William Kogut and Robert Ripley

Posted on by The Old Wolf

(Cross-posted from my Livejournal)

Robert Ripley was one of my favorite reads when I was young. It was sort of like StumbleUpon today, if you select “bizarre/oddities” as a subject. I couldn’t get enough of it. In those days, there was no Snopes, no Google, no Wikipedia – nothing really to check the veracity of Ripley’s discoveries – many of which were true, others… well, let’s say he was an entertainer more than a scientist. But I always remember this:

THE STRANGEST SUICIDE

A CONDEMNED man, locked in a death cell in San Quentin prison, fashioned a deadly bomb from a deck of ordinary play­ing cards and blew himself into eternity. It was the most ingenious gallows-cheating device ever conceived in the brain of a doomed man.

William Kogut, an ignorant lumberjack of Polish descent, was sentenced to death for killing a woman with a pocket knife. Hope gone, he sat silently in his cell, thinking. The shadow of the’ noose dangled before him; he could hear the slow, dull tread of the thirteen footsteps ascending the stairs to the scaffold.Suddenly a light came into his lustreless eyes. Deliberately and methodically, William Kogut set to work. From the prison cot he wrenched a short piece of hollow tubing. I t was just the thing. Digging into his few possessions, he pulled forth a deck of ordinary playing cards. From the cards he tore out all of the red diamonds and hearts, and, reduced them to small bits. Everything was deathly quiet and the night was long. The eight other condemned men in adjacent cells knew nothing of what was taking place.

Kogut then took the small bits of colored cardboard to the wash bowl and soaked them in water. Then he took the soggy mass and tamped it into the piece of metal tubing as if he were loading a blunderbuss. A broom handle was next utilized in the construction of this strange bomb. The handle was pounded tightly into the end of the tube making the interior air-tight.

This diabolically cunning man knew that playing cards were made of cellulose – a fiber from which trinitrocellulose, a powerful ex­plosive, is made.

The bomb was now ready. Cautiously he took down a small combination oil heater and lamp and lighted it. Over the tiny flame he held the explosive mess, while steam and gas generated within the tubing. After a time the pipe grew hot. Everything seemed ready so he leaned over with his head close to his deadly toy.

How long he waited, no one knows.

Just as dawn tinted the grey prison walls, a terrific explosion occurred. It rocked the countryside for miles around, roused prison guards from their nearby homes, and tumbled prisoners from their cots.

Prison alarms were sounded, guards ran madly to their posts, thinking perhaps the blast might be a signal for a general prison break. Rushing to the condemned row, the excited guards stopped, utterly horrified, before the shattered cell of Number 1651.

The walls were dripping crimson.

William Kogut had cheated the hangman!

I got to wondering… true or false? Snopes records it as true, but describes the explosion as simple pressure of steam in a closed-up pipe sufficient to drive bits of playing card into Kogut’s skull, not the earth-shaking bang that splashed Kogut all over the walls and destroyed the cell to boot.

Barb Mikkelson wrote, “Kogut removed a hollow steel leg from his cot, tore several packs of playing cards into tiny pieces, and stuffed these bits into the pipe… He plugged one end tightly with a broom handle, and poured water into the other end to soak the torn cards. Then he placed his device on top of the kerosene heater… the heater turned the water to steam, adn when the pressure built up to a high enough level, the resulting explosion shot the bits of playing card out of the pipe with enough force to penetrate Kogut’s skull.”

Sciencepunk.com quoted an article in Gargles.net giving a bit more science behind the nitrocellulose angle. While I respect Snopes and the research that Ms. Mikkelson and her hubby do, usually in-depth and convincing, in this instance I tend to go with the science. If an open pipe is plugged on one end by a broom handle, and on the other end by soggy playing cards, I suspect any steam building up in an open pipe would pop the sodden mass out with some force, but not enough to penetrate a skull. The other scenario implies that the pipe was closed on one end, and tightly sealed with the broom handle on the other. In this case, chemical reaction or no, it’s conceivable that the explosion could have had enough energy to kill Kogut… but from what I can tell, the blast was more powerful even than that, and the nitrocellulose story is highly likely.

