MetaFilter posts tagged with cannon

I'll huff and I'll puff and ...

bwg — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 22:02:37 -0800

Vortex Cannon : SLYT "Jem Stansfield builds a vortex cannon to pick up where the big bad wolf failed to blow over a house of brick." More details at the BBC.

"Women hold up half the sky"--Chinese proverb

mothershock — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 09:58:11 -0800

Pickering and the Female Computers. In 1881, Edward Pickering, the director of the Harvard College Observatory, became so impatient with a male lab assistant’s work that he famously declared his maid could do a better job. Rather than take offense, his 24-year-old maid, Williamina Fleming, instead took him up on the offer. She ended up working at the Observatory for the next 30 years, supervising the tedious work of cataloging photographic plates, but also discovering variable stars and novae, helping to develop a classification system—and, perhaps even more importantly, hiring nearly 40 female assistants, many of whom went on to have distinguished scientific careers. These "computers," as they were called, were a bargain for Pickering: at first the women worked for free; after a number of years he rewarded them with a salary—about 30 cents an hour, roughly half of that of the men who did the same work. As he wrote in his 1898 annual report, the women computers were "Capable of doing as much good routine work as astronomers who would receive larger salaries. Three or four times as many assistants can thus be employed." (As a side note, the US Naval Observatory also employed female -- and male -- computers around the turn of the century. In 1906, the computers were paid equally, $1200 a year for both men and women. But only men had the opportunity for advancement, as, among other things, the most prestigious jobs at the USNO required a military commission, which wasn't available to women.) Thanks to Pickering and his maid, women were able to make an indelible contribution to science. The most notable astronomers to come from his lab were Antonia Maury, Annie Jump Cannon, and Henrietta Swan Leavitt. Their discoveries and innovation helped usher in an age of science and inquiry in astronomy, and helped pave the way for women in the field. Noted a student of the eminent astronomer Vera Rubin (who herself got her doctorate in astronomy at Georgetown University in 1954 by taking night classes while her husband waited for her in the car): “American astronomy became preeminent because of two discoveries: Hale discovered money and Pickering discovered women.”

Kitten Cannon

blue_beetle — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:42:06 -0800

Kitten Cannon (flash). Exactly what it says.

Hail Cannons.

mattbucher — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 15:56:07 -0800

Hail Cannons look awesome. They've apparently been around for along time, but they occasionally annoy the neighbors. Can we wipe out hail in our lifetimes?

Argh! Argh! Urgh! Argh! Argh! Argh! Urgh! Urgh! Argh!

hoverboards don't work on water — Fri, 05 May 2006 10:13:48 -0800

Friday insanity: "We are no longer going to be the band that plays old game tunes. We are going to be the band that plays old game tunes on game controllers!" [23Mb DivX, explanation]. Witness Commodore 64 revival band Press Play On Tape playing Cannon Fodder using a bunch of game console controllers. War has never been so much fun.

Caltech Hacked Again

breath — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 11:41:28 -0800

Howe & Ser Moving Company has completed its latest job: moving a Spanish-American War cannon from the pits of Pasadena, CA to sunny Cambridge, MA. The cannon arrived with one addition: a giant Brass Rat, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology class ring. In the past, the cannon graced the front yard of Caltech and took a brief vacation to Harvey Mudd College.
Last year, students from Caltech attempted to start a hacking war with MIT, with little response. This small delivery has drastically changed the score. More pictures.

donkeymon — Sat, 03 Nov 2001 06:09:22 -0800

This weekend in Millsboro, Delaware is the 16th annual Punkin Chunkin World Championships, in which pumpkins are propelled distances approaching a mile from old-style catapults and huge air cannons. Anyone else going?

plinth — Tue, 01 Aug 2000 10:09:53 -0800

Giant Flaming Gerbil Shooter [from memepool] Three words: Oh. My. God.

plinth — Thu, 15 Jun 2000 10:53:50 -0800

Sure, spud guns have been done, but sometimes we need reminders of the awesome power of a flying tuber. I prefer this design, as it is powered by compressed air, whereas a buddy of mine just finished a device he calls "The Judge" powered by Acetylene and O2.