Well, I for one am not all that impressed with the responses so far. Of
course, it's unrealistic to expect that Bill would hit upon the actual
responses, just give the flavor of what we all expect and enjoy.
So far, not one arcane or related, but somehow off topic post-- until now.
OK, one of the things I do is dreamwork. Elias Howe and the discoverer
of the benzene ring (to lazy to look up the name just now) are famous to
dreamworkers.
Back whenever it was, the industrial revolution had made it possible to
produce woven goods at prices and qualities and in volumes undreamed of
a few years before. However, there was a huge bottleneck in taking
advantage of mass production, everything made from that cloth had to be
sewn by hand. Lots of people were trying to design a sewing machine, all
in a feverish race to be first and reap the rewards. One of these people
was Elias Howe, who was having no luck until he had a nightmare*. He was
captured by 'savages' who popped him into a pot and lit a fire under it
(note the reference to the need to 'light a fire under himself to find
the answer!). As it got hotter and he tried to get out, warriors kept
him in with a ring of sharp spears pointed at him and jabbing him back
in. Suddenly, he noticed that the spears had holes just behind the tips.
When he woke up, he realized that he, and presumeably others, had
assumed that the hole for the thread would remain in the same place as
on a manual needle. So he invented the sewing machine and became rich
and famous, or some such. Oddly enough, no one has blamed him for
sweatshops.
Then there was this chemist trying to figure out the structure of the
benzene molecule. Same general story, pressure, competition, blah,
blah... He has a dream in which a snake curls up in a circle and puts
its tail in its mouth (an ancient spiritual symbol, pointing to other,
psychospititually meaningful, levels of the dream). He, of course, wakes
up and gets the point (ha, ha, see above) and is the discoverer of the
benzene ring, a milestone in early organic chem. I've always wondered if
the snake winked at him.
*contrary to popular opinion, the nightmare form of dream often carries
highly important information for the dreamer.
As to the mothballs, wait for them to hatch. Maybe the smell will leave
with the moths.
Moose
Bill Stanke wrote:
Hi Zuiks:
I recently purchased a new (to me) Ford pickup truck. Great deal, great
truck. Only one little problem. The previous owner parked it in his barn.
To protect it from rodents, he load the cab with mothballs. Well, the
mothballs are gone, but the smell lingers on!
I've tried baking soda and Febreez, but can still smell the mothballs.
Within 24 hours I expect the following out of this group:
A short history of mothballs
An arcane chemical discussion of para-dichloro benzene
A story of a British researcher who discovered benzene six months before the
German, but never received the credit he deserved
A link to photos of benzene rings
A discussion of the "mothball symbolism" of class warfare (cotton vs. wool)
A tale of the New Zealand Realm's ill-fated attempt to produce moth balls
from kiwi rinds
And, maybe, and idea or too about the blasted smell <g>!
OM content: said pickup truck will be used to haul Zuikos in search of old
barns, wildflowers, and critters.
Thanks!
Bill Stanke
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