Only Kogut knows what went down, and the story has passed into the realm of barely verifiable lore… but it’s interesting to know that whatever the case, Ripley got this one right.

Verdict: Believe it!

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Chemical Warfare

Posted on by The Old Wolf

I am deeply indebted to the twisted mind of Dru White, a former colleague of mine, for this bit of whimsy. If you enjoy it as much as I did, you have only yourself to blame.

Chemical Warfare

By Dru White

Of course you passed high school chemistry. Maybe you even made a through a college course or two. But a little knowledge is a dangerous thing–especially when it comes to chemical  equations. See if you can keep yourself and others alive for the next ten days. All it takes is a little knowledge of chemistry. Mark your choices, then check the answers to see if you know enough to survive.

DAY ONE:

You are at home cooking and suddenly a fire starts on the top of your stove. You are frightened and look for a quick way to douse the flames. There are three jars containing different chemical compounds on your cupboard. Which do you. toss onto the fire?

❑ A) NaHCO3                      ❑ B) CS2                             ❑ C) C7H3.

DAY TWO:

Some of your food keeps getting a bit of mold on it. You search for a compound that will help prevent the mold, but won’t hurt you when you eat the food. What is best to put on the food?

❑ A) As2O3                           ❑ B) C17H23NO3                 ❑ C) C3HsO2Na.

DAY THREE:

You have developed a bit of an infection. You really should take something for it before it gets any worse. What would you like to have?

❑ A) C9H11N2O4SR              ❑ B) C6H6Cl6                      ❑ C) C17H21NO4

DAY FOUR:

Your allergies have been acting up again, and you have a bad insect bite on your arm. You need some medication with a good compound to help that allergy, and an ointment with something to make that insect bite feel better. You want plenty of which compound in your medication?

❑ A) H2SO4                          ❑ B) C18H21ClN2                 ❑ C) C20H12

DAY FIVE:

When you ride the ferry across the bay you sometimes experience a little nausea. A drug with something to help you feel better would be nice. After all, nobody likes to feed the fish. Which will you take?

❑ A) CH2FCOONa              ❑ B) C17H19N2SCl               ❑ C) C19H26ON2

DAY SIX:

After examining one of your more careless patients, you conclude that this person has a case of gonorrhea. You go to your locked cupboard and find three possible forms of medication. Which do you choose to administer to the anxious sufferer?

❑ A) C6H8N2O2S                  ❑ B) C21H22N2O2                ❑ C) C10H14N2

DAY SEVEN:

You stop by the local fast food restaurant and pick up some french fries. They seem somewhat bland today, so you grab something from your laboratory shelf to sprinkle on them. Which did you grab?

❑ A) NaCN                          ❑ B) KCN                           ❑ C) NaCl

DAY EIGHT:

So you’re going to the beach for a little sun. To which kind of compound do you choose to expose your sensitive body so that you won’t get sunburned?

❑ A) HCl                              ❑ B) CH3COSH                  ❑ C) C6H4NH2COOC2H5

DAY NINE:

You are very concerned. The vet told you over the phone that it sounds as if Fido has parasites. There must be something fast and effective to make him more comfortable. What will it be?

❑ A) HCN                            ❑ B) C10H8O                       ❑ C) CCl3NO2

DAY TEN:

Well, doctor. Here it is your last day. A patient has a bleeding problem during an operation. What kind of compound do you wish to administer to make the blood coagulate better?

❑ A) Cl5H16N3SClAnCl2      ❑ B) C15H15N2CON(C2H5)2                    ❑ C) C6H5COONa

 END OF TEST

CHEMICAL WARFARE ANSWERS

Give yourself a point for each correct answer.

 DAY ONE:

(A)     Good choice. You got the fire out by smothering the flames with ordinary baking soda. It looks like you will make it to day two.

(B)     Sorry, but carbon disulfide is a highly flammable, poisonous solvent. I’m afraid you haven’t made it through the first day.

(C)     Whoops. Toluene is a flammable, poisonous hydrocarbon, originally from the balsam of Tolu. It is used as a solvent, and to make dyes and–ah, yes–even explosives.

 DAY TWO:

(A)     Arsenic trioxide will simply not fill the bill. However, this arsenic compound is great for exterminating insects and rodents.

