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Tuesday, April 27, 2021
Fwd: 🧠What President was a licensed bartender?
Saturday, April 24, 2021
#15 puzzle
I used to be fond of the #15 puzzle, and even Bobby Fischer was fond of it. The 19nth century puzzle maker Sam Lloyd claimed that he invented it, but it was actually invented by a 19nth century postmaster named Noyes Chapman.
It seems to me that the puzzle is a precursor to the Rubicks' Cube. Both involve sliding pieces in a limited way. It is possible to take apart and reassemble both in a way that can't be solved. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15_puzzle
Saturday, April 17, 2021
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Remember warming up the TV before watching it?
For those who don't remember, on powering up really old televisions the image would start as a dot in the middle of the screen, and then expand. It might only take a couple of seconds to a few seconds to reach full size. The reason for this is that old televisions used vacuum tubes instead of transistors, and these needed warming up. I remember going to a repair shop that had dozens of different types of tubes for replacement parts.
Sometime in the mid-1970s, manufacturers began to advertise televisions that were "Instant On". Since many of these TV's still used vacuum tubes, I noticed that these TV's kept some of the vacuum tubes powered up even when the TV was "off". I could tell because most vacuum tubes glowed. Many old televisions had heat vents toward the back and an orange glow would emanate from these vents. It would light up the wall behind my television. The TV also put out a great deal of heat.
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Best wishes,
John Coffey
http://www.entertainmentjourney.com
Sometime in the mid-1970s, manufacturers began to advertise televisions that were "Instant On". Since many of these TV's still used vacuum tubes, I noticed that these TV's kept some of the vacuum tubes powered up even when the TV was "off". I could tell because most vacuum tubes glowed. Many old televisions had heat vents toward the back and an orange glow would emanate from these vents. It would light up the wall behind my television. The TV also put out a great deal of heat.
--
Best wishes,
John Coffey
http://www.entertainmentjourney.com
Friday, April 9, 2021
Latitude
I was curious about the latitude of Columbus, Indiana. It is at 39 degrees, which means that it is not halfway between the equator and the North Pole, although Minneapolis, Minnesota is halfway at 45 degrees. Windsor, Ontario, Canada, is only 42 degrees, and Toronto is 43 degrees, but Ottawa is at 45 degrees. If you traveled straight west from Ottawa then you would eventually hit Minneapolis, on the north side.
Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, is at 64 degrees. That is more than 2/3 of the way to the North Pole from the equator. Reykjavik, Iceland is also at 64 degrees, although Iceland is reportedly a nicer place to live. The capitals of Norway, Sweeden, and Finland are at around 60 degrees.
Juneau, Alaska is only at 58 degrees. Anchorage is at 61. Fairbanks is the farthest north that you would find any United States city of any significance, at 64.8 degrees.
The circumference of the Earth at the equator is 24,901 miles. Halfway up the globe, say in Minneapolis, an east-west line circling the Earth would not be half of the length of the equator. To get the length you have to multiply the length of the equator by the cosine of 45 degrees, giving a length of 17,607 miles. If you wanted a circle that was half the length of the equator, you would need to be at 60 degrees, such as Helsinki, Finnland.
--
Best wishes,
John Coffey
http://www.entertainmentjourney.com
Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, is at 64 degrees. That is more than 2/3 of the way to the North Pole from the equator. Reykjavik, Iceland is also at 64 degrees, although Iceland is reportedly a nicer place to live. The capitals of Norway, Sweeden, and Finland are at around 60 degrees.
Juneau, Alaska is only at 58 degrees. Anchorage is at 61. Fairbanks is the farthest north that you would find any United States city of any significance, at 64.8 degrees.
The circumference of the Earth at the equator is 24,901 miles. Halfway up the globe, say in Minneapolis, an east-west line circling the Earth would not be half of the length of the equator. To get the length you have to multiply the length of the equator by the cosine of 45 degrees, giving a length of 17,607 miles. If you wanted a circle that was half the length of the equator, you would need to be at 60 degrees, such as Helsinki, Finnland.
--
Best wishes,
John Coffey
http://www.entertainmentjourney.com
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Saturday, March 27, 2021
Friday, March 19, 2021
Why a Hass Avocado Seed Does Not Give Us a Hass Avocado Tree
A bit of trivia, but I think that this is interesting.
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