August 2, 2002


  • I was just wondering (call it *a hunch*) : What if there is a real but as of yet historically unwitnessed geological phenomenon that could be called a "world shake" ?  Not just a typical earthquake the energy of which difuses outward from an ephemeral epicenter towards less affected regions, but a core-sponsored global burp that resonates in harmonically-resounding, reinforcing earth-cleansing waves?!


    Has anyone lately checked to see if the core is set on "simmer" instead of "boil" ?










    Contrary to urban legends, The Great Wall of China is not visible from space…


    A person with perfect eyesight is able to resolve up to about one minute of arc without binoculars or a telescope. The Great Wall of China is, very approximately, 6 metres wide. This means that it is not directly visible above an altitude of about 20 kilometres, or just over twice the height of Mount Everest. Even if its shadow is taken into account, this would only make it visible, in places, up to perhaps about 60 kilometres at the most. Because of atmospheric drag, this is still below the height necessary for a stable spacecraft orbit.


    But other manmade objects are:


    There are, however, many man-made objects which are visible from outer space, the largest being the Dutch polders or reclaimed land. Cities too can be seen at night because of the bright streetlights.

    Streetlights. LOL Hey, but weren't Chinese lanterns the first streetlamps? !  The legend continues!


    Peached-up from Chinese Puzzle




    Deserts are not defined by heat but by aridity, that is, the lack of precipitation.   Hence, as is well known, parts of Antarctica are precipitation-less desert even though covered by ice.  Yet there are deserts even upon the ocean:


    Most of the world's great deserts lie under the eastern flank of the subtropical anticyclones (In each hemisphere, between the latitudes of about 25 and 45 degrees): the Sahara, the Kalahari, the deserts of the southwestern United States and the Atacama in Chile, as well as vast areas of inland and western Australia. Large areas of ocean in the subtropical high-pressure belt are also arid.

    These zones also became known as the horse latitudes during the days of the great sailing ships. Sailing ships becalmed in the belt would run short of water and, with no rain, horses being traded between Europe and the Americas would be thrown overboard, often into the Sargasso Sea.


    I guess that when you're dying of thirst, it's no time to be horsing around.


    Appled-up from Dry Seas

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