Uncle John’s Unstoppable Bathroom Reader
Page 48
At first Reiche could afford to visit the Nazca lines only occasionally, and because she was German she was not allowed to work at the site at all during World War II. By 1946, however, she was living in Peru year-round and spending nearly all of her waking hours in the desert trying to unlock the secret of the lines. When Kosok left Peru in 1948, she continued without him.
Studying the lines wasn’t as simple as it sounds. In those days, many of them were so obscured by dirt, sand, and centuries of new desert varnish that it was barely possible to find them. That they were distinguishable at all was thanks only to the fact that they were etched a few inches into the desert floor.
CLEAN SWEEP
Reiche decided to “clean” the lines so that they could be more easily seen. First she tried using a rake. When that didn’t work, she switched to a broom. It’s estimated that over the next 50 years, she swept out as many as 1,000 of the lines by herself, carefully mapping the location of each one as she went along, and returning to the same lines at different times of day and in all lights to be certain that she was following their true courses.
In the process Reiche discovered—and uncovered—as many as 30 drawings similar to the giant bird that Kosok had found, including numerous birds, two lizards, four fish, a monkey, a whale, a pair of human hands, and a man with an owl-like head. The scope of her work is astonishing: When you look at an aerial photograph of the Nazca lines—any photograph of any of the lines or ground drawings—there’s a good chance that Reiche swept those lines herself. Mile after mile after mile of them, using only one tool—an ordinary household broom.
LOST IN SPACE
Just as Reiche was almost single-handedly responsible for restoring the Nazca lines, she was also the first to bring them to public attention. Her 1949 book Mystery on the Desert helped to generate worldwide interest in the lines.
But what really put them on the map was a 1968 book written by a Swiss hotelier named Erich Von Daniken. His book Chariots of the Gods proposed that some of the lines were landing strips for alien spacecraft. According to Von Daniken’s theory, aliens created the human race by breeding with primates, then returned to outer space. The early humans then etched the drawings into the desert floor, hoping to attract the aliens back to Earth.
Since 1950, more than 600 people have been killed by avalanches in the U.S.
JOIN THE CROWD
Chariots of the Gods was an international bestseller, and its success prompted other people to write books of their own with more theories about the origin of the lines. One speculated the lines were ancient jogging tracks; another claimed they were launch sites for Nazcan hot-air balloonists. These books turned the Nazca lines into a New Age pop culture phenomenon, helping to attract tens of thousands of tourists to the site each year.
As a result, the Nazca lines began to suffer from overexposure—more and more tourists went out into the desert on foot, on dirt bikes, and in dune buggies, doing untold damage to the lines in the process.
Reiche did what she could to protect them. For years she lived in a small house out in the desert so that she could watch over the lines herself, and she used the profits from her writing and lecturing to pay security guards to patrol the desert. By the end of her life she was crippled by Parkinson’s disease, but she continued to study the lines and was known to chase intruders away in her wheelchair. By the time of her death in 1998 at the age of 95, she was nearly deaf and almost completely blind. Not that it really mattered to her—“I can see every line,” she said, “every drawing, in my mind.”
FINAL IRONY
Though Reiche devoted most of her life to proving that the Nazca lines are a giant astronomical calendar, that theory has been largely discarded. Researchers now believe that while a few of the lines may indeed point to astronomical phenomena such as the summer and winter solstices (with more than 1,000 lines running across the desert floor in all directions, even that may be a coincidence), most of the lines are processional footpaths linking various sacred sites in the desert. The ground drawings, they believe, are artwork the Nazcans made for their gods.
Famous forgotten female: Diane Crump—1st woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby (1970).
MORE SIMPLE SOLUTIONS
On page 305 we told you about some simple inventions that are changing the world. Here are a few more.
HIPPO WATER ROLLER
Problem: In South Africa, more than 15 million people have to carry water from wells or rivers to their homes—sometimes as far as six miles away. It’s traditionally carried by balancing five-gallon buckets on top of the head, requiring many trips and often leading to neck and back injuries. How can people get water from one place to another without breaking their backs doing it?
Simple Solution: A big plastic drum with handles
Explanation: It looks like a lawn roller. Fill the large, barrel-shaped drum with water, screw on the lid, lay it on its side, attach the handles, and then just push or pull it home—the barrel becomes a wheel. It holds 20 gallons of water, which weighs 200 pounds. But the design makes the weight feel like 22 pounds, so even kids and the elderly can handle it. And it’s made of UV-stabilized polyethylene, durable enough to ride over roots, rocks, and even broken glass. Cost: about $60. (The manufacturer, Imvubu Projects of Johannesburg, has donated thousands of the rollers to water-needy communities.)
XTRABIKE
Problem: Bicycles are an extremely popular mode of transportation in developing nations—often it’s the only mode. But carrying a lot of weight on a bicycle can be difficult, if not impossible, and dangerous. How can people carry goods and other large loads on their bikes?
