts in the mechanical works of upright and grand pianos whose purpose is to avoid irritating noises from these works. We also supply accessory parts for other instruments. Felt is an essential part of a good piano!

Just pop in, it´s all in English available!

This is for Tom´s Signs2.

The internet series:

"Habits of the 1960s that would be unthinkable today

Birth Control

The birth control pill was made available to women in 1962, and within three years countless women in the USA were taking it."

I am too old now - and happy (?).

In West Germany it was expensive hence... I´m here.

Henry 🦁

Limpy, not the point...

Sunday, July 06, 2025

Why The Enterprise Weighs But 185kg

Ingo found this very interesting Youtube-Video that shows how much real science is in Star Trek!

I´d like to share some screenshots:

"Metin Tolan (born March 27, 1965 in Oldenburg in Holstein) is a German physicist and university professor. He was Professor of Experimental Physics at the Technical University of Dortmund and a science cabaret artist. From 2021 to 2024, he was President of the University of Göttingen."

With humor he explains many a Star Trek fact, that is based on real physiks - much unlike Star Wars, btw.

"Frank Donald Drake (May 28, 1930 – September 2, 2022) was an American astrophysicist and astrobiologist.

He began his career as a radio astronomer, studying the planets of the Solar System and later pulsars. Drake expanded his interests to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), beginning with Project Ozma in 1960, an attempt at extraterrestrial communication. He developed the Drake equation, which attempts to quantify the number of intelligent lifeforms that could potentially be discovered. "

"A warp drive or a drive enabling space warp is a fictional superluminal (faster than the speed of light) spacecraft propulsion system in many science fiction works, most notably Star Trek, and a subject of ongoing real-life physics research."

As you can see Albert Einstein, the Casimir effect, the Alcubierre drive, W.A. Hiscock, M Pfennig and l. Ford and C. van den Broeck all "helped" developing it!

Isaac Newton sure would be proud to be in this.

Remember that episode? Let´s do some math!

Still playing around... in ENGLISH!

And here is the Fibonacci sequence... now, who´s correct?

Isn´t this too interesting?

We certainly got the book.

50 years,726 episodes a 45 minutes, many movies... you could watch Star Trek 24 days consistently!

Not only that, look:

The first of these books I got in Alice Springs in a second hand book-shop in 1999.

It was as if you watch the series.

Picture this: You sit in the Outback, "watch" Star Trek and when the sun goes down... a sky full of bright starts, The Southern Cross... it was WONDERFUL!

I drove Ingo nuts, because I wanted each and every one! These books were written in the 1960s and I really have them all!

Every.Second.Hand.Book.Shop.In.Perth! To get the last missing one. In each place that had a second hand book shop in Australia I was on a mission... Glad we had 7 month for this!

Here is the video - sadly in German:

The new series:

"33 retro dishes that are rarely served today

Ham aspic

In the 1960s, aspic dishes, often artfully presented with various ingredients and decorations, were the culinary trend par excellence. Ham aspic, for example, was often served at festive occasions and used to be found in many restaurants. Today, aspic dishes are no longer as common in restaurants and are rarely found on menus."

I´d skip...

Henry 🦁

Here you find how Henry really ended up in space!

Thursday, November 21, 2024

Wipers

"Memory Lane Moments

Mary Anderson: The Unsung Hero of Windshield Wipers. Did you know that the windshield wiper, a crucial feature in modern cars, was invented by a woman named Mary Anderson? Born on an Alabama plantation in 1866, Mary was a real estate developer, rancher, and inventor who made history with her innovative idea.

In 1902, during a snowy day in New York City, Mary rode a trolley and watched as the driver struggled to see through the icy windshield. She designed a spring-loaded lever with a rubber blade that allowed drivers to clean their view from inside the vehicle.

Patented in 1903, her invention laid the foundation for windshield wipers as we know them today.

Despite her groundbreaking work, Mary never profited from her invention. By the time windshield wipers became standard in cars, her patent had expired. Yet, today they are essential in safe driving, highlighting the vital role of creativity and perseverance. 🚗❄️💡
👉Also read and see more photos: https://besrilankan.com/21-historic-photos-that-captured.../
#MaryAnderson #Innovation #WomenInSTEM #ForgottenFounders"

Series:

"30 bizarre wildlife facts that are actually true

Howler monkeys are almost as loud as jet engines

Howler monkeys more than live up to their name, as they are so loud that their calls can be heard up to five kilometers away and are estimated to reach 140 decibels. For comparison, a jet engine produces about 150 decibels during takeoff - enough to damage an eardrum.

Howler monkeys make these loud noises to mark their territory, with neighboring groups roaring back and forth to let others know their location."

Henry 🦁

Looks more like a big yawn, Baby...

Saturday, November 09, 2024

Weird things in the world

This is from FB again:

"The blue hairy frogfish, scientifically known as Antennarius striatus, is an intriguing species renowned for its remarkable appearance and unique behaviors. Characterized by its distinctive, hair-like skin filaments, the blue hairy frogfish boasts a variety of colors, including blue, yellow, brown, and green. This remarkable coloration, coupled with its textured skin, allows it to blend seamlessly into its environment, making it a master of camouflage.
Typically inhabiting tropical and subtropical waters, blue hairy frogfish are often found on coral reefs or amidst rubble and debris on the ocean floor. Their hunting strategy is as fascinating as their appearance. As ambush predators, they use a specialized lure called an esca, which mimics the appearance and movement of small prey like worms or shrimp. This deceptive lure attracts unsuspecting prey, which the frogfish then quickly engulf with its large, extendable mouth.
Unlike most fish, frogfish are not adept swimmers. Instead, they "walk" along the ocean floor using their pectoral fins, which function much like legs. This unique mode of locomotion, combined with their ability to change color to match their surroundings, makes them nearly invisible to both predators and prey. The blue hairy frogfish is a perfect example of nature's ingenuity, showcasing an extraordinary blend of adaptation and survival strategies."

