The World's Largest Computer in 1951

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The discussion centers around two significant machines: the ENIAC, an early computer that was 10 feet tall, weighed 30 tons, and required 150 kilowatts of power, and the Russian Ekranoplan, a ground effect vehicle that could travel over 400 km/h and weighed 540 tons. The ENIAC utilized a vast number of electronic components but had less processing power than a modern pocket calculator. The Ekranoplan, developed by the Soviet Union, operates just above water using a shock wave principle, allowing it to travel over various terrains. The conversation also touches on trivia and historical facts about these machines, highlighting their unique engineering and capabilities. Overall, the thread showcases a blend of technical details and engaging quiz-like interactions.
  • #901
Moonbear said:
:bugeye: I'm going to have to google more about that one!
The guy stuck a couple of sticks (hence the name) into the ground a measured distance apart, then compared the shadow lengths to work out the curvature of the Earth.
 
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  • #902
Okay, looked it up. Phew, no librarians had to get thrown down wells! :smile:

Eratosthenes, a Greek geographer (about 276 to 194 B.C.), made a surprisingly accurate estimate of the Earth's circumference. In the great library in Alexandria he read that a deep vertical well near Syene, in southern Egypt, was entirely lit up by the sun at noon once a year. Eratosthenes reasoned that at this time the sun must be directly overhead, with its rays shining directly into the well. In Alexandria, almost due north of Syene, he knew that the sun was not directly overhead at noon on the same day because a vertical object cast a shadow. Eratosthenes could now measure the circumference of the Earth (sorry Columbus) by making two assumptions - that the Earth is round and that the sun's rays are essentially parallel.
http://www.youth.net/eratosthenes/welcome.html

(Shh...don't tell all those fans of Columbus that people already knew the Earth was round long before his time!)
 
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  • #903
Moonbear said:
Okay, looked it up. Phew, no librarians had to get thrown down wells! :smile:
I'm not sure if I want to know what you've been talking about :rolleyes:
 
  • #904
zoobyshoe said:
Well, Ivan has been distracted, so, in the faith I'm right here my clue:

a slippery mishap

Teflon? (+10 chars)
 
  • #905
I killed franzbear! you guys didn't! nyah nyah nyah-nyah-nyah! I killed franzino!
 
  • #906
Moonbear said:
Okay, looked it up.
Okay, so I missed a couple of details... :redface: (Working from memory here.)
 
  • #907
Moonbear said:
Teflon? (+10 chars)
Either that, or he knew Sylvia too.
 
  • #908
yomamma said:
I killed franzbear! you guys didn't! nyah nyah nyah-nyah-nyah! I killed franzino!
Wrong thread. :smile:
 
  • #909
Moonbear said:
Teflon? (+10 chars)
Too easy, I guess. Yep, teflon.
 
  • #910
Moonbear said:
Wrong thread. :smile:
:rolleyes: :shy: :redface:
 
  • #911
zoobyshoe said:
Too easy, I guess. Yep, teflon.
I don't know if it was too easy, it just popped into my mind...darn, now I have to think of one! Anyone have a clue ready who wants to take my turn?
 
  • #912
yomamma said:
:rolleyes: :shy: :redface:
Go back to the Welcome tent and get a map.
 
  • #913
I had it upside down :rolleyes:
 
  • #914
Okay, here we go:
Brightly colored and born in Denmark, Moonbear likes their studs.
 
  • #915
Danger said:
Go back to the Welcome tent and get a map.
I know I've needed to go back for those maps a few times. :smile:
 
  • #916
Moonbear said:
Okay, here we go:
Brightly colored and born in Denmark, Moonbear likes their studs.
Are there any studs that Moonbear doesn't like?
 
  • #917
Hm, I've seen chocolates and candies that look like jewels...
 
  • #918
I'm thinking some kind of horse native to the region.
 
  • #919
Yeah, me too. Maybe jutlands?
 
  • #920
honestrosewater said:
Hm, I've seen chocolates and candies that look like jewels...
I was sort of thinking along the line of the jewels themselves, but I can't for the life of me come up with what kind Denmark produces. Amethyst?
 
  • #921
Nope, not horses or jewels.
 
  • #922
Moonbear said:
Nope, not horses or jewels.
Sure... be like that... :-p
 
  • #923
Danger said:
Sure... be like that... :-p
Okay, the studs function better with tubes.
 