(B)     Oh, my. If you picked this one you are in big trouble at mealtime. Hyoscyamine is a very poisonous alkaloid. No time to call the doctor.

(C)     Correct. Sodium propionate is one of your standard mold preventives.

 DAY THREE:

(A)     Congratulations. Penicillin has been the choice of many doctors for years now.

(B)     I don’t think you will see much improvement. This powerful and poisonous insecticide, benzene hexachloride, just doesn’t seem to do the trick.

(C)     Why not? Who knows, maybe a little cocaine will help your infection. (But I have my doubts.)

 DAY FOUR:

(A)     Ouch! And double ouch! I don’t think sulfuric acid will have the desired effect. Though it is good for making dyes, paint, and explosives, I’m afraid its corrorsive nature may not promote healing.

(B)     Good choice. Chlorcyclizine is an antihistamine for allergies and is also used in medication to sooth insect bites.

(C)     Benzopyrene, which comes from coal tar and cigarette smoke, has been found to cause cancer in laboratory animals. You struck out on this one.

 DAY FIVE:

(A)     Sorry, you’ll never squeak again. Sodium fluoroacetate is a powder used as a highly effective rodent poison.

(B)     Chlorpromazine is the correct choice. In addition to its use to control nausea, this compound is also used in medication to help treat certain mental disorders.

(C)     Wrong. Curarine is a toxic alkaloid made from a South American plant. Natives use the poison on the tips of their arrows.

 DAY SIX:

(A)     Good choice, doctor. Sulfanilamide is used to treat streptococcal infections.

(B)     Sorry, it looks like malpractice time. The strychnine you administered. seems to have cured your patient’s problem permanently.

(C)     Nice try, but nicotine is not commonly used to treat this type of disorder. In fact in this pure form it’s rather fatal.

 DAY SEVEN:

(A)     Negative. Though sodium cyanide is also a salt, it is highly poisonous one. I hope you have a valid will.

(B)     You couldn’t have done much worse. Potassium cyanide is an extremely poisonous compound. It is used for extracting gold, electroplating, and as an insecticide. But it just doesn’t go well with fries.

(C)     That’s correct. Common table salt is the best and safest choice.

 DAY EIGHT:

(A)     This will be the worst sunburn you’ve ever had. Hydrochloric acid can even be worse than the sun’s harmful rays.

(B)     Sorry. If you try putting this allover you, you won’t feel so comfortable, but you will probably have plenty of elbowroom on the sand. After all, tear gas (thioacetic acid) usually keeps crowds back quite well.

(C)     That’s right. Benzocaine is also used as a local anesthetic.

 DAY NINE:

(A)     Well, Fido is gone to that big pound in the sky. Hydrocyanide acid is used as a fumigant. This poisonous gas just doesn’t go well with pets.

(B)     Good choice. Betanaphthol is used in medicines as a parasiticide. Fido will thank you.

(C)     Goofed again. Call the pet cemetery. Chloropicrin is a poisonous gas used in chemical warfare. (And we though Fido was your best friend!)

 DAY TEN:

(A)     That’s right. Toluidine blue is used as a coagulant in medicine. Maybe you’ll even be able to collect your bill this time.

(B)     I don’t think lysergic acid diethylamide will stop the bleeding. All LSD does is cause psychedelic hallucinations.

(C)     Nope. Sodium benzoate is great for preserving food, but not so good for preserving patients.

 YOUR RATING:

8-10 Correct:   Excellent. You are a true expert in this field.

6-7 Correct:     Very good. You either know a lot or are very lucky.

4-5 Correct:     Good. You must be a high school chemistry teacher.

2-3 Correct:     Fair. The law of averages was on your side.

0-1 Correct:     Need help. Eat only all-natural foods.
The Old Wolf has spoken (and needs help).

Why I Voted Democratic in 2012

Posted on by The Old Wolf

The last two years have been brutal on all of us. Now that it’s all over but the shouting, I can get these thoughts down “on paper” (how long will that expression endure, now that we write with electrons?) so that they are no longer rattling around in my head.

It’s all rather counter-intuitive, you know. I’m a Mormon; Mr. Romney is a Mormon; Mormons are supposed to vote for Romney. Q.E.D.