With this I join...

Eileen´s Critters.

Amazing what evolution created, huh?

Henry 🦁

Way too beautiful to really eat! Wish I was so creative...

Sunday, August 11, 2024

Beauty And Brain

Memory Lane Moments

"Hedy Lamarr, often proclaimed “the most beautiful woman in the world.” The 26-yr-old Lamarr was thriving in Hollywood when, in September 1940, Nazi U-boats hunted down & sank a cruise ship trying to evacuate 90 British schoolchildren to Canada. 77 drowned in the bleak north Atlantic. Lamarr, a Jewish immigrant from Nazi-occupied Austria, who had been making America her home since 1938, was outraged.

She fought back by applying her engineering skills to development of a sonar sub-locator used in the Atlantic for the benefit of the Allies. The principles of her work are now incorporated into modern Wi-Fi, CDMA and Bluetooth technology, and this work led to her to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014.

Thursday, August 08, 2024

Wanna Join Me?

In the Summertime.... when the weather... hello earworm.... I finally sat on the balcony reading.

Here are some highlights from Brian May´s 3-D-booK.

Enjoy maybe with this, sound on!

Did you know some whopping 33 years after the mission of the Saturn V rocket an artifact fell down on earth in 2002? 33 years in orbit!

The moon-region named "Ocean of Storms" had been visited by many unmanned spacecraft, amongst Surveyor 3, Ranger 7, Soviet Lunar 5 - it was called "Pete´s Parking Lot" by Pete Conrad from the Apollo 12 -mission :-)

A funny man, he named the LEC (Lunar Equipment Conveyor) the "Brooklyn clothesline".

And Alan Bean by accident left some film rolls behind, they´re still on the Moon´s surface!

What a book!

On Earth they were direct: Gene Kranz with Apollo 13 on a problem in outer space: "Failure is not an option."

On Apollo 14 they nicknamed the MET (Modular Equipment Transporter) "lunar rickshaw".

Love these little details I had no idea of!

They were a bunch!

"Shepard plopped a golf ball onto the lunar surface... as test to the weaker lunar gravity, relative to Earth." He couldn´t pick it up by hand and tried another shot. "'Hey, you got more dirt than ball', said Mitchell".

I liked this very much and wonder why just in space this seems to be possible:

"Alongside the direct competition, Soviet and American Space explorers were forming a brotherhood that would become stronger and stronger as the months and years passed."

Teach this in school!!!

Apollo 15: Queen played their first show outside of London just a month before space-launch, in 1970 (if I read that correct out of the context).

The four lunar rovers, btw cost $38 million, so with "$9.5 million each, price-wise, they definitely leave Ferraris and Lamborghinis in the dust!"

They were lying, too!

Scott on the way spotted a large piece of vesicular basalt and despite time was short he stopped the vehicle and went for it "while Irwin distracted controllers in Houston. Because Scott pretended he had stopped to tighten his seatbelt, this rock was dubbed the Seatbelt Basalt".

Cute, huh?

Apollo 17: They used duct tape to fix the problem, duct tape! Always good to have that at hand...

And certainly Chris Hadfield on the ISS...

Depending on how fast you read... the video from minute 02:48 shows our wonderful planet at night...

Originally by David Bowie and the day after Bowie´s first recording Queen came in with the song "Earth", back then under the name "Smile " and without Freddie.

The rest you need to read yourself and hopefully you are more successful than me to "get" the 3d-visions.

I sat on the balcony like an idiot, glasses by the side, the Little Owl in my face, trying to find the right spot!

Henry 🦁

If you are new see here, with video!

It´s a GREAT video, I promise, this is a great school-project!

Well, logical, Braunschweig is/ was the City of Science (2007) and they keep on going!

Sunday, August 04, 2024

Hidden Figures

"You need to become an engineer!"

This is about the movie "Hidden Figures", based on the truth.

I highly recommend, if you are into space or into feminism or segregation. I had tears in my eyes...

"You need to become an engineer!"

"Sir, I´m a negro woman..."

"I´m a polish Jew who escaped Holocaust, now I am standing beneath a space ship - we are living the impossible!"

Segregation is big issue in the movie, of course. I´ll never understand that.

The restroom for negroes a is a mile away... the boss bolts down the sign "Whites only" in the hall and now everyone can use the rooms.

Also crazy... I found no German - not that I need it, but... crazy.

Often I have to "trick around" to get English!

JFK: "... not because they are easy but because they are hard"

Who makes the rules?

You are the boss, you just have to act like one!!

Katherine Johnson figured out the correct number to ditch in with "Friendship 7" and recover - Mr. Harris asks her "You think we get to the moon?" - We´re all in, Sir". That was 1969.

Katherine looks around - none of the "white men" takes notice of her. Sad, huh? It´s not only the color of your skin - it´s being female, too.

The arrogant male colleague who insisted there has to be a coffee-container for "colored people" when she first joined the team and which was of course empty now brought her a cuppa personally to the table. YIPPEEEE.

Sometimes it´s the little things that are the joy!