A total prize of 7 X 10^3
January 26, 2011 10:38 PM   Subscribe

Powers of Ten is a classic film by Ray and Charles Eames which deals with the relative size of things in the Universe. (Previously) There are still six days left to join the Powers of Ten Video Response Competition, sponsored by the Eames Office and Core77, which already has some interesting entries... posted by twoleftfeet (18 comments total) 31 users marked this as a favorite
 
One day people, very soon, I will serenade that chair with a ukulele, make unbridled passionate whoopie with it then drink a double martini just to wake in the morning and die from a full on red meat coronary while mowing the lawn next to my Buick as my Marlboro smolders to dust.
posted by I love you more when I eat paint chips at 11:11 PM on January 26, 2011 [1 favorite]




THANK YOU for posting this -- i saw 'powers of ten' on pbs as a kid and it -->blew my mind<--
posted by mrmarley at 12:34 AM on January 27, 2011


Just the right thread to throw in this very interesting review of a new book out on the Eameses (via @bruces whose snarkfilled comment made me click through "Let Ray and Charles get married already")
posted by infini at 12:51 AM on January 27, 2011


The Elmer Bernstein soundtrack is utterly perfect for the film.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:40 AM on January 27, 2011


the little video that has it all!
posted by Redhush at 4:03 AM on January 27, 2011


*sings*

Katamari Damacyyyyyyy!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 4:59 AM on January 27, 2011


I would watch this in a teeny little theatre, where it was the only movie on the bill, pretty much every time I visited the Ontario Science Centre. Which was a lot of times. Mind blown every time.
posted by not_that_epiphanius at 7:00 AM on January 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


The "YouTube Views" video says "Every 5 seconds you'll see YouTube videos that were "viewed" as many times as the exponent shown," but quicky goes past 10^9 and on to 10^teens.

I'd be a little surprised if any YouTube video had 10^9 views, though. This list of highly-viewed videos claims the top slot has only about that many.

It's pretty much a given that no YouTube video has as many as 10^12 views.
posted by Western Infidels at 7:43 AM on January 27, 2011


I would watch this in a teeny little theatre, where it was the only movie on the bill, pretty much every time I visited the Ontario Science Centre. Which was a lot of times. Mind blown every time.

You too, huh?

Can someone tell me what I am missing with the Powers of 10: Youtube video? If a video has 10^24 views, that means everyone on earth has seen it an average of roughly 150,000,000,000,000 times. Which seems a little high, except maybe for that dramatic chipmunk.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:02 AM on January 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


That's about the size of it
posted by Reverend John at 8:37 AM on January 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


That's about the size of it
Favoriting this 10^∞ times.
posted by xedrik at 8:58 AM on January 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


Maybe the makers of the "YouTube Views" version intended that the sum of the views of all the videos excerpted in a five-second interval added up to the exponent shown during that interval. That would get you to 10^9 easily enough, but I still don't see how you'd hit 10^12 that way. You'd need to excerpt 1,000 videos with 10^9 views each. In five seconds.
posted by Western Infidels at 9:15 AM on January 27, 2011


I would watch this in a teeny little theatre, where it was the only movie on the bill, pretty much every time I visited the Ontario Science Centre.

Surely there must have been Canadian Content back then and you actually watched Cosmic Zoom
posted by Neiltupper at 10:51 AM on January 27, 2011


HOLY SHIT! We watched that in school all the time. I had no idea it was made by the Eames dudes. I love that deja vu feeling that brings you right back to 6th grade when you hear that voice.
posted by spicynuts at 11:32 AM on January 27, 2011


Ahh. Soldiers Field, where the Bearses play.
posted by Sk4n at 4:49 PM on January 27, 2011


I had no idea it was made by the Eames dudes.

Ray Eames was a lady, and Charles Eames was her husband.
posted by Sidhedevil at 5:22 PM on January 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


you actually watched Cosmic Zoom

Nope, but you had me going for a minute there, especially since the YT video gives a 1977 release date, which would have been too late. That was a re-release, the original release date is 1968.

I definitely recall the picknicking guy, but not the narration. I wonder if that was the same in the earlier version. I can't dig this info up at imdb, wikipedia or the film's own site.
posted by not_that_epiphanius at 12:14 AM on January 29, 2011 [1 favorite]


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