Perhaps the Most Spectacular Bridge Collapse Ever Caught on Film November 7, 2010

Tacoma Narrows Bridge: A Big Mistake

On This Date In History:   The Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened in July 1940 to great fanfare. With a span of 2800 feet, it was the third longest bridge in the world. The builder decided to save money by making the bridge only 39 feet wide to support just two lanes of traffic which seems pretty short sighted given that it was probably a pretty good bet that traffic in the years ahead would continue to increase.  Nevertheless, the bridge only had two lanes but was designed to withstand winds of 120 mph. People flocked to the bridge after it’s opening, not just because it was faster than the ferry, but also because word had traveled that the moderate winds that are common in the area would make the bridge sway and even undulate up and down.   It was pretty cool to see.  Drivers reported losing sight of the autos in front of them when the bridge waved. The bridge gained the moniker “Galloping Gertie.”

Brave (or stupid) Pedestrian

All the fun and games came to a crashing end on this date in 1940 when steady winds of just 42 mph made the bridge sway…and then leap. It continued throughout the day until the entire structure failed. The bridge had been closed but the last man let across lost control of his car and, in fear of being tossed 190 feet into the Tacoma Narrows below, he fled on foot. He tried to retrieve the family cocker spaniel from the back seat but the pup would have none of it. As he reached the end of the bridge, the bridge collapsed spectacularly with the dog as the only casualty.

The result of the collapse was analyzed and is a common subject in college physics classes. Basically, the wind was in tune with the natural harmonics of the bridge. The more the wind blew, the greater it increased the amplitude of the harmonics creating a wave. Its a similar phenomena as when a singer breaks a glass. To avoid a similar fate, bridges today, including the one that replaced “Galloping Gertie” have damping and aerodynamic features built in and wind tunnels are used to test the ability of the structure to resist wind and prevent compromise of the integrity of the structure.

Here is the 1940 Newsreel Footage of the Collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge

Here is a different, color film on video of the collapse

Whatever man builds, can come down. Gravity and other forces are constantly at play. There are some things in life in which compromise can be a good thing. But engineers cannot afford to not get it right the first time. It kinda reminds me of what US Grant often said, “man proposes; God disposes.” These days we often teach our kids that close is good enough. If that is your methodology, mommas don’t let your babies be engineers.

A Silly Failure That Became an Iconic American Product August 4, 2010

On this date in History: During World War II,  rubber was a difficult commodity to acquire in the United States since many of the world’s rubber plantations were in control of the Japanese.   As part of an overall conservation and rationing campaign during World War II, tire drives were held in the US  where people turned in old tires so that the rubber could be recycled for the war effort.   People also surrendered rubber rain coats, rubber boots and anything else that was at least partly made from rubber.   The production of tires was limited and gasoline rationing came about to partly limit American’s driving on tires.  Along those same lines, Americans were urged to carpool; riding alone was described as “riding with Hitler.”  The government even put out advertising to inform people how they could care for rubber products so that they would last longer.   But, the demand for rubber in the war for rafts, gas masks, boots and truck tires was so great that Uncle Sam needed to find something to substitute for rubber.  So, stateside chemists went to work to find an alternative to rubber.   General Electric engineer James Wright was working on the project when he mixed silicone oil with boric acid.  On this date in 1943, the effort of James Wright resulted in a gooey substance that could be molded like clay, stretched, snapped and shattered when struck with a hammer.  If a piece was pressed to news print, it picked up the ink.  I’m not certain of the process of events that led to that revelation.  At one point,  Wright dropped it and he found that it bounced.   None of this seemed too practical for his project and, as a suitable replacement for rubber,  Wright’s effort was a failure.  But the boys in the lab had a lot of fun with his accidental invention.   The only use GE had for it was to sell it as a molding material or caulk.