But it wasn’t as simple as that. In fact, I was agonizing about my choice even as we drove to our polling station, as I had since both nominees were declared official, and didn’t make my decision until my finger was hovering over the choices.

I voted for Mr. Obama in 2008 for one reason: the thought of Sarah Palin any closer to the White House than 3718 miles was absolutely petrifying. I still ask myself what the hqiz John McCain was thinking when he signed off on such an abysmal running mate. My two penn’orth is that he singlehandedly threw away the election with that one move.

But that was then, and this is now.

I volunteered during the 2002 Winter Olympics, and watched Mr. Romney turn the event from a scandal-plagued bid process into a public relations success, a brilliant sporting event (despite the Russian judge-buying debacle), and a money-maker, the latter quite a rarity as far as Olympic games go. There’s no question that he has business acumen, and from where I sit, someone with his kind of experience was just what our country needed to pull itself out of a frightening economy burdened by a massive debt load. Despite my own pain, I was all ready for some sorely-needed austerity measures to stop the tsunami of red ink gushing from the national ledgers. So I supported Mr. Romney’s campaign, contributed what few shekels I could, and hoped for the best… and then the campaign started in earnest.

Each election cycle, I think to myself that the politicking couldn’t possibly get any uglier. Each election cycle, I am wrong. The parties and the pundits and the talking heads savaged and gutted and demonized each other to an extent I would never have thought possible. The rumors, innuendo, outright lies and saber-rattling pronouncements about the character, parentage, habits, beliefs and intentions of both candidates made me wonder if old Solferino had come again.

Through it all, I tried to keep remembering that neither man is a saint nor a demon. Obama is a Chicago politician (a breed not known for high ethical standards), but seems to be a decent person as an individual; Romney is a member of my own faith and I trust that he is a good man at heart, but there are some things about his business dealings which give me pause. That said, I have no doubt in my mind that both men sincerely believe that they have the best interests of our nation at heart. Trim off the lunatic fringes of the bell curve, and I think most Americans want basically the same things, although there is no solid consensus about how to get there.

So once the irrational calumny is subtracted from the equation, I was left looking at overall philosophies and party platforms, and even that was not an easy call to make.

Our nation is struggling economically; our outgo far exceeds our income, and businesses and people are failing right and left. Republicans in general and Mr. Romney in particular are bullish on business, and one of the Republican candidate’s skills is knowing how to turn a failing corporation around. Unfortunately, if a corporation is to survive and become competitive and profitable, that usually involves layoffs; taken to a national scale, the idea is sound for the corporation but lousy for the employees. The other downside is that you favor business, you favor the wealthy, and engender abominations like Citizens United. As I mentioned here,

“This level of disparity [between the wealthy and the rest of us] is mind-boggling, and even moreso that it continues to be permitted. Demanding that corporations and the wealthy pay a fair share of taxes is not “forced redistribution” of wealth – it’s just plain old human decency and common sense. As I’ve said elsewhere, “trickle down” economics is insulting even at the semantic level. If our nation is going to regain any sense of the greatness it once had, and the equality of opportunity implied in “lifting a lamp beside the golden door,” the trickle must of necessity become a torrent.”

Then there’s the “morality” question. First, let’s put to rest the idea that we can’t legislate morality, because we regularly do. Rape is against the law, child abuse is against the law, stealing is against the law, murder is against the law, and people are afforded all sorts of legal protections that fall under the rubric of the protection of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That said, the Republican party and the Tea Party (it’s extreme subset) have been co-opted by the religious right to an untenable extent. They seem bound by their covenants not only to live whatever religious laws they have accepted as right and good, but to impose those conditions on society in general. Some of the pronouncements about rape and abortion from right-wing candidates this cycle have been absolutely chilling, and that doesn’t sit well with me.

I have my own thoughts about these matters. I think the ideas outlined in the LDS Church’s Proclamation on the Family are sound. I wish every child could be born into a stable, loving, supportive family; I wish people would opt for adoption instead of abortion, which I consider the shedding of innocent blood. But those are my ideas, which cease to have any validity beyond the tip of my own nose. I can exhort, invite, and entice, but curtailing the agency of others is not a box I feel comfortable living in. The Church’s 12th Article of Faith states “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.” Last time I looked, Roe v. Wade was the law of the land, which as far as I’m concerned is the end of that debate.

