From where you currently stand, the farthest you can travel on Earth is about 7,900 miles (12,700 kilometers) straight down. What’s more, were it not for some pesky geophysical realities such as crushing pressure, scorching heat and differential rotation spoiling your fun, you could get there in less than 45 minutes. All you need is a modest tunnel … right?
What would happen if I drilled a tunnel through the center of the Earth and jumped into it?
Before the Internet, before personal computers and before he and William English invented the computer mouse, Doug Engelbart had a vision. It entailed putting a computer in every office, sharing ideas and resources across networks and raising the collective IQ of society through human-computer interactions. That dream drove him to design some of the foundational technologies that drive today’s information society – including a few that might surprise you.
Mrs. O’Leary’s cow; David’s sling-stone; the thorn in a lion’s paw.
We relish tales of the mighty being felled by seemingly insignificant objects. But could a penny placed on railroad tracks really derail a train, or is this myth just a load of pig iron?
Every few years, someone writes an article about how kids today don’t know what a rotary phone is, or have never heard of a cassette tape, or are losing the ability to spell or write cursive. I still remember, years ago, when one study revealed that not only did today’s youth not know how to wind a watch – they didn’t know what the phrase meant.
As someone who was required to be able to understand references to technology, art and entertainment dating back to my grandmother’s time, I take these articles with a grain of salt. That includes the recent spate of pieces in blogs and news outlets declaring the death of the wristwatch. Sure, we all have cellphone, and there are as many clocks in my kitchen as appliances, but – as I point out in this misleadingly named article – the watch has yet to tick its last tock.
The pages of ThinkGeek teem with techno-tees fitted with LEDs, speakers, DIY artwork, virtual instruments and WiFi meters. Meanwhile, companies vie to gin up greener charging methods for cell phones.
Is it time for a mashup? A cellphone-charging tee? Maybe – but good luck wearing one through airport security.