I started out this morning much as I do every morning. It is crazy stupid "are you nuts??" early, and that means I can allow my inner wild-haired child to run free on the playground we call the internet.
After all, I can safely expect no phone calls from job leads at 4:30 a.m.
While I normally don't document these wanderings, today's were so interestingly rich and odd that I decided to clue you in on them.
I found an NPR article on the wacky tale of Einstein's brain postmortem. The dude has had almost as bizarre a trip after his death (or, his brain has) as he did while he was walking around on this big hairy ball of dirt and oily water.
In the article, we learn that the person who did the autopsy on Einstein's remains more than 50 years ago decided to keep the brain. It is not clear how he managed to do so, but he did.
Over the years, he allowed scientists slices of the brain--that was his mission, to promote the study of this brain which provided so much for us all--and we end up at the heart of the NPR article, which is the amazing discovery which came about, in part, because of a uniqueness in this particular brain which Marian Diamond of UC Berkeley found.
If what I have described is enough to entice you to read the NPR article, you will only be more enthused to learn there is a book which includes the description of a road trip in a rented Skylark with Einstein's brain as cargo, what was left of it stuffed in a Tupperware container.
Weird, huh?
A couple more in-the-moment, serendipitous twists and turns later, I arrived at a YouTube video which an enterprising person had first uploaded, then downloaded, then uploaded, then...well, the person continued cycling the video for 1000 round trips. As you can imagine, it ends up being quite deteriorated and distorted, but in a beautiful way. For those who are interested, the same person paused to retain the video at various stops along the path to 1000 journeys. I have not watched the earlier videos when the original was not nearly so distorted, but they are there if you decide to watch this one.
More tomorrow!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
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2 comments:
At 4:30 in the morning, are you certain you weren't dreaming this bizarre information? Very peculiar.
I haven't read the article or seen the video, but I will, if for nothing else, to assure myself that my friend hasn't lost it!! ;D
Lynilu, I promise you no mind-altering substances were used in the preparation of this post!
Too bad that this doesn't necessarily mean your friend hasn't lost it, since he is not even sure what "it" is or why he would need to remember where he put it.
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