The World's Largest Computer in 1951

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around historical and technical aspects of significant machines and vehicles, including the ENIAC computer and the Russian Ekranoplan. Participants engage in a quiz-like format, posing questions and providing hints about various inventions, their specifications, and historical context.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes the ENIAC, detailing its size, weight, components, and power consumption, while noting its limited processing power compared to modern devices.
  • Another participant identifies the ENIAC as the machine described in the previous post.
  • Participants discuss a large vehicle that weighs 540 tons, can travel over land and water, and is hinted to be built in Russia, leading to speculation about its identity.
  • Some participants propose that the vehicle in question is the Russian Ekranoplan, explaining its design and operational principles related to ground effect.
  • There is a discussion about a vehicle that achieved over 188 miles per gallon, with participants speculating on its type and historical significance, including a mention of a Harley Davidson motorcycle from 1908.
  • One participant describes a crude device involving a wooden stand, a funnel, acid, and copper wire, prompting further questions about its purpose.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the identity of some machines, particularly the vehicle that achieved high fuel efficiency, as various guesses and clarifications are made. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the specifics of some inventions and their historical context.

Contextual Notes

Participants express uncertainty about the specifications and classifications of the vehicles discussed, particularly regarding the Ekranoplan's operational capabilities and the fuel efficiency claims of the motorcycle.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in the history of computing, engineering innovations, and the evolution of vehicle technology may find this discussion engaging.

  • #871
Known to happen but never observed, it seems that like water, the wind can move rocks.
 
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  • #872
Ivan Seeking said:
Known to happen but never observed, it seems that like water, the wind can move rocks.
That really doesn't rhyme very well. :wink:
 
  • #873
Oh man... I got to go check out some other stuff. Maybe it'll come to me when I'm not paying attention to it.
 
  • #874
Got it!
Death Valley Moving Rocks
Address:http://www.billandcori.com/deathvalley/dv_moving_rocks.htm

I should have been able to put it together from the psalm clue, because "Death Valley" was one of the things that occurred to me, but I didn't. I had read about the moving rocks a long time ago and forgotten about them.
 
  • #875
zoobyshoe said:
Got it!
Death Valley Moving Rocks
It's a good thing I checked back when I saw your post show up, rather than waste any more time on it. I've never heard of those things, so I certainly never would have gotten it.
 
  • #876
The lake bed is called "Racetrack Playa".
 
  • #877
This one should be easy:

Though Edison and Bell thought they had it covered, the only versions that ever thrived were based on this third person's efforts.
 
  • #878
Record player? Joe Victrola?
 
  • #879
Not "Joe Victrola", no.
 
  • #880
zoobyshoe said:
Not "Joe Victrola", no.
Ralph Carmichael Alphonso Victor, and his little dog?

Sorry, man... I have no idea who followed up on that. (How old is Phil Specter again?)
 
  • #881
Johnson?

Berliner?
 
  • #882
Ivan Seeking said:
Johnson?

Berliner?
One of these is correct, yes.
 
  • #883
zoobyshoe said:
One of these is correct, yes.


:smile: Tight ass.
 
  • #884
Okay, Berliner.
 
  • #885
Ivan Seeking said:
Okay, Berliner.
Well, you could post a link to google and say "It's somebody in here, right?"

Yes, Emile Berliner

Your turn.
 
  • #886
Well, you could post a link to google and say "It's somebody in here, right?"

:biggrin: It seemed that what hit the market was a merger of both technologies, so I really couldn't be sure.

Okay, next question:
Since there was a place with none, the librarian knew that this was the key.
 
  • #887
Errmm... sure...
 
  • #888
high noon.
 
  • #889
I'm guessing that was a hint?
 
  • #890
Mk said:
I'm guessing that was a hint?
Correct! Your turn. :biggrin:
 
  • #891
That's an interesting clue. :bugeye:
I'll just throw out some free-association and see if I hit on something
Librarian: books, card catalogs, shelves, quiet
Key: clock, lock, door, solution to puzzle, skeleton, tumblers
High noon: clock, grandfather clock, Westerns, cowboy, shoot out, hands, time, chime

Maybe this will help someone else. I can't solve a clue yet because I haven't had time to think up a new one of my own. :smile: (At least with Ivan's clue, there's no risk of that happening anytime soon anyway.)
 
  • #892
Eratosthenes measurement of the circumfrence of the earth!
 
  • #893
Man, to show you how screwed up I am over this, the only thing that I can think of at all is Franklin running that lightning bolt to an empty Leyden jar. I know that ain't right. First thought was something about a sundial, and that makes no sense at all.
 
  • #894
Shadows, light, dark. Lots of stuff comes to mind, none of it pointing toward a possible solution.

Zooby, please tell me that's a wild guess there and you didn't figure out that cryptic clue already!
 
  • #895
It's absolutely the right answer. I'm just waiting for confirmation.
 
  • #896
zoobyshoe said:
It's absolutely the right answer. I'm just waiting for confirmation.
:rolleyes: Care to explain it while we're waiting?
 
  • #897
Moonbear said:
:rolleyes: Care to explain it while we're waiting?
I know what he's talking about, and I'm afraid that he's probably right. :frown:
 
  • #898
You throw a librarian down a well at high noon in a certain city in Egypt or something, and if he sees his shadow then the Earth is such and such a diameter.
 
  • #899
zoobyshoe said:
You throw a librarian down a well at high noon in a certain city in Egypt or something, and if he sees his shadow then the Earth is such and such a diameter.

:bugeye: I'm going to have to google more about that one! (This has been a highly educational thread so far; I've learned about lots of obscure trivia I never knew I was missing before. :biggrin:)
 
  • #900
Well, Ivan has been distracted, so, in the faith I'm right here my clue:

a slippery mishap
 

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