Some Miscellany

William Harley and Arthur Davidson (1914).

h/t Cousin Tom

Now, This is Kool

https://www.facebook.com/thisisinsider/videos/1538237373150322/?pnref=story

The Chthulu Reaction

The orange powder is ammonium dichromate and when heat is introduced, it forms nitrogen gas, water, and ammonium (III) oxide, which is the dark powder that looks like the volcano you see.

What appears to be tentacles is actually what happens when heat is introduced to mercury (II) thiocyanate. The white solid expands when it's heated to become a dark, tentacle-like mass due to its decomposition to carbon nitride. In addition, sulfur dioxide and mercury (II) sulfide are also produced. The reaction is appropriately nicknamed the "Pharoah's Serpent" and was sold in stores as fireworks until people realized it's toxic.

-- Apparently, Burning NH4Cr2O7 With HgSCN Opens A Portal To Hell.

TOF remembers those "fireworks." You lit up a pellet and a "snake" grew out of it and curled all over. He does not recall all the 4th of July dead bodies from the mercury thiocyanate, sulfur dioxide, and mercury sulfide, but supposes they must have been on the next block.

This is Kool

STEREO [Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory] is a pair of telescopes parked in the L4 and L5 solar Lagrange points.  These are along Earth orbit about 93 million miles ahead and behind us.

STEREO-A's Heliospheric Imager captured Comet ISON tracking left to right as it heads toward its close encounter of the hot kind: it will graze the sun on Thursday.

The video covers Nov. 20 to Nov. 22, 2013.

The smaller moving body seen in the middle ground is Comet Encke. The sun is off-stage right.  The instrument visualizes the solar wind, which is also kool.


BTW, Mercury is not farther from the Sun than Earth.  It's the perspective.  Here is the position of the two STEREO satelites as of 27 Nov 2013.  Put yourself at A (the one Ahead of the Earth and look back toward the Earth and you will see why Mercury looks farther from the Sun.

Clearing the Tabs

Yes, it's time to clear the tabs once more.

1. What does the Catholic Church call a medieval woman

who was a herbalist and wrote books about it?

Notes from the Untergang

The Mirren Nose

The Decline of Science As We Once Knew It


What science nose when they they nose it. 

Talk to the Animals

When Helen Keller Became Human

One of the confusions between human beings and other higher animals is that between training animals to recognize and respond to signs and the human ability to conceive of symbols.  The former can be accomplished by sensation and perception (including memory and imagination).  But there is a world of difference between the imagination and the intellect.  The confusion stems from the fact that human beings are also animals, and so all those things that are true of animals are true of human beings. 

OK, This is Kool

h/t Mark Shea

What if the Earth Had Rings Like Saturn?

Now This is Kool


(H/T: Spider Robinson)

For Anyone Once a Kid

Now This is Kool


This is the evolution of Crayola Crayons from the original eight phyla to the many species now available. 

Crayola is now also the official name of the company, and not only of the product.  Formerly, they were Binney and Smith, which I found refreshingly old-fashioned.

This is Kool

All of Britain under snow:


And there, on the left, peeking out from under a cloud, a spot of Green.  Ireland, of course.