Peter Hodgson: A Man With Silly Vision

Enter toy store owner Ruth Fallgatter.  The “Nutty Putty,”  as the boys at GE had called it, had been passed around to family and friends and some of the interesting substance found its way into her hands in 1949.   Her advertising consultant, Peter Hodgson, convinced her to obtain and package some “Nutty Putty” and put it in her catalog.   At two dollars a piece, the fun stuff was the biggest selling catalog item that year next to a 50 cent box of crayons.  The success caught the attention of Hodgson who was looking for a way to get out from under a $12,000 debt.    Now,  GE had a bunch of the stuff on hand and wanted to get rid of what seemed to be a product without much of a market.   So,  in 1950, Hodgson borrowed $147 and bought a bunch of it and presumably also obtained production rights.  He got a bunch of Yale students to divide the globs of goo into one ounce balls and place them in plastic eggs that were placed in egg cartons.   I’m not sure why Hodgson did not just call it “Nutty Putty,” but after a while of contemplation and suggestion taking, he finally determined his toy would be called “Silly Putty” and the price would be one dollar per egg.   In February 1950, He took his Silly Putty to the International Toy Fair in New York but no one had much vision because his pitch fell on deaf ears.   While he could not convince folks at the fair of Silly Putty’s potential, he was a good enough salesman to get his eggs stocked in Neiman-Marcus and Doubleday bookstores.   But it took a bit of luck for Hodgson’s idea to pay off. 

The Packaging For Silly Putty Looked Like a TV to Tie in With the Flood of Television Advertising

A reporter for The New Yorker just happened to go into a Doubleday bookstore and notice the display of eggs.  He bought one and took it home.  That led him to write a story about Silly Putty in the “Talk of the Town” section of the August 26, 1950 publication.  Advertising consultant Hodgson inadvertantly had gotten the best free advertising he could imagine.  Orders for Silly Putty came flooding in.  At first, it was marketed as a “real solid liquid” and was considered an adult novelty item.  But, by the mid 1950′s the strategy shifted from adults to kids, which is probably what Hodgson had in mind in the first place.  Hodgson strategically placed television advertisements for Silly Putty on broadcasts of The Howdy Doody Show and Captain Kangaroo.  Since those shows were the favorites of children, he efficiently used his advertising dollars to influence his target audience. 

Getting Silly with Putty

 In 1961, his son took up the marketing reigns and went to Russia for a bunch of expositions, including one in Gorky Park where Silly Putty was introduced to thousands. As he traveled, he utilized various forms of transportation. He even rode a motorcycle to Kiev and the Caucasus. On his way home, he married a Swede!   Two years later his introduction of Silly Putty to England coincided with the debut of The Beatles.   He must have gotten his father’s advertising genes because,  in 1976,  he tied a promotion to the Tour de France.  Peter Hodgson, Jr remained active until his father’s death that same year. But, the mistake of James Wright continues to intrigue kids of all ages to this date.  

Worthy of Not so silly study

There are some interesting aspects of Silly Putty that only reinforce the moniker.  In the 1950′s, the Smithsonian Institute had a Silly Putty exhibit and then in 1968, the astronauts of Apollo 8 took some Silly Putty with them when they orbited the moon.  After Hodgson’s death, the makers of the Crayola Crayons that had outsold Silly Putty in the 1949 toy catalog bought the rights to Silly Putty.  Today, the Binney and Smith company (now known as Crayola LLC)  turns out about 600 pounds of Silly Putty a day at its silly plant in Pennsylvania.  But, alas, one of the great aspects of Silly Putty has gone by the wayside.  A change in the printing process prohibits Silly Putty from copying images of comics in most modern publications.  Nevertheless, the same substance that was useless as a rubber substitute has found some practical purposes as people use it to plug holes, remove lint and relieve stress.  And to cap it off,  a physicist used Silly Putty as the basis of experiment to demonstrate the utility of a microscope in determining time dependent matrial properties.  As we go deeper into the 21st century, there is no telling how Silly Putty might change the world.

