A "flying corset"

In the late 19th century... the West End master stage carpenter George Kirby began a business which specialised in flying effects on stage, organising the routines and supplying the equipment. This is one of the body harnesses that he developed for performers to wear. It was shaped like a corset, with leather straps attached and could be unobtrusively attached and detached from the flying wires during performance.

Kirby had worked with the German troupe, the Grigolatis, whose flying effects needed four stage hands to raise and traverse one performer. Kirby was convinced that his system could be less cumbersome and in 1889 developed the first pendulum flying system with quick-release mechanism. One of the earliest productions for which Kirby supplied equipment was Peter Pan by J.M.Barrie, at the Duke of York's Theatre which featured the Darling children flying with Peter from their London home to Never Never Land.

From the collections of the Victoria and Albert.

The long and winding road...

... is 24Crankle-Stilwell Road in Guizhou, China (photographed during a hill climb rally.  I also found a panoramic photo of it.

Credit: China Foto Press/Barcroft Media, via The Telegraph.

Harper's Puzzle answers for January, 2012 ------- ("Coined Words")

I think there are at least a few other TYWKIWDBI readers who eagerly look forward to the Harper's magazine "Puzzle" each month.  One frustration is that if you are stuck on an entry, it's a long wait before the answer comes in the next issue (though I do believe there is an online forum somewhere).

I've created another venue here for the convenience of the few who might need it.  Ask (and answer) questions in the Comments section of this post.

p.s. - the embedded grid is for the May 2011 puzzle.

Update:  The first 8 comments apply to the June puzzle; the next 12 are for the July one, then a couple for the August one

Second update:  Commenting now open for the September puzzle.

Third update:  Post queries and hints for the October "New Words" puzzle.

Fourth update:  Post queries and hints for the November acrostic-type "Taking Steps" puzzle.

Fifth update:  Post queries and hints for the December "3 Down and Counting" puzzle.  (p.s. I've stopped boosting this post to the top of the blog each month because so few people use it; those who want to share queries and answers can find this post with a quick search).

Sixth update:  Arrived today - anyone need hints?

The 1930s - with speed came streamlining

 The Schlörwagen “pillbug."

Found at the Aptera Forum, where there are numerous other photos, and some information re the car's low drag coefficient.

Hot water CAN freeze more quickly than cold water

I heard that statement years ago and dismissed it, but the subject was brought up recently in a Reddit thread, which linked to an extended explanation by a physicist.  Herewith brief excerpts:

Hot water can in fact freeze faster than cold water for a wide range of experimental conditions.  This phenomenon is extremely counterintuitive, and surprising even to most scientists, but it is in fact real.  It has been seen and studied in numerous experiments.  While this phenomenon has been known for centuries, and was described by Aristotle, Bacon, and Descartes, it was not introduced to the modern scientific community until 1969, by a Tanzanian high school pupil named Mpemba...

This seems impossible, right?  Many sharp readers may have already come up with a common proof that the Mpemba effect is impossible.  The proof usually goes something like this.  Say that the initially cooler water starts at 30°C and takes 10 minutes to freeze, while the initially warmer water starts out at 70°C.  Now the initially warmer water has to spend some time cooling to get to get down to 30°C, and after that, it's going to take 10 more minutes to freeze.  So since the initially warmer water has to do everything that the initially cooler water has to do, plus a little more, it will take at least a little longer, right?  What can be wrong with this proof?

What's wrong with this proof is that it implicitly assumes that the water is characterized solely by a single number — its average temperature.  But if other factors besides the average temperature are important, then when the initially warmer water has cooled to an average temperature of 30°C, it may look very different than the initially cooler water (at a uniform 30°C) did at the start.  Why?  Because the water may have changed when it cooled down from a uniform 70°C to an average 30°C.  It could have less mass, less dissolved gas, or convection currents producing a non-uniform temperature distribution.  Or it could have changed the environment around the container in the refrigerator.  All four of these changes are conceivably important, and each will be considered separately below...

Prepare to spend some time at the link if you want to understand the details.  I'll accept it on faith now.

Heather Dorniden wins a 600m sprint

YouTube link. 

In truly remarkable fashion.  The event was part of the 2008 Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships. 

This young woman's performance reminds me of "Alexis Conquers the Hurdles," which is the most inspirational sports video I've posted.

A hat tip to Nothing to do with Arbroath, where a different video of the event is posted.

Law enforcement technology bags a laser user

YouTube link. 

Be prepared to be impressed by the imaging and location technology this police helicopter employs after some dude on the ground decides to shine a green laser at the pilot.

Via Boing Boing.