In 1943, Monterey County’s Board of Supervisors passed a resolution which “‘vigorously’ protested the release of Japanese from internment camps, citing the lack of ‘provision for adequate surveillance and control’ and the potential for ‘serious sabotage and difficulty in defending our shoreline in the event of an attack.'” A historian researching the history of Japanese in the area discovered the old resolution and on Tuesday the present day board plans to rescind it.
The actors who portray the evil nerd troika in Buffy have their very own Science Fiction Weekly interview. They describe how they got the roles, express a little disappointment in not being included in the musical episode (two of them sing), and speculate on their character’s motives. The conclusion? “Together we’d make the perfect guy.”
America the Bountiful celebrates the history and diversity of American cuisine by chronicling ten foods: beef, chicken, turkey, pork, potatoes, corn, greens, wheat, beans, and apples. Each is attached to a corresponding period in history. Apples are brought to Calfornia during the Gold Rush. Chickens were egg producers, cooked only for special Sunday dinners until after World War II. The site is hosted by the Culinary Archives & Museum at Johnson & Wales University.
A rash couple picked out a 2.03-carat diamond ring at Tiffany’s at the Stanford Shopping Center on Wednesday and then ran out the door with it. Perhaps the $42,800 ring was a Valentine’s Day gift for the thieving bride-to-be. Perhaps it will pop up on eBay. Does the couple that steals together stay together?
The NY Stock Exchange opening bell is often rung by visiting company executives celebrating IPOs or anniversaries, but on February 14th a robot became the first non-human to ring the bell. Humanoid robot Asimo represented Honda Motor Company. Traders on the floor took little notice.
Happy Valentine’s Day! Enjoy this online exhibit of Vintage Valentines from the West Virginia University Libraries.
The man in charge of the Olympic long-track speedskating rink is disappointed. After the 500 meter race, Marc Norman, caretaker at the Utah Olympic Oval, carefully examined temperature and humidity data. He had hoped that world records would be broken at this, the highest altitude speed skating track in the world. Air resistance is lower at high altitude, and the reduced oxygen creates a better sheet of ice. A Popular Science article goes into detail on the design of the rink, the ice, the building. The ice is tweaked for different events, adjusting for more “glide” at distance events and “grip” for shorter races. Norman mixes a secret soap substance into the Zamboni water in order to reduce the oxygen frozen in. The lower ceiling in the building allows for better control over the climate inside. A dehumidifier was specially designed for the space. With such deep preparation and fine control, it isn’t surprising that Norman is disappointed with the lack of record breaking skates. After analyzing the data, he decided that the temperature of the floor under the ice was too warm. But the skaters are pleased with the ice, even if they aren’t breaking any records.
If the Winter Olympics figure skating has made you wonder what your favorites from long ago are up to, there are short updates on Skating Inc’s Where Are They Now? page for many well-known skaters.
Those spare Iridium satellites finally did take off on Monday after three delays. And I found the answer to my question: what happened to the other two spares? They will be launched in June of this year.
A wire coat hanger in a 1,000 year old Chinese ceramic horse? The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco is moving to a new home and conservators are busy preparing the collection for the move. Some of it involves removing earlier restoration work, though actually the coat hanger is going to stay put since it is in good shape. The core of the collection, 13,000 works gifted to San Francisco by Avery Brundage, is the city’s second-most valuable asset (real estate is the first).