As of 2015, anyway…amazingly detailed!
https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/smallest-sculptures-ever-made/
Proximity fuses were one of the most important weapons of WWII, but many don’t know how important they were to the war effort, and even less (like me) didn’t know about the incredible feat of technology that was needed to create miniature and rugged vacuum tubes (no transistors then!) that allowed the allies to add radar based detonators into artillery launched projectiles.
The Germans and the Japanese actually thought that it would be extremely hard or impossible to make them in enough quantities and to make them reliable too.
Even putting explosives in an artillery projectiles was technically difficult. Explosive shells had been around for a long time, but they were filled with black powder, the fuse was lit, and they went off like fire crackers. Early efforts at long-range high-explosive shells (dynamite) use compressed air in order to get a gentle acceleration that didn’t detonate the shell. At the start of WWI, HE (High Explosive) artillery was still a new thing. Military explosives like TNT were developed, which are difficult to detonate (don’t go off when fired), and cordite (used to fire the shell) is a relatively slow, gentle explosive.
The Olympic steeplechase water jump pits are 24 in/70 cm deep nearest the hurdle, They gradually get shallower until 12 ft/3.66 m from the hurdle. Since the hurdle doesn’t move, one strategy is to jump to the top of the hurdle, and try to jump over the water.
The Reflecting Pool on the Mall in Washington has a depth of approximately 18 inches on the sides and 30 inches in the center, holding approximately 6,750,000 U.S. gallons of water.
In 1967, a Cuban exile purchased an army surplus bazooka for $38 and fired it at the UN building during a visit by Che Guevara. Luckily, it didn’t have enough range and the shell exploded in the river.
I’m watching “Burn Notice” and Michael was doing the usual Magiver thing. He said that the porcelain on spark plugs is almost as hard as diamonds. I had to fact check.
9.0 MOHS?
Useful to car thieves…
In California, since 2003, ninja rocks are explicitly listed as burglary tools, and their possession with intent to burglarize is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in county jail and/or a fine of up to $1000. Legal records do not use the phrase “ninja rocks”, preferring more precise phrases such as “ceramic or porcelain spark plug chips or pieces”
Ninja rocks demo. Impressive!
(shuttle to 2:45 if the link doesn’t take you there)
Volcanoes can turn human brains into glass.
That would be a cool conversation piece to have on the shelf…
The invasive fish called Anabas or climbing perch can crawl on land from one body of water to another and live out of water for approximately 6 hours.
The climbing perch grow up to 9.8 inches and breathe on land through lungs that are next to their gills. They are known to hibernate in the mud of dried-up creek beds for up to six months.
Native to South Asia, they are now a considered a looming threat in Australia where they have already made their presence known in the outer islands.
Very tasty fish.
They are a threat in the U.S. too.
The world record time for the backwards 100 yards was held for many years by Bojangles, aka Shirley Temple’s frequent co-star Bill Robinson.
Joseph Stalin cobbled his own shoes.
Pistachios can spontaneously explode. They are incredibly difficult to ship safely.
Wow ! Nature’s own lithium batteries . I know that polymer beads are also super dangerous to transport.
Wasn’t his dad a cobbler ?
Stalin was super conscious of his height (5 feet 4 inches according to books ) and made sure he was always photographed at the right angle to make him look imposing.
He loved american cowboy movies and often had private screenings in his dacha.
Participants in the Modern Pentathlon in the Olympics, are assigned horses randomly. A rider has 20 minutes to become acquainted with their assigned horse. Participants in the other equestrian events bring their own horses.
Today I learned about Buffon’s needle problem.
Using this problem, you can calculate π by throwing frozen hotdogs onto the floor.
Kim Ill Sung, the founder of North Korea, and the grandfather of the current dictator, had a large growth in his neck. He was carefully photographed to hide it, but it was quite large and unmistakable.
(Similarly, JP Morgan, famous financier, had a large, bulbous, purple nose. He had it touched up in pictures, but it was distinct and glaringly obvious when encountering him).