On the other side, the Democratic platform has some planks in it that disturb me. I’m all for providing equal opportunity for all, and a safety net so that no citizen of our country is deprived of basic necessities, but I’m not sure where the money is going to come from, and I’m diametrically opposed to adding to the national debt. I think we need a more rigorous approach to the issue of immigration, and I’m opposed to blanket amnesty for illegal immigrants, which is unfair to all those who came to our country through the front doors, in the duly appointed way. There are other party positions that I don’t agree with as well, so my vote for Mr. Obama should not be construed as a blanket approval of all the party stands for.

But in the end, as my finger hovered over that screen, I asked myself one question: “Which candidate will work to build a world that works for everyone, with no one left out?” That is my goal, my reason for living, my passion. Today’s Republican party strikes me as essentially elitist and exclusionary, and the Democratic party continues to be more egalitarian and inclusive.

If I was to vote my conscience, I had no other choice.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Coonabarabran: The world’s largest solar system drive

Posted on by The Old Wolf

A post over on Facebook by a friend of mine in New South Wales reminded me that I wanted to spotlight this experience. I mentioned it in a Livejournal entry a few years back, but it deserves some exposure of its own. All photos are mine and ©2010-2012 Old Wolf Enterprises unless otherwise noted.

High in the Warrumbungle Mountains near Coonabarabran, NSW, sits the Siding Spring Observatory (SSO), Australia’s premier optical and infrared observatory.

Home of the Anglo-Australian Telescope, among others, this observatory is a delight to visit in and of itself.

Anglo-Australian Telescope

Panorama of the Warrumbungle Mountains from the Observatory

Central core cut from the telescope’s primary mirror before polishing and reflective coating was applied

In addition, in an effort to boost tourism, the observatory created the world’s largest solar system drive. There are five beginning points,

  1. Dubbo
  2. 6km south of Birriwa (north of Gulgong)
  3. Merriwa
  4. Tamworth
  5. Bellata (south of Moree)

Route overview

All the drives end at the Siding Spring observatory; since I was at the observatory already and I have a friend in Dubbo whom I wanted to visit, I began here and did the drive backwards.

Here is the itinerary:

Object Location Distance (km) Time
The Sun Siding Spring Observatory 0 0
Mercury Observatory Road, west of Coonabarabran 1.2 1 min
Venus Observatory Road, west of Coonabarabran 1.9 2 mins
Earth Observatory Road, west of Coonabarabran 4.1 3 mins
Mars Timor Road, west of Coonabarabran 5.5 5 mins
Jupiter Timor Road, west of Coonabarabran 21.5 20 mins
Saturn Camkeena Rest Area, Newell Hwy 40 40 mins
Uranus Tooraweenah Rest Area, Newell Hwy 79 70 mins
Neptune Gilgandra Cooee Heritage Centre, Newell Hwy 119 1.5 hours
Pluto Dubbo Visitor Centre, Newell Hwy 190 2.25 hours

The observatory dome, representing the sun at 1:38,000,000 scale. All other placards on the drive are accurate (in relative terms) with regard to distance and size. For reference, traveling in your car at 100km/hr along the Solar System Drive, you’d be “virtually” hurtling through space at a million kilometers per second – more than three times faster than the speed of light.

I missed Mars, this was taken by another traveler.

Missed Uranus and Neptune;  this image, along with the one below, was found at A Snail’s Eye View.

The drive ended at the Dubbo Visitor’s Center, at which a representation of Pluto is located. Please notice: Pluto.

It is a scientific fact that Pluto and its moon Charon were most likely Kuiper Belt objects captured by the sun, and probably did not coalesce out of the original accretion disk. But as far as I’m concerned,

This drive was one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had. I’d love to go back and do the other routes, just to see the scenery.

Australia for the win!

The Old Wolf has Spoken.

Jesus in the Southern Sky

Posted on by The Old Wolf

Jesus I can see you in the southern sky
When the clouds aren’t out the sun is shining through.
Jesus do you feel me when our worlds collide
and if have nothing at least I still have you.