Weather  Bottom Line:  I believe the official high in Louisville on Tuesday was 95 degrees, which is far short of the record of 101.  Yes, it’s hot but it’s not unprecendented.   Look for highs again today in the mid to upper 90′s.  We have a cold front that will come down here but it will do so at night.  It seems to me that we should have  a fair chance of rain, even though its at night because it seems that a low may be riding along the front as it moves through the area.  However, none of the models are too enthusiastic as they are measuring rain in the hundreths of inches.  I think it will be more than that but it does not appear that we will get nearly enough rain.  Nevertheless, the front will knock about 7  or 8 degrees off the mercury both in the afternoons and the overnight hours through the weekend.

Time: The Priceless Commodity February 7, 2010

Time Marches On (click image for more Stephen Hansen artwork)

Norbert Elias Spent Time Pondering Time

Miriam Webster’s Dictionary defines “time” as “the measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues” or “ a nonspatial continuum that is measured in terms of events which succeed one another from past through present to future”   If you think about it, time is an odd concept.  Humans found it necessary to quantify that concept, hence the invention of the clock.  Rolf-Dietmar Ehrhardt determined that in order for time to exist, then a perceivable consciousness is required.  He says that time only exists “in 3 dimensionality”  and that earthly time does not exist in the hereafter.  Ehhardt’s essay briefly deals with the subject from a view of physics and psychology.   Sociologist Norbert Elias suggests in Time: An Essay that time itself is a concept totally unperceivable to the human senses. 

Time is something that every human in modern societies is aware of on a daily basis, yet, it is very difficult to get our hands around exactly what constitutes time.  Now, Webster’s says that the word “commodity” is ”an economic good” but then qualifies that as something with varying types of physical characteristics.  But, its secondary defintion says “something useful or valued.”  Now, if we take the secondary defintion into consideration, then “time” could be considered a commodity.  It is useful and it does have value.  But what is that value?  Laborers could quantify time in terms of a currency amount per a specific time, such as $10 per hour.  But, the time of the clerk at the store may be valued at $10 per hour whereas the time of a auto mechanic may valued at $70 per hour by their employers.  So, it would seem that time is valued by different people at different levels for individuals who perform different tasks.   For investors in options, there is a concept that is known as time value but even that eventually by necessity becomes worthless.

Time Worthy of a TV Show

If you think about it, time might be the most valuable commodity on earth.  Once it is used, it can never be retrieved.  It can be used for a number of activities that may create profoundly positive results or and equally disasterous negative outcome.  Time might be used for entertainment purposes and one’s individual entertainment cannot easily be quantified by a dollar amount.  Then there is another possibility; time used for little consequence.   How many hours in  a day do you waste?  That hour you used watching a tv show cannot be retrieved.  Was it worth it to use a resource that is gone forever after a single use?  So often we use our time on pursuits that brings neither pleasure or profit, pain or loss.  When organizations ask for support, more often than not it comes in the form of a financial donation.  People say that they support some group or effort simply because they write a check.  Or, they say that they cannot support a group, organization or effort because they have no money to give. 

I submit that everyone can give to others.  Money is necessary in our global economy but, perhaps the greatest support that you can give is your time.   Your time is so valuable because it cannot be duplicated.  Your time is not a collective commodity but instead is uniquely associated to you as an individual.  Only you can give your time and what you give is like a snowflake; it is distintive and unique.   Others can give their time but it is never exactly like yours so yours has its own distinct value.   Time with your children or spouse is a unique event shared only by those involved.  Time counseling troubled youths is so valuable that it may make the difference whether a young person has a happy, joyous life or one of heartbreak and loss.  If your time positively affected the life of another human being, what is that worth?  Visiting a sick person in the hospital, offereing encouragement may serve nothing more than to let that person know that someone cares enough to visit and may make a difference in whether or not that person recovers successfully.  Can you put a dollar amount on that? 

