Whatzit?

[webenda]

It just feels odd that something that massive moves around at all.

The earth sinks where you are standing or sitting from your weight Chuck.

I once measured a 2-meter standard bar for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The thing was too long to include the laser interferometer on the surface plate so I mounted it on a tripod. The group that brought the 2-meter bar to me gathered around the surface plate to watch the set-up. As I zeroed the interferometer they all gathered around the tripod. As I moved the retroreflector to the other end of the bar they followed. The 2-meter bar was way off from 2 meters. I moved the retroreflector back to the zero end of the bar and the zero had drifted 292 micrometers. I let them know the zero had drifted and they all came down to the other end to see. As they returned the zero returned to about zero. That was the second time I had noticed the ground sinks where people are standing. I asked them all to freeze for the next measurement and the bar measured within the specified requirement.

The earth is pretty massive but it is like jello, not very firm.

[chuck]

The earth sinks where you are standing or sitting from your weight Chuck.

Unless you are seriously overweight or the ground you are standing on is really, really soft you don't notice it. This is actually a perceivable rise/dip/rise affect tied to the passage of a large heavy vehicle. It's only really noticeable if you are standing still from either enjoying the view or getting concerned about how far down the water is (about 240' from the upper level walkway) and just how strong is that railing If you are walking/moving you just assume it's vibration from the passing traffic.

The Train Barn in SW Michigan had a "working" model of a suspension bridge on the layout, not a simulated/looks like a suspension bridge, an actual complicated scale model of a suspension bridge. When the trains transited the bridge you could watch the deck deflecting on the passage.

[webenda]

The earth sinks where you are standing or sitting from your weight Chuck.

Unless you are seriously overweight or the ground you are standing on is really, really soft you don't notice it.

You don't notice the ground sink a few micrometers with every step Chuck? Wow, you are really an insensitive guy.
The room I was in had a three foot deep concrete floor, it was not soft.

First time I noticed the ground sinking was when the airfield Sargent asked me to go out to the sod field to see if it was dry enough for our Birddog to land on. I asked him how would I know? He answered, "Drive the truck on it. If you don't sink it is dry enough."

At the field I decided to walk on the runway first... if I sunk it was too wet. I sunk a noticeable amount--about 3 inches in a bowl depression if I recall. I tried jumping up and down. That produced 6-inch waves radiating away from me--in dry sod! The water table was high enough to cause this effect.

I see the airfield is still there today but is no longer a grass field.


When we asked the California National Guard to bring some tanks into the valley so we could shoot at them with TOW missiles with the guardsmen still in them so they could report what it was like, the first tank into the valley sank almost out of sight. Only the cannon muzzle was visible above the road because the crew raised it before they abandoned tank. The second tank got stuck and could not back out. The third tank turned around and went back home.

They pulled the second tank out with an M32 but the first tank remained underground for two months before they were able to dig without the mud filling in every hole a backhoe tried to dig.

So, what's it like to be inside a tank that gets hit with a tow missile without a warhead? Like being inside a giant bell. Ear muffs and ear plugs combined did not stop the guardsmen from claiming it was the loudest noise they ever heard.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Here's my latest, Whatzit? but I'll call this one a Wha-dat?

Top of your head prior to being shaved for your tonsure....

I wish. Pretty clever. I wish I had that much left, atop.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

I remember seeing newsreels, decades (?) ago, of a suspension bridge being blown up and down and twisted very, very noticeably, flicking cars about, and eventually falling apart into the water below. Anybody else recall seeing news of this and of where this was?

[rogruth]

I remember seeing newsreels, decades (?) ago, of a suspension bridge being blown up and down and twisted very, very noticeably, flicking cars about, and eventually falling apart into the water below. Anybody else recall seeing news of this and of where this was?

Probably the Tacoma Narrows bridge. It was mentioned earlier.I saw this when I was still in school but I don't remember what grade I was in.

[Roy]

I remember seeing newsreels, decades (?) ago, of a suspension bridge being blown up and down and twisted very, very noticeably, flicking cars about, and eventually falling apart into the water below. Anybody else recall seeing news of this and of where this was?

The Tacoma Narrows bridge in Washington:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFzu6CNtqec

[chuck]

November, 1940. The pedestals and anchorages were re-used to make the replacement, the rest of the original bridge was torn down for scrap. It was 10 years between the two, the delay was mainly because of WW2.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Here's my latest, Whatzit? but I'll call this one a Wha-dat?

Top of your head prior to being shaved for your tonsure....

I wish. Pretty clever. I wish I had that much left, atop.

So, what is it - next clue?

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Top of your head prior to being shaved for your tonsure....

I wish. Pretty clever. I wish I had that much left, atop.

So, what is it - next clue?

Ok. Here it be...

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Trump's hair piece 30 years ago.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Trump's hair piece 30 years ago.

No, I don't think the Hair-Do-in-Chief's ever looked that thorough.
And, no, not the correct answer.

[rex desilets]

My marriage has only been 64 years, 4 months and 4 days.
But I have known her since 1952 and have been, and still am, in love with her for 65 + years.
We got married when I was 20 and she was 19. Most thought it would not last but it has.
This marriage also probably saved me in many ways. I was well on my way to being a drunk.
Just following in my familys footsteps. We had our first 2 kids before I finished college.
Today that wouldn't make any difference but in the 1950s it did. 2 more before 1963 was over.
My mother and father separated before I, an only child, was born. I was raised by maternal
grandparents and aunts. They were great to me but I did not want my kids to have a like
situation. I hope we can make it a few more years.
Sorry for the off topic. No, not really.

You've outlasted me: 60 years and counting, and a similar story. My Bride and I married at age 20, had our first two in the first couple of years. Finished college (go Bucks!) painfully-took me a total of 9 years. One of the best things about a long marriage is the panoply of experiences we share, and which we can reminisce about now.
She keeps me sane.

[chuck]

British guard's "Bearskin" hat.

[Roy]

I'm thinking



or