I’ve actually climbed the Ulmer Münster several times (my grandmother leaves near Ulm) and it’s a lot of stairs, but the view from the top is breathtaking. On a really clear day you can see the Alps in the Allgäu on the horizon.
I have spent most of my life in parts of the world with a complete absence of big, honkin’ cathedrals, so I was more interested in the Münster itself than I was in the view. (Which was good, since it was overcast the one time I’ve been there.) From the pictures I’d seen, I always thought cathedrals and their towers were pretty much solid stone, with just enough space carved out inside for a stairway and a big bell. I was amazed how open and airy the tower of the Münster was. It almost seemed fragile. I’m not usually afraid of heights, but that place was starting to get to me.
silver has already been mentioned, along with its almost-rhyme pilfer. In the same vein, Kurt Vonnegut mentioned (I don’t know if he came up with) doorhinge as an almost-rhme for orange.
Ripley’s Believe it or Not mentioned Orange and silver and …
Oblige
as rhymeless words.
I like Tom Lehrer’s solution:
Eating an orange,
while making love,
leads to bizarre enj-
oyment thereof.
According to this site, the largest blue whale may have weighed over 200 tons, and it is implied that 150 tons is typical.
Wasn’t Texas also an independent state? Was it not recognised by other nations?
What about Purple? When I hear the list of rhymeless words, it’s usually orange and purple, and sometimes silver.
Yalmar Vahm invented the first patented, releaseable ski binding. Too bad Bogataj’s didn’t work quite properly, no?
Eleven states are smaller (area wise) than the county of San Bernardino, California.
LL
It’s hard to find
A word to rhyme with purple
But in a pinch
The contraction burp’ll
Houston was also governor of two different states (Tennessee and Texas). I’m not sure if he’s the only one, though.
How would we use that in a sentence? Something like “Uncle Frank! You’re so rude! That burp’ll echo for days!” I guess?
“Roses are red and violets are purple
Sugar’s sweet and so’s maple syrple.”
- Roger Miller
For those of us who have crappy memories or who never saw World of Sports, here’s a linky to a pretty cool article about the guy, which also has an offsite link to an .avi of the clip.
A few more of my favs:
The average voltage at a 120 VAC outlet is 0 V.
The hops used in Samuel Adams Boston Lager are grown on only 400 acres of land.
In 1900 deer were virtually extinct in Ohio. Today Ohio has around 500,000 deer.
Dry air is a better thermal conductor than humid air.
Other than absolute zero (which cannot be realized in the lab), the only defined temperature is the triple point of water (273.15 K).
Let’s say a pebble is stuck in the tread of one of your tires, and you’re driving at a speed of 60 MPH. When the pebble is on top (farthest away from the road), the pebble is traveling at 120 MPH relative to the road. A few milliseconds later, when the pebble is between the tire and the road, the pebble is traveling at 0 MPH relative to the road. When the pebble is (again) on top, the pebble is traveling at 120 MPH relative to the road.
As the temperature of a pond falls from 34 °F to 33 °F, the warmer water will sink and the colder water will rise.
It is possible for something to have a temperature but no mass.
It’s also more dense than humid air. So if you’re trying to beat air resistance (e.g. throw/hit a ball further, or go faster in a vehicle), a humid day is better.
Nitpick: It’s 273.16 K (=0.01 C).
What is the triple point of water? I always thought that the freezing point of water (0 C / 32 F) was a “defined point.”
Dammit, I knew that! :smack: Thanks.
It used to be. But physicists found out that the TP of water was more reproducible and more accurate. In 1960 the FP of water was officially dumped in favor of the TP of water. This also means that the FP of water is not exactly 0 °C; I read somewhere that it’s really around -0.00001 °C.
Water freezes at 0°C (273.1K) at SP (“standard” atmospheric pressure at sea level). However, the freezing point and boiling point changes with pressure; hence, why you have to boil water longer at altitude. The triple point is a unique state in which water is at liquid, solid, and gaseous form simultaneiously, and should be stated in both terms of temperature (273.16 kelvins (0.01 °C)) and pressure (611.73 pascals). This state occurs uniquely at those conditions and thus makes a more controlled point from which to measure temperature.
Those who’ve read Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Cat’s Cradle are familiar with his McGuffin, ice-nine, a state which catalytically causes water to freeze at ambient temperture. Ice-nine does, in fact, exist, but fortunately not at under pressure conditions which will cause the world’s oceans to freeze solid.
And if anyone offers to sell you some polywater give 'em the blow-off. Ain’t no such creature.
Stranger
A very good friend of mine has been doing this for years. I have no idea where she picked it up, though. She’s also prone to saying, “Well, fuck me runnin’!” but I only mention that 'cause it amuses me, not because it’s particularly relevant here. 