 How much is time worth?  How much is it worth to take the time to see the smile on a child’s face?  What is it worth to pause and witness a glorious sunset?   Giving of ourselves means giving our time and any amount of financial donation cannot compare to the value of giving of oneself to another.  For those moments that you spend time with another, you are in effect laying down that part of your life for that person.  Perhaps we should step back and realize that everyone can give to others more than the wealthiest man in the world, simply by using our time wisely.  It is not unreasonable to think that if everyone used part of their own special gift for others rather than on mindless, inconsequential pursuits, then many problems that exist in the world today would be alieviated. And you can do it on your own.  As you watch the Super Bowl, consider perhaps later this week or this month, taking a third of the time you set aside for that entertainment on Super Sunday, and giving it to someone else.  Then ask yourself which was the wisest and most satisfying use of that elusive concept, time.

Saturday Snow Totals

Weather Bottom Line: We ended up with a very nice two inch snow across most of the area with the temperature falling below freezing as the rain turned to snow.  That provided the opportunity for the snow to stick to the trees and making it exceedingly beautiful all day.  The roads were generally okay but, after I had admonished everyone to be careful on the roads….I hit an entire city block downtown that was iced over at 4pm and I slid for the entire block into a parked truck.  I was only doing about 20 but the damage is pretty severe.  Snow White was not hurt but had to get out of the car from the driver’s side.  I was most fortunate that the airbag did not deploy. 

NAM close to 4 inches by Wednesday morning

Anway, we stayed below freezing all day Saturday and will also on Sunday.  If we get above freezing on Monday it won’t be by much or last very long.  Now, we do have a system for Tuesday and Wednesday possibly carring into Thursday.  I’ve been telling you about this for days as the models initially said double digit snow.  Then, they came up with a solution that brought snow, then shove a warmfront to our north and turned the precipitation to rain and then back to snow.  I didn’t like that solution for its own sake and also because it sounded like a mess to me with the potential for ice.  Well, as I had suggested earlier, the models not only shoved the timing of the event out of the Monday time frame back into Tuesday and Wednesday, but also has returned to the solution of it being all snow.  Some data still suggests for a short time that we have some rain or ice in between snow. 

GFS 6-8 inches by Wednesday evening

This is a very difficult forecast as this guy is going to be close and it is behaving rather erratically.  Models have snowfall from 4-8 inches, depending on which one you look at though the Canadian model last time I checked seemed even more bullish than that.  Plan on significant snow for Tuesday carrying into Wednesday as that is still possible but keep in mind that there may be a mixed bag with rain and perhaps freezing rain; a potential mess.  Both morning drives may be interesting as will Tuesday evening.  If you have kids, I would may preliminary plans to have them home from school because I think its almost a certainty that school will be cancelled for most school districts, but you never know what Jefferson County Schools will do so stay tuned.  This guy should show itself better over the next 36 hours.

Large Hadron Collider Up and Running-No Black Hole Yet; Mrs. Bixby’s Letter to Lincoln November 21, 2009

A Black Hole, the Future Earth?

A New Cathedral

It’s Back! The Large Hadron Collider is up and running again with no apparent adverse affects.  If you recall, the world’s largest supercollider is located along the French-Swiss border.  It was much ballyhooed as a key tool in the study of subatomic particles.  It was all set and ready to go and it was fired up only to suffer a calamity 9 days later.  About 50 of the magnets were damaged severely and had to be replaced.  Last August, a physicist wrote a paper that supported claims the collider could create a black hole.   Now, the fear isn’t a giant black hole but instead the assertion is that a small black hole could be created and then…well…I dunno what happens then especially if the created black holes are so small that they cannot easily be detected.  There is still an official site for citizens against the Large Hadron Collider.  But, UC Santa Barbara Professor Steve Giddings claims that, even if it did create a small black hole, it would only last for a “nano-nano-nanosecond” and wouldn’t be a big deal.  I guess the professor doesn’t buy into the Barbara Streisand song from Hello Dolly, It only takes a Moment.

Bixby Letter Fascimile of 1891 Sold By New York Huber Museum for $1

On This Date in History: The story goes like this. A widow, Lydia Bixby was said to have lost 5 sons fighting for the Union in the Civil War and Massachusetts Governor John Andrew asked the president to write a letter of condolence. On this date in 1864, President Abraham Lincoln composed a letter to Mrs. Bixby. The letter was published in the Boston Evening Transcript on November 25, 1864. That letter, noted for its compassion and prose, has been hailed since that time and even made its way into Stephen Spielberg’s 1998 Saving Private Ryan with General Marshall reading from the letter and using the letter as the reason why they were going to find Private Ryan.