  • #924
is it potatoes? (i'm just wasting time)
 
  • #925
yomamma said:
is it potatoes? (i'm just wasting time)
:smile: Studs, not spuds.
 
  • #926
topatoes?
 
  • #927
Okay I got it, but I had to google.

good luck.
 
  • #928
Legos ...
 
  • #929
tomotopatoes?
 
  • #930
Huckleberry said:
Okay I got it, but I had to google.
Well, are you going to share? I can't stay up ALL night. :-p
 
  • #931
honestrosewater said:
Legos ...
That's it! :biggrin: Your turn.
 
  • #932
yes you can..

potatomatopatoes?
 
  • #933
Yay, finally.
You will chase this anser to a source of refreshment.

I don't mind if you google, BTW. I googled to check if the things on Legos were called studs- it's allowed unless stated otherwise, right?
 
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  • #934
running water
 
  • #935
Huckleberry said:
running water
No, but that's clever.
 
  • #936
Mirage?...
 
  • #937
Yeah, it's allowed. I try to refrain when Danger is playing though. He doesn't like it. One day when everyone has google chips in their brains Danger will be the smartest man on earth.
 
  • #938
Mk said:
Mirage?...
Nope...
 
  • #939
honestrosewater said:
Yay, finally.
You will chase this anser to a source of refreshment.

I don't mind if you google, BTW. I googled to check if the things on Legos were called studs- it's allowed unless stated otherwise, right?
I'll need one hint to solve this. I think.
 
  • #940
Huckleberry said:
Yeah, it's allowed. I try to refrain when Danger is playing though. He doesn't like it.
I don't mind if someone has a pretty good idea and wants to double-check, although I won't do it myself. (If I did, I would have gotten the damned hovercraft question. :frown: )

Huckleberry said:
One day when everyone has google chips in their brains Danger will be the smartest man on earth.
That would pretty well put an end to game shows, so maybe it's not such a bad idea. (Except for 'Jeapardy', of course. I love that one.)
 
  • #941
Clue: What's good for the female is good for the male.

Okay, but this pretty much gives it away. I'm a careful speller.

You will chase this anser to a source of refreshment.
 
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  • #942
honestrosewater said:
Clue: What's good for the female is good for the male.
Well, I know that anser is a goose genus, but I did think that it was a typo until you said otherwise. And the goose and gander thing is clear enough. What I don't know is what the wild goose chase is about. Unless you just mean a lake or something.

I got to go to sleep now. I'll check back tomorrow afternoon.
 
  • #944
Mk said:
Yeah, its either a lake, a bar, or the Himalayas. Strange combination?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar-headed_Goose
Yes, you will chase a Bar-headed goose (a.k.a anser indicus) to a source of refreshment (a bar- the bar it's headed to... er um yeah). Eh, I could have done worse. :-p
 
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  • #945
You know what? That was really freakin stupid, and unsolvable due to technical limitations. (my last one I'm overwriting) I'll think of another.

honestrosewater: I liked yours, it was clever and creative.
 
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  • #946
Mk said:
honestrosewater: I liked yours, it was clever and creative.
Ah, my genius is appreciated at last! I thought it was a real challenge to the non-googlers, but they must like a challenge anyway ;)
 
  • #947
This one Evo might get if she comes quick enough:

Franzbear is walking in a forest and comes a clearing, where she/he/it sees a person. Franzbear is terrified, and lost, after going down that wooden rollercoaster. She asks the person where she is and he replies: Kanguru. Franzbear stands there and looks at him befuddled, and feels even more lost than before. Franzbear shoots him, then jumps off a nearby cliff, because Franzbear is seemingly random. What country is Franzbear in, and of what heritage is the person Franzbear asks?
 
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  • #948
I would guess the googlers will get this one before someone that doesn't have to does.
 
  • #949
Sorry, had to go.

Eratosthenes

Close enough. I was thinking of the shadow that was seen in the well at Alexandria, near the the library, but not in a deep vertical well near Syene (now Aswan), in southern Egypt, which is what clued him in.
 
  • #950
Mk said:
What country is Franzbear in, and of what heritage is the person Franzbear asks?
I would expect Australia and Aboriginal.
 

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