I read somewhere that Tesla invented a gadget that could vibrate at the resonant frequency of anything. When he used it, people in nearby buildings thought there was an earthquake. Does anyone else know about this thing?
UndeadDude:
I think she invented the genre. Nearly as old is the guy in Hawthorne’s The Birthmark, but I’m fairly sure that Mary beat Nat by a bit.
Tom~
How about that guy Boole? I can’t remember his first name, I don’t know if I spelled the name correctly, and, no, I don’t mean “Boole” as in “Boolean”. Anyway, he was obsessed with railguns. He wanted to send astronauts into space on a railgun-mounted capsule. Nobody bought into the idea, since the incredible acceleration involved would mean that by the time the astronauts reached orbit, they’d be two inches tall. He also was interested in military applications. There he found an interested buyer, one Saddam Hussein. He went to Iraq, and built a massive railgun assembly aimed directly at Israel. Unfortunately, or fortunately, just then the Gulf War broke out, and his big project got smart-bombed into oblivion. He joined it, shortly thereafter, in mysterious circumstances thought to involve the Mossad. He was generally the most amoral, apolitical character I have ever heard of. He didn’t care who built the thing, or to what ends, just as long as it got built.
This was all an anecdote my physics teacher related to me once, so I’m not too terribly clear on the details. Nonetheless, I think that if there is any candidate for mad-scientisthood, it would be him.
Modest? You bet I’m modest! I am the queen of modesty!
The guy’s name was Bull and he was a Canadian. He was more of a promoter or a businessman than a mad scientist. There’s a book out on his story.
And don’t forget Simon Bar-Sinister and all the evil stuff he planned against Bullwinkle and Rocky.
“…send lawyers, guns, and money…”
Warren ZevonAl Gore ???
The supergun was designed by Dr. Gerald Bull, heres a link to a bio about his career.
http://world.std.com/~jlr/doom/bull.htm
I initially thought he was much more of an evil man, and I recall the HBO movie Doomsday Gun. I didn’t see the movie and got the impression that he was expressly interested in making a weapon of mass destruction, but this bio brings it down to size. So if this bio is correct, he’s just a scientist with bad PR in a contraversial field.
Hey, could any of you old timers possibly post a link to those Tesla threads?..I’m a big fan, and would like to learn a little more…also, any great Tesla sites out there?
Thanks…
I haven’t lost my mind, I have a tape backup around somewhere.
Not evil, but pretty close to mad: Charles Babbage.
This is what happens when public schools don’t teach the classics. Simon Bar Sinister was Underdog’s nemesis and the moderator of the Erotic Mind Control Story archive.
As for real life “mad scientists” I’d say Tesla would fit most of the criteria except for evil intent.
Overall, I’d agree with Omniscient, and say Joseph Mengele is the closest thing to a stereotypical mad scientist; a man with a complete lack of morality conducting scientific experiments.
And, of course, his veterinary counterpart, the Nazi Dr Doolittle. He made the animals talk.
my high school science teacher was mad. she told me glass was a liquid and sent me out into the world facing a life of humiliation.
oh yeah, and i love tesla. the great radio contravery was a great album
Does Kevorkian count? I guess techically he’s a doctor not a scientist (or is he an actual doctor even?) But his bizarre paintings and experimenting on the best ways to kill yourself and others certianly puts him in the “mad” category.
Bill Gates?
http://www.wired.com/news/exec/0,1370,31955,00.html
There’s another one…not really a scientist but a science fiction writer and the original Sciento
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I’ll second Kervorkian. He has most of the necessary criteria:
- Lack of regard for human life.
- Bizzare methodolgy (suicide machines, attempts at ameture organ transplants, etc.)
- Apparent lack of understanding as to why people think he’s off his rocker.
- Evil intent. He has insulted most of the major religous leaders and apparently has little concern for morality/ethics.
All that’s missing is a desire to take over the world, although that was supplied by his lawyer, Geoffery Feiger, who ran for governor in the last election. (Figer won the Democratic nomination, but got decimated in the election, with only about 10% of the vote. Proof that Michigan’s Democratic Party is hopelessly out of touch.)
“I had a feeling that in Hell there would be mushrooms.” -The Secret of Monkey Island
To answer Vouguevixen’s other question, Kervorkian used to be a pathologist, but his license was revoked because of his antics. I don’t know if it’s still appropriate to all him “Dr. Kervorkian”.
“I had a feeling that in Hell there would be mushrooms.” -The Secret of Monkey Island
The Romans viewed Archimedes as a mad scientist. One of the Big Three mathematicians and an astounding engineer as well, Plutarch (in his Life of Marcellus) describes how Archimedes was the genius behind the anti-shipping engines that held off the Roman fleet for so long during the seige of Syracuse.
One device was purportedly a giant arm that would grab ships and then drop them back into the water, smashing their keels or overturning them; another supposedly used giant lenses to focus concentrated sunlight onto the decks and rigging of the Roman quinquiremes, not unlike a giant laser.
When Syracuse fell, the Romans warily kept Archimedes under guard. He was reputedly killed by a soldier after Archimedes lashed out at him for interfering with his sand table. His last words: “don’t disturb my circles!”
The Romans viewed Archimedes as a mad scientist. One of the Big Three mathematicians and an astounding engineer as well, Plutarch (in his Life of Marcellus) describes how Archimedes was the genius behind the anti-shipping engines that held off the Roman fleet for so long during the seige of Syracuse.
One device was purportedly a giant arm that would grab ships and then drop them back into the water, smashing their keels or overturning them; another supposedly used giant lenses to focus concentrated sunlight onto the decks and rigging of the Roman quinquiremes, not unlike a giant laser.
When Syracuse fell, the Romans warily kept Archimedes under guard. He was reputedly killed by a soldier after Archimedes lashed out at him for interfering with his sand table. His last words: “don’t disturb my circles!”
Apparently, Archimedes was also a pervert. Many ancient texts refer to an invention of his that was known as the “Archimedean Screw.”
I blame AOL for the above.
I know he was a doctor, at least he was in the late forties when my parents lived in San Diego. He was a physician in the U.S. Navy, and treated my father for an injured finger. Dad always related how he was pushing strong painkillers for a relatively minor wound, because “no one should have to endure any kind of pain”. I know this incident happened because I have seen the x-rays from that incident with Kevorkian’s name on them.
TT
“Believe those who seek the truth.
Doubt those who find it.” --Andre Gide
Theres Pittsburgh’s Doctor of Death…In 1901 Dr. Brunrichter decapitated five women in his home in hopes of keeping the heads alive. I think this certainly qualifies for the ‘mad’ part dont know how rigourous his scientific method was. Incidently the house is said to be ‘cursed’ and blamed for many other unsundry things that has happened in it murders, suicides, ball lighting etc. the house was even blamed for a natural gas storage explosion! Incidently, aforementioned Edison visited the house and he said it ‘changed his life.’ Of course legend has grown up around the area, but it makes for a great Halloween story no?