Historians though have doubts as to the authorship. Many suspect that it was really Lincoln’s secretary, John Hay, who wrote the letter. No original letter has ever been produced. Further, Mrs. Bixby 5 sons weren’t all killed in the war. Two lost their lives in the fighting, another was honorably discharged, another was dishonorably thrown from the ranks and the fifth’s fate is unknown, though some suggest that this means that he either deserted or died in a Confederate prisoner of war camp. How they come to those to limitations is beyond my own limited comprehension.

If Gen. Marshall in

Ironically, on November 17, 2008 a report surfaced that the original Bixby letter may have been found. But, when you read this story, you find that is not necessarily the case and even suggests that analysis reveals that the signature on the new letter is not that of Lincoln. But, could it be the handwriting of Hay? I want to know how it found its way to Texas if it is…and why do they suggest that it is the original when at the top it says “copy.”

It is interesting to me, however, that in The Living Lincoln: The Man and His Times, in His Own Words by Paul M. Angle and Earl Schenck Miers, that they do not mention any question as to Lincoln being the author. They simply say, “Superbly eloquent as the letter that Lincoln wrote to Mr. Lydia Bixby of Boston. This message, published in the Boston Transcript, appealed to the heart of the nation.” I’m not sure if they are suggesting that it was written as a political piece of prose with that purpose in mind, or if its publication resulted in appealing to the heart of the nation. Either way, whoever was the author, it is quite a remarkable letter.

Executive Mansion,
Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.

Dear Madam,–

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,

A. Lincoln

Greatest Bridge Collapse in US History Captured in video and photos November 7, 2009

Tacoma Narrows Bridge: A Big Mistake

On This Date In History: On this date in 1940 one of the greatest engineering boondoggles was uncovered in Washington. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened in July 1940 to great fanfare. With a span of 2800 feet, it was the third longest bridge in the world. The builder decided to save money by making the bridge only 39 feet wide to support just two lanes of traffic. It was designed to withstand winds of 120 mph. People flocked to the bridge after it’s opening, not just because it was faster than the ferry, but also because moderate winds that are common in the area would make the bridge sway and even undulate up and down. Drivers reported losing sight of the autos in front of them when the bridge waved. The bridge gained the moniker “Galloping Gertie.”

Brave (or stupid) Pedestrian

All the fun and games came to a crashing end on November 7, 1940 when steady winds of just 42 mph made the bridge sway…and then leap. It continued throughout the day until the entire structure failed. The bridge had been closed but the last man let across lost control of his car and, in fear of being tossed 190 feet into the Tacoma Narrows below, he fled on foot. He tried to retrieve the family cocker spaniel from the back seat but the pup would have none of it. As he reached the end of the bridge, the bridge collapsed spectacularly with the dog as the only casualty.

The result of the collapse was analysed and is a common subject in college physics classes. Basically, the wind was in tune with the natural harmonics of the bridge. The more the wind blew, the greater it increased the amplitude of the harmonics creating a wave. Its a similar phenomena as when a singer breaks a glass. To avoid a similar fate, bridges today, including the one that replaced “Galloping Gertie” have damping and aerodynamic features built in and wind tunnels are used to test the ability of the structure to resist wind and prevent compromise of the integrity of the structure.

Here is the 1940 Newsreel Footage of the Collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge

Here is a different, color film on video of the collapse

Whatever man builds, can come down. Gravity and other forces are constantly at play. There are some things in life in which compromise can be a good thing. But engineers cannot afford to not get it right the first time. It kinda reminds me of what US Grant often said, “man proposes; God disposes.” These days we often teach our kids that close is good enough. If that is your methodology, mommas don’t let your babies be engineers.

Weather Bottom Line:  Great Weekend. Enjoy it.