Nature's Rings

July 11, 2003 8:05 AM

A lightning bolt created a beautiful smoke ring in the sky the other day. It resembles of Mt Etna's and other volcano's beautiful rings. Nature at it's best.
posted by tomplus2 (20 comments total)

I don't know, nature really jumped the shark after the Northern Lights
posted by BigPicnic at 8:16 AM on July 11, 2003

Hey look! Over there! It`s Frank Sinatra Sitting in a chair. And he`s blowing Perfect smoke rings Up into the air. And he`s singing: Smoke makes a staircase for you To descend. So rare.
posted by oog at 8:41 AM on July 11, 2003

Those Etna pictures are awesome, thanks for the link!

p.s. If you do crosswords, you know that "Etna" comes up about once a week as an answer
posted by jonah at 8:47 AM on July 11, 2003

I put aglets on all the ernes on Etna.
posted by yhbc at 8:50 AM on July 11, 2003

This reminds me of one of the cooler Mr. Wizard experiments / tricks. He took a big box cut a hole in one side and then set a diaphragm into the other. Put a small smoke producing flame inside and then voila; instant smoke ring maker... they travelled all across the room and were used in a target practice game to blow out a candle.

Ahhh Mr. Wizard.. looks like that was episode 45
posted by dirtylittlemonkey at 9:05 AM on July 11, 2003

Neat trick for smokers. Slide the plastic wrap off a pack slightly so that you can dab it about half way down with a lit fag. Keeping the wrap where it is blow smoke gently through the hole. Tap the side of the wrap opposite the hole and voila, instant smoke ring maker. Living proof that life behind the bike sheds at school was far more educational than educational TV for kids.
posted by vbfg at 9:09 AM on July 11, 2003

Thanks, tomplus2: loved the movies (scroll to bottom).
posted by carter at 9:15 AM on July 11, 2003

Takeshi Ishiguro created an instalation at the International house of Japan last year that periodically puffed smoke rings into the sky. QT move here (top row second from right)
posted by marvin at 9:49 AM on July 11, 2003

Last time I was diving, our divemaster did a spiffy trick when we did our safety stop on the way back up. He'd take a lungful of air, then pull out his regulator, tilt his head back and blow a nearly unbroken bubble ring of air. The rings would stay coherent and would grow as they went up as the pressurized air expanded under the steadily decreasing pressure.
posted by badstone at 9:58 AM on July 11, 2003

During a reenactment of a Civil War battle near Bedford, VA, one of the field-arty pieces fired a blank (of course) charge into the extremely humid summer air, and out of the gun's muzzle roiled this perfect, beautiful annulus of smoke that just hung there, and hung there, on and on for nearly three minutes. It drew the crowd's attention and even distracted some of the reenactors from their mock fighting.
posted by alumshubby at 10:23 AM on July 11, 2003

I just got my AIRZOOKA the other day and it is awesome. You can't see the smoke rings it shoots, unless you fill it with smoke first, but you sure can feel them when they hit you.

If you want one (you do) you can find them on Ebay, brand new, for like $15.
posted by scarabic at 10:42 AM on July 11, 2003

Great images! Here's some solar smoke rings for you (with animation!).
posted by taz at 11:50 AM on July 11, 2003

you silly sentimental fuckers. it's the end sign.
*grabs food stash, ammo cache, heads for the hills*
posted by quonsar at 12:01 PM on July 11, 2003

Oh, yeah. Because lightning hitting a transformer and "blowing up" is a far cry from "lightning causing an explosion".

Beautiful.
posted by Muraii at 12:07 PM on July 11, 2003

"Nature at it's best" - Nature at it is best ? Yet another who doesn't know the difference between possessive and contraction.
posted by lathrop at 1:20 PM on July 11, 2003

lathrop, honestly. nobody cares.
posted by oog at 2:49 PM on July 11, 2003

You mean...

"lathrop, honestly. nobody care's."
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:09 PM on July 11, 2003

Doesn't Art Bell have a more plausible explanation for this than "nature"?
posted by Zurishaddai at 4:11 PM on July 11, 2003

lets us see. theres the possessive, the contraction, then then theres the trollfergrammarhead. all perfekly fine usageses of teh art.
posted by quonsar at 5:26 PM on July 11, 2003

AIRZOOKA! I want I want! Oh, wait, here is a "fog ring shooter"!

Thanks for the info on MR Wizard, too.
posted by tomplus2 at 9:01 PM on July 11, 2003