-Sleeping with Sirens, “Jesus in the Southern Sky”

Here’s an interesting little exercise for you.

  1. Go to Google Maps
  2. Type in 47.110579, 9.227568 and hit Enter
  3. Click on the green arrow and select “more,” and then “Street view”
  4. Using your mouse, turn around 180 degrees to face backwards, so you’re looking toward the tunnel.
  5. Drag the picture down to look up in the sky.

For all the world that looks like a ghostly pair of deities, or a prophet, or Jesus and Mary, or whatever you choose to see. As long as you’re on the upper road, you’ll be able to see those “figures” as you approach or move away from the mouth of the tunnel. Google around, and you’ll find as many chuckle-headed explanations out there as there are people on Facebook.

So what is it, really?

First off, here’s a screen shot of what you see from the point of entry:

As you approach the tunnel, the image remains fixed in the same place, although a bit distorted:

Look closely and you can see a demarcation zone in the trees in the form of a semicircle where the focus changes from sharp to fuzzy.

A bit closer, and the demarcation line is clearer.

Entering the tunnel, the semicircular zone becomes quite clear, and the “figures” are still visible against the tunnel’s roof.

Here’s a photo of one of the Google street view cars. It seems apparent to me that for some reason, on that day’s shooting, the camera was capturing a reflection of its own mast superstructure.

But that’s hardly as exciting an answer as “It’s God!”

The Old Wolf has spoken.

 

Charles Bukowski: So you want to be a writer

Posted on by The Old Wolf

So you want to be a writer

if it doesn’t come bursting out of you
in spite of everything,
don’t do it.
unless it comes unasked out of your
heart and your mind and your mouth
and your gut,
don’t do it.
if you have to sit for hours
staring at your computer screen
or hunched over your
typewriter
searching for words,
don’t do it.
if you’re doing it for money or
fame,
don’t do it.
if you’re doing it because you want
women in your bed,
don’t do it.
if you have to sit there and
rewrite it again and again,
don’t do it.
if it’s hard work just thinking about doing it,
don’t do it.
if you’re trying to write like somebody
else,
forget about it.

if you have to wait for it to roar out of
you,
then wait patiently.
if it never does roar out of you,
do something else.

if you first have to read it to your wife
or your girlfriend or your boyfriend
or your parents or to anybody at all,
you’re not ready.

don’t be like so many writers,
don’t be like so many thousands of
people who call themselves writers,
don’t be dull and boring and
pretentious, don’t be consumed with self-
love.
the libraries of the world have
yawned themselves to
sleep
over your kind.
don’t add to that.
don’t do it.
unless it comes out of
your soul like a rocket,
unless being still would
drive you to madness or
suicide or murder,
don’t do it.
unless the sun inside you is
burning your gut,
don’t do it.

when it is truly time,
and if you have been chosen,
it will do it by
itself and it will keep on doing it
until you die or it dies in you.

there is no other way.

and there never was.

-Charles Bukowski (1920-1994)

Re-thinking chocolate

Posted on by The Old Wolf

I’ve mentioned chocolate before. It’s one of my favorite things in all the world, and when I die, I’m probably going to the Cholesterol Kingdom.

There’s Sachertorte from Vienna:

If you’re in Brazil, you can get death-star chocolates more deadly than the plasma bolts of a Sith lord:

(pause for culinary orgasm)

L’Italia in Harrisonburg, VA used to serve the most incredible chocolate marquese, sadly now discontinued:

and Piccolo Angolo in New York City, my favorite restaurant in all the whole wide world, offers up an amaretto tiramisu that stops your heart just to look at it.

Now that my heart rate has returned to normal, it’s time to point out that there is some disturbing news bubbling up to the surface about chocolate, one which I need to consider seriously. Most everyone knows about blood diamonds, but few people know about child-labor chocolate.

The Wikipedia article gives a general background, and this petition outlines some of the ongoing questions. Neither of these sources cover the entire issue, and I don’t advocate signing the petition just because it’s out there – but I have been prompted to do more research and see what the current situation really is. If I had to cut back my chocolate consumption to make sure I’m not being part of the problem, my body would probably thank me for it. But I’d sit in the middle of the floor and cry.

The Old Wolf has *burp* spoken.