July 17 2021 - the PhDs in the Darwin Awards

 

I found a number of Darwin Award "Survivors" or "Members" with PhDs.  That is absolutely ironic as Doctor of Philosophy means "love of wisdom" from the original Greek.  Consider that 50% of PhDs have faculty positions so are in charge of creating intelligence and wisdom in the next generation.  So irony seems appropriate for people with PhDs carrying out activities that result in Darwin Awards. Darwin Awards are a tongue-in-cheek honour, so the stories are written humorously. Each story has a catchy headline/name to identify it. There is a 2006 comedy film, The Darwin Awards, written and directed by Finn Taylor.  It was based on the website and many of the Darwin Awards stories. I do think that the story below would be an excellent candidate for a movie - The Crazy Darwin-bound Professor.  This one is an unconfirmed entry.  This is the World's Best At-Risk Survivor. Let an amused daughter tell you about her sire. (2009) This weekend was the final straw. Being an extremely cost-conscious person, Dad decided that putting half a can of varnish in the toaster oven to liquefy it was the cheapest approach. You guessed it--the stuff caught fire! I found him in front of the flaming oven contemplating picking up the can with his bare hands. Two-foot flames were shooting out of it, causing me to utter a line spoken far too many times in our house: <I>"What in God's name were you thinking?"</I> Father's attempts at Darwin Fame have included: 1) Tipping a small boat on Cayuga Lake while fishing, almost drowning my brother and himself. At the time, I thought Mom was being too hard on him when she said it was his own fault that he was in the hospital. I have since revised my judgment. 2) Removing a branch from a locust tree by climbing a ladder with a running chainsaw. The branch was not tied off properly, so it fell onto a shed roof that he was trying to avoid. 3) Rolling a lawn tractor on top of himself by mowing a roadside ditch at a steep angle, resulting in a broken rib--and poison ivy for me, because I spent ten minutes thrashing around in the vegetation while we tried to roll the tractor off Dad. Again. 4) Fourth but not last, lighting a fire in a basement trash burner that was not connected to an exhaust pipe. The fire department loves us. 5) Wandering off to watch the evening news after starting some water to boil in an aluminum dutch oven. Note that the Merck Index lists the melting point of aluminum as 660 degrees C. When Mom discovered the situation, the pot walls were glowing bright red, the bottom was melted out, and the kitchen wall was smoking. 6) Testing the efficacy of old Nitroglycerin tablets by swallowing three at once to see if they still worked. I did say he was cheap, er, cost conscious. The EMS came to the rescue because his blood pressure had dropped to an undesirable level and he was passed out at the kitchen table. Mere minutes before, he was planning a drive to the donut shop. Thank God he didn't make it to the car before his blood pressure dropped! He may not yet have used up nine lives, but my father, the PhD, appears to have a running start on Darwin infamy. Taken from the Darwin Awards here:  https://darwinawards.com/stupid/stupid2009-14.html About the Author Could there be more from his daughter?   I found her identify on a repeat of the entry on another site:  (Thank Stephanie Schaaf for sharing her eccentric father with us.) I subsequently found Stephanie at Cornell University in Ithaca.  This makes sense as Cayuga Lake is one of the Finger Lakes in upper New York State.  Sadly, I found both her and her father's obituaries.  Her father was Herbert M. Schaaf.  Of course, there is no mention of his escapades or of Stephanie's coverage of them. Today's image comes from Brian's garden in Toronto.  It is filled with Day Lilies, and this is one of his own hybrids.

July 16 2021 - Electricity on the Road

 

There are many recipients of the " Darwin Award".  The recipients themselves give rise to the generosity of the disbursement.  I wondered about two things after yesterday's power lines post.  The Darwin awards for electricity and when the first Darwin award will involve an electric vehicle.   That's right, I am looking today for the future Darwin winners when it comes to electric vehicles.  How will things go with electric cars?  Where will the occurrence happen?  Will it be charging the EV, trying to reduce costs with strange replacements? Testing the range in strange ways?  No - I think that we should look to water.   Definitely water. Q: "Will I get shocked if I drive an electric car through a big puddle?" A: "There's one danger you might not expect from mixing water and electric cars together. If water comes in contact with the nickel-metal hydride in the battery cells, the resulting chemical reaction forms hydrogen. If enough hydrogen builds up, it could cause disorientation and dizziness, and it could also lead to an explosion. This is really only an issue for rescue crews who have to deal with ruptured batteries, and they can easily handle it by properly ventilating the wreck."  This extract from auto.howstuffworks.com    Q: Is it safe to drive an electric car in a flood? A: "Regardless of whether it's an electric car or one with an internal-combustion engine, it is never safe to drive on a flooded road. Electric cars have significant protections built in to reduce the chances of electrocution, and there are measures to make sure components do not become contaminated by moisture, but full submersion is a different story. Even if you drive into a flood by accident you likely won’t die from electrocution in an EV. But, just be smart and don't drive into any sort of deep water in any vehicle. This last article says it all:: "A stunning video released from a Jaguar representative has shown how effective electric machines can be wading through deep water. In the clip, a Jaguar representative cleared several metres of floodwater in his Jaguar I-Pace car with relative ease. The Jaguar representative even claimed the company’s electric I-Pace vehicle had the same wading depth as a Land Rover Defender and could easily tackle brutal winter elements. Usually, electricity and water do not mix but electric cars are the exception and are claimed to be completely safe in even the most extreme weather conditions."  That article is HERE at the UK Express.  I suggest we stay tuned, it won't be long. I bought this Iris Pseudata Yarai at Cole's this week.  Pseudata Iris are a cross between Iris pseudocorus and Iris ensata ("pseudata" is combination of both names).  I recognized right away that it was related to Japanese Iris - that's ensata.  Pseudocorus is the yellow flat bog iris.