Simple Solution: The Xtrabike, a heavy-duty bike rack
Explanation: Working in Nicaragua and Kenya, a company from Berkeley, California, called XAccess designed a steel-frame extension for the back wheels of a bicycle, with fold-down racks that turn it into a hauler of water, kids, or any other cargo. The design carries the weight low to the ground, so it still rides and turns normally, and an average person can comfortably haul as much as a 200-pound load. (Try doing that on a bike rack.) It costs about $50, which is a lot for many people, but XAccess has a solution for that, too. “Can’t afford an Xtrabike?” they ask on their website. “We’ll teach you how to make one.”
Hot air: Iceland has so much geothermal power that it plans to end fossil fuel use by 2030.
BAYGEN FREEPLAY RADIO
Problem: Many Africans can’t get vital information about healthcare because they lack basic communication devices such as TVs and radios. In many areas there’s no electricity, and the cost of one set of batteries could be an entire month’s salary. How can people get the information they need?
Simple Solution: A wind-up radio
Explanation: Englishman Trevor Baylis learned about the problem in 1993 while watching a documentary on the spread of AIDS in Africa. Working with Andy Davis, who helped design the first Sony Walkman, by 1995 he had invented the BayGen Freeplay, a spring-driven radio. By 1997 tens of thousands had been sold—cheaply—in developing countries all over the planet. Wind the crank, and a specially designed coil spring powers a small generator, which in turn powers the receiver. How well does it work? Turn the crank for 30 seconds and you can listen to AM, FM, or shortwave stations for more than 30 minutes. And the spring can take 10,000 windings before it wears out. The BayGen has won endorsements from Prince Charles, Nelson Mandela, and the International Red Cross.
FOLDABLE FAMILY PANEL COOK KIT
Problem: In many developing countries it is increasingly difficult to obtain fuel—mostly wood or coal—for cooking. How can people cook without fuel?
Simple Solution: A solar-powered oven
Explanation: Roger Bernard and Barbara Kerr of Solar Cookers International (SCI) developed such an oven, and the best part is that anybody can make one. For decades they have been doing workshops for families in impoverished villages, providing the materials and know-how to make solar ovens. The materials: som
e cardboard, aluminum foil, glue, and a plastic bag (an oven cooking bag works best). The oven really works, too. Even on partly sunny days, it will reach 300°F. Meat, beans, rice, vegetables, breads, and other foods can be cooked without using any fuel. It takes longer than conventional ovens (although for many dishes and on sunny days it doesn’t), but the benefits outweigh this drawback. Another plus: Put the food in the solar oven, go about your day, and come back later—the solar cooker won’t burn your food, it will just keep it hot.
First pilot ever to fly a loop-the-loop: Lincoln Beachy, on Nov. 18, 1913 (San Diego).
ADAPTIVE EYECARE
Problem: In 2002 the World Health Organization estimated that one billion people around the world who needed eyeglasses could not get them. In the African nation of Ghana alone, there were only 50 opticians for a population of 20 million. Poor eyesight means difficulties in reading, education, and employment. Without enough doctors, how can people get the glasses they need?
Simple Solution: Universal, adjustable eyeglasses
Explanation: In 1996 Oxford professor Dr. Joshua Silver started Adaptive Eyecare. After years of research, he had invented glasses with lenses that were filled with a clear silicon oil. A small pump on the frame changes the amount of oil in the lenses, thus altering their curvature. (The pump is removed after the adjustment.) That means that as a person’s sight deteriorates over time, they don’t have to go find an optician—they simply turn a knob until their vision is in focus, and voilà! A new pair of glasses! And each lens can be adjusted separately. The glasses are universal, since anyone can adjust them to their own eyes, which keeps manufacturing costs down. The glasses are sold to nonprofit groups and governments around the world, keeping with Dr. Silver’s goal of improving the vision of the world’s poorest people.
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WEIRD TALES OF THE STAGE
The Bluebird is a classic play about two children who go searching for the Bluebird of Happiness. A designer at a midwestern theater thought it would be a great idea to have real bluebirds fly around the theater at the end of the play. So he sprayed pigeons with blue paint and put them in little cages hanging above the audience. Apparently no one ever considered what the paint, combined with the heat from the lights, might do to the birds. On opening night, the cages were opened at the end of the show…showering a horrified audience with hundreds of dead “bluebirds.”
The Chinese were the first to use a decimal system, in the sixth century B.C.
FOUNDING (hic!) FATHERS
Before they were (hic) alcoholic beverages, (hic) they were people (hic) who made alcoholic beverages (hic).
JOHN WALKER
Background: In 1820, at age 15, Walker started working in his father’s grocery, wine, and spirit store in Kilmarnock, Scotland. Unhappy with the inconsistencies in the barrels of whiskey, he set out to refine the process. Walker soon became known throughout Scotland for his technique of blending single malt whiskies.
Famous Name: Walker’s son Alexander joined him in 1856 and began marketing Walker’s Kilmarnock Whisky in England and Australia, and later in the United States. In 1908 the company name was changed as a tribute to its founder, Johnnie Walker.
DON FACUNDO BACARDI MASSÓ
Background: Born in Spain, Don Facundo emigrated to Cuba around 1830. There he discovered rum—a harsh “firewater” popular among pirates. A cultured man, Don Facundo made it his goal to create a smoother version that could be served in fine restaurants.
