Spectacular Ironic Pictures

Many of these http://eternallysunny.com/funny-coincidences/ (most of them are ironic) are spectacular! Number 4 is my favorite!

(Tip of the cap to George Takei.)

An Old Disney Creation/Merchandising Network

Wow!

LINKING LINES ASPIRE TO BE SENTENCES = graphic links in Disney network with creative talent at center: https://t.co/2pGfS5DdQ4 #dataviz #ddj pic.twitter.com/NpxFCTePN6

— Edward Tufte (@EdwardTufte) December 1, 2016

Eighteenth-Century Rotating Table: I Want One!

Not that this is the most practical and efficient 21st-century method to address this issue... but I want one!

A must for every library: eighteenth-century rotating table allowing readers to view multiple volumes at once. pic.twitter.com/p18X8LRpPo

— NSCM (@LitteraCarolina) April 14, 2017

(Tip of the cap to Gabrielle Birkman.)

"New Textbooks for the New Mathematics"

Here is an article, called "New Textbooks for the New Mathematics", by Richard Feynman that appeared in Caltech's publication Engineering and Science in March 1965.

The article includes a reprint of a cartoon from The New Yorker that reminds me of this song. (The song is relevant to the whole article, actually.)

(Tip of the cap to Ben Rogers.)

Awesome Infographics and Maps of the 1800s

These maps and infographics from the 1800s are spectacular!

(Tip of the cap to Jessica Flack.)

Triple García Outfield

Tonight, the Chicago White Sox are starting an all-García outfield (i.e., in which all three outfielders have the last name "García)".

This is the first time in Major League Baseball history that a team started an outfield where all three outfielders have the same last name. Nice! (The Alous were in an outfield together, but they didn't all start a game together.)

My favorite starting outfield, however, is when the Cincinnati Reds started an outfield of Young, Frank, and Stynes. (It consisted of Dmitri Young in left field, Mike Frank in center field, and Chris Stynes in right field.)

Also see this recent blog entry.

Long Live Preprint Servers

In the 1960s, the NIH ran 7 airmail preprint services. Journals took "lethal" action. #ASAPbio https://t.co/kJRuvaxllk pic.twitter.com/ote5PLgMX1

— Jessica Polka (@jessicapolka) April 13, 2017

(Tip of the cap to Sam Scarpino.O

The Physics of Shoelaces Becoming Undone

Here is a physics-based explanation of why shoelaces become untied so often: A "mix of inertia and pavement pounding loosens knots, sends ends flying".

I gave up on shoelaces very early in life (important life hack!). Of course, I never could tie the damn things in the first place, and I still can't.

The authors of this research may well have Ig Nobel prizes in their future (perhaps awarded jointly in physics and in fashion).

Bringing Mathematics to the Traumatized and the Perplexed

As many of you know, Steve Strogatz is one of my mathematical heroes. One of the reasons is that he's a master teacher and expositor. (Whenever I get his seal of approval for one of my articles or other efforts, I always feel like I did a good job on it.) Take a look at this new article.

Quoting Steve from this article: "So many of the things that we do in math education—and maybe more generally in education—are giving students answers to questions that they would never think of asking. By definition, that's what it is to be boring."

Conversely, this also speaks to why so many students find networks exciting from the start. They're already asking many of these questions! They just need the words and concepts to make the questions more precise to be able to answer them in a better way.

Life is Like a Video Game

This video, which explains life casually in terms of a video game (in particular, an MMO game), is a very good implementation of this analogy.

(I got this from a post on the Dragon*Con Facebook page.)

Most Popular Purchases Online in Each State

Some of these popular online purchases are spectacular, by which I mean "awesome". Wow.

(Tip of the cap to George Takei.)

What's a Rouge Wave?

I managed to sneak one of the all-time best lines from Buffy/Angel into the tweet below.

At first, I accidentally, introduced the typo "rouge", but I managed to change the tweet before anybody could reply with "What's a rouge wave?" Naturally, this inspired the title of this post.

Rogue Wave Hunters: Wind-generated waves in ring-shaped water tanks can spontaneously yield behemoth waves: https://t.co/4QSaR0MsSl

— DynamicalSystemsSIAM (@DynamicsSIAM) April 7, 2017

Synesthetic Artist Paints Songs

Artist Melissa McCracken has synesthesia and paints what songs look like to her. This is really cool!

I have an important question, though: What does "The Ride of the Valkyries" look like?

(Tip of the cap to Chris Gong.)

Essay in Physics Today: "Commentary: In Defense of Crazy Ideas"

This essay by David Stevenson does a very good job of making an excellent point.

(And, apropos, I received an e-mail called "What is Reality?", from a group of people working on a crazy idea, while I was reading this article.)

P.S. David Stevenson is a great classroom lecturer. I had him for half of AMa 95 at Caltech.

The Grammar Vigilante

Superheroes come in all shapes and sizes. In Bristol (U.K.), they have The Grammar Vigilante. I approve!

(Tip of the cap to Mark Newgarden.)

The Story Behind the U.S. Constitution's 27th Amendment

The story behind the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is really cool!

I wasn't aware of the historical path. I can't wait to see what results from some of the grades I give! Also, never underestimate the power of being bloody-minded...

(Tip of the cap to Nicholas Christakis and others.)

Life Imitates Harry Chapin

All those thirty thousand pounds of bananas...

P.S. In case you're wondering, here the song tells a story based on a real incident.

(Tip of the cap to Jeffrey Porter.)

A Pop-Up Solid Geometry Book from the 1700s

Oh, wow. This is cool.

Live Performance of "The Condensed Matter Song" (Lyrics by Me)

Several years ago, I wrote a parody of Gilbert & Sullivan's "Matter-Patter Trio" called The Condensed Matter Song. This year, it was performed at the American Physical Society (APS) March Meeting as part of the
Rock 'n' Roll Physics Sing-Along. Thanks to Walter Smith for contacting me about doing this after he found my blog entry with my lyrics. Take a look at his physics-song webpage.

Live performance of "The Condensed Matter Song" (my parody of Gilbert & Sullivan) at 2017 @APSphysics March Meeting!https://t.co/ByzJGc1cQ2

— Mason Porter (@masonporter) April 2, 2017

Bluegrass Cover of "Gangnam Style"

Yes, really.