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.

  • #2,161
matthyaouw said:
Was it the failed attempt at a postal rocket in the Western Isles?

Yes and so quick :biggrin:
 
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  • #2,162
matthyaouw said:
Nope, not it.
I'm now quite terrified at the prospect of a 7 meter penis rampaging around... If I have nightmares, I'm blaming you!
Can I wish you sweet dreams instead?
 
  • #2,163
There are just so many statues etc, i thought Lenin or napoleon but no luck
yet,
 
  • #2,164
"Standing 7 metres tall, this imposing figure seems out of this world. It towers over the place it terrorised over 100 years go."

Note emphasis
 
  • #2,165
No takers?
It first terrorised the area in 1898 (perhaps not literally), and made another more notable appearence in 1938, terrorising people in a more literal sense.
 
  • #2,166
matthyaouw said:
No takers?
It first terrorised the area in 1898 (perhaps not literally), and made another more notable appearence in 1938, terrorising people in a more literal sense.
Still trying mathyaouw, but is outside my area.
 
  • #2,167
Zepplin ?
 
  • #2,168
something alien? an alien perhaps?
 
  • #2,169
honchbunkers? though I don't know what they have to do with 100 years ago.
 
  • #2,170
The Woking Martian

http://www.cix.co.uk/~sjbradshaw/martian/
 
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  • #2,171
haha, of course, H.G. Wells publications. The radio broadcast in 1938 that fooled so many people into thinking they were under attack by aliens :smile:
 
  • #2,172
It weighs over 200 tonnes.

It was completed over a decade ago

It is built on an island

Your hint is, swastika...

Shouldn't be too hard...good luck :smile:
 
  • #2,173
manhattan project?
 
  • #2,174
Smurf said:
manhattan project?

no...interesting suggestion though...
 
  • #2,175
hmmm, well I havn't a clue so I'm shooting in the dark here but does it have something to do with a big canon and the english channel?
 
  • #2,176
Smurf said:
hmmm, well I havn't a clue so I'm shooting in the dark here but does it have something to do with a big canon and the english channel?

sorry...

I don't want to give you any more hints...you have more than enough to figure it out... :smile:
 
  • #2,177
On July 4, 1889 the American community in Paris offered the French people
a gift of a bronze replica of the Statue of Liberty, 1/4 scale,
about 35 feet high. It still stands now, on Ile des Cygnes an island in the
Seine River, next to the Pont de Grenelle, a bridge crossing the Seine,
1.5 km downstrean (South) of the Eiffel Tower.

?
 
  • #2,178
ooooooooooo
 
  • #2,179
wolram said:
On July 4, 1889 the American community in Paris offered the French people
a gift of a bronze replica of the Statue of Liberty, 1/4 scale,
about 35 feet high. It still stands now, on Ile des Cygnes an island in the
Seine River, next to the Pont de Grenelle, a bridge crossing the Seine,
1.5 km downstrean (South) of the Eiffel Tower.

?


Let me refine some of my clues a bit...

It was over completed over a decade ago and less than 20 yrs ago.

It is more than 200 tonnes and less then 250 tonnes...

Probably the most important clue is the swastika...
 
  • #2,180
I've run it through google and not really found anything that looks right. Maybe one more little clue?
 
  • #2,181
TheStatutoryApe said:
I've run it through google and not really found anything that looks right. Maybe one more little clue?

The swastika I'm talking about is not the same as the Nazi swastika...
 
  • #2,182
Couple more:

The island is pretty small...I had to take a subway to get there, and I was nowhere near the United States...
 
  • #2,183
Townsend said:
The swastika I'm talking about is not the same as the Nazi swastika...

I guessed that, the swastika has lots of meanings, it relates to Budda also.
 
  • #2,184
wolram said:
I guessed that, the swastika has lots of meanings, it relates to Budda also.

...go from there...
 
  • #2,187
Derived from "Hard Lightning" , the people are cheese on toast ?
 
  • #2,188
wolram said:
I guessed that, the swastika has lots of meanings, it relates to Budda also.
Damn, I knew that one off the top of my head! Should have been PFing more!
 
  • #2,189
Mk said:
Damn, I knew that one off the top of my head! Should have been PFing more!

Yep, it took me ages and several wrong turns, i suppose a certain lady would
have also solved it a lot quicker.
 
  • #2,190
wolram said:
Derived from "Hard Lightning" , the people are cheese on toast ?

Something to do with the Welsh... And Arthur's sword...
 

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