Odds and Oddities
Q. Your timid date has never ridden a roller-coaster. "C'mon, you'll love it!" you lie. Which seat offers the best hope of
turning her trembling and helpless?
A. Take her on a hot day (wheel lubricants become slicker); ride a packed train (reduces wind resistance). The front seat gives the most
exciting view but it's slow over the top, not picking up speed until near the bottom and it soon turns upwards - not that scary. The caboose, in contrast, is jerked careening
over the crest so you feel you're being catapulted up and out of your seat (negative Gs). At this moment riders release the safety bar and hold arms high in bravado, trusting
the coaster's restraining devices. The problem for you is if your date proves puddle-proof and hikes up her arms, you'll have to do it, too.
- Jearl Walker
The Flying Circus of Physics
via Bill and Rich Sones strangetrue@compuserve.com
Speed is the form of ecstasy the technical revolution has bestowed on man.
There is a secret bond between slowness and memory, between speed and forgetting.
- Milan Kundera
Photos:
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Blow Me Down
Explosion! |
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Coming Through |
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Get Bent
Get Stuck
Get Your Head Out |
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Tattoos
Wildcat Men
Canvas of Skin
Dangers/Alternatives |
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Mountainbikers' Heaven
Extreme Ironing |
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Underground Retreat
Aboveground Retreat
Backyard Retreat
Hobbit's Retreat
Futuristic Retreat
Treehouse Retreat |
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Sears Catalogue Homes |
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Upwardly Mobile: Prefabs |
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Starvation
War Photographers Plagued |
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Slow Burn
Light My Fire
Lightning Strikes |
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People:
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Dynamite Dog
Loch Ness Monster
Super Bowl Sting |
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Bump Lets Lisa See
Blind Leading the Blind
Eating, Acting in the Dark |
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Dead Wives Club
Witches Killed
Gas Poisoning
Magnetised Missile |
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Feeling Lucky?
Put It on My Bill
Spidermen Face Death
11-Story Fall
Nailed |
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Shark Lifts Boat
Colossal Squid
Square Meals |
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Magnetic Personality
Magnetic Skin
Magnetic Field Effects |
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Twins in Black
and White
Think
Twice
Identical
Twins
Half Brother Twins
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Facts:
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Methuselah Mushroom
Giant Protozoa |
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100 Facts |
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Why Didn't I Think of That?
Curiosities |
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Corporate Sex
Family Sex |
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Finger Length Ratios &
Homosexuality/Autism
Depression/Heart Attacks |
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Reunions / Ageing Classmates
Modern Medicine |
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Language Gene
Surnames Track DNA
Time Travel
BS Bingo |
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The Power of Negative Thinking |
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Diversions
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Jokes |
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Senses and Science
Quantum Cloud
Jellyfish Art
Just Skidding
Spies Sing |
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Two Similar Plans for Spelling Improvement
Pronunciation Problems
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No Escape / No Rest
No Smoking / No Fair!
No Dancing / No Sense of Humour
No Luck / No Mail |
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What Is This Thing?
Just Like a Turtle
Dome, Dymaxion, Fire Escape |
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20 Fun Things for Elevators
I'm Stuck
Hit the Floor |
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Hip Bathrooms
Basic Toilet Facts
Take the Test |
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Losing It
Rewarded by Virtue
Not So Different
Flawed Hero |
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Conclusion:
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Brains,
Courage,
Integrity |
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