Famous Name: It took more than 30 years of experimenting with every step of the manufacturing process, but in 1862, Don Facundo perfected it and introduced Bacardi Rum. The family still runs the business today using the same secret technique created by Don Facundo 140 years ago.
JASPER NEWTON DANIEL
Background: He was born in Tennessee in 1850, the youngest of 13 children, and ran away when he was only six years old. Little Jasper ended up living with a neighbor named Dan Call and earned his keep by helping him make moonshine whiskey. In 1863 Call sold his still to Jasper, who was then only 13.
Famous Name: Known as Jack, Jasper Daniel had a knack for making—and selling—whiskey, and distributed it to both sides during the Civil War. He used his war profits to build a real distillery.
A slight man at 5'2" and 120 pounds, Daniel relied on his personality as much as the quality of his whiskey to make sales. He always wore a mustache and goatee, a planter’s hat, and a knee-length frock coat. He never appeared in public without his “costume.” When postwar liquor laws changed, Daniel was the first man to register a distillery in the United States, which he called Jack Daniel Distillery No. 1.
Percent of the cost of a 12-ounce bottle of beer that goes to federal and state taxes: 43.
JOSÉ ANTONIO DE CUERVO
Background: Sent by the king of Spain, in 1758 José de Cuervo traveled to a small town in central Mexico. There he began cultivating the agave plant, which for thousands of years had been fermented by the indigenous peoples into a beverage known as mezcal. De Cuervo produced a more refined version of the liquor, which took on the name of the town in which it was made…Tequila.
Famous Name: His descendants have been producing it ever since, and have become one of Mexico’s richest and most respected families. But it wasn’t until the turn of the 20th century that Cuervo-produced tequila began to carry the name José Cuervo.
PETER SMIRNOFF
Background: Peter Smirnoff’s first batch of vodka came out of his still in 1864. Over the next 15 years, he became famous throughout Russia and in 1886 was named the royal distiller of Czar Alexander III. By 1900 Smirnoff was producing a million bottles of vodka per day.
Famous Name: One of Smirnoff’s suppliers, Rudolph Kunett, fled Russia when the czar was overthrown and purchased the rights to sell Smirnoff vodka in the United States. The only problem: no one bought it—the vodka had a reputation as a harsh liquor that led to a bad hangover. Kunett finally gave up and sold his Connecticut distillery to G. F Hublein and Company in 1939. Part of the deal included the last 2,000 bottles of vodka. But they had no vodka corks left, so company president John Martin decided to put whiskey corks on them instead. That changed everything. In the South, a salesman sampled it, loved it, and came up with a new slogan: “Smirnoff’s White Whiskey. No Taste. No Smell.” It sold out. Why? Fewer people were drinking straight liquor in those days—they wanted something that could be mixed. So Martin resumed the vodka production, advertising it as a mixer. Today it’s the bestselling liquor in the United States.
The ocean sunfish produces up to 30 million eggs at a single spawning.
THE CAT’S MEOW
We’ve done a lot of quote pages about dogs in past Bathroom Readers. Now, it’s time for cats to have their day.
“After scolding one’s cat, one looks into its face and is seized by the ugly suspicion that it understood every word. And has filed it for reference.”
—Charlotte Gray
“If a cat spoke, it would say things like, ‘Hey, I don’t see the problem here.’”
—Roy Blount, Jr.
“If cats could talk, they wouldn’t.”
—Nan Porter
“I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.”
—Hippolyte Taine
“Dogs come when they’re called. Cats take a message and get back to you later.”
—Mary Bly
“Cats keep their cool, no matter what. Even when they do things like fall or lose their balance, they’ll walk away with an attitude that seems to say, ‘I meant to do that.’”
—Michael Jordan
“Whether they be the musician cats in my band or the real cats of the world, they all got style.”
—Ray Charles
“If cats seem distant and aloof it is because this is not their native planet—they are here just to visit and dominate.”
—Hank Roll
“To bathe a cat takes brute force, perseverance, c
ourage of conviction—and a cat. The last ingredient is usually the hardest to come by.”
—Stephen Baker
“In order to keep a true perspective of one’s importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him.”
—Dereke Bruce
“You may own a cat, but cannot govern one.”
—Kate Sanborn
“The smallest feline is a masterpiece.”
—Leonardo da Vinci
Scaredy cat? Charles Lindbergh carried a Felix the Cat doll with him on his famous flight.
BRAINTEASERS
Uncle John emerged from “the brainroom” giving these puzzles three thumbs up—one thumb for being fun, one thumb for being challenging, and one thumb for “I just learned something.” (We still can’t figure out where he got the extra thumb.) Answers on page 498.
1. You’re sitting on a bus. The kid next to you has a helium-filled balloon. She lets go of the balloon and it ends up against the ceiling, just about in the center of the bus. The driver suddenly hits the gas pedal and the bus lurches forward, throwing you back into your seat. What does the balloon do?
a) It moves backward. b) It moves forward. c) It stays where it is.
2. How can you make the following equation correct without changing it:
8 + 8 = 91
3. You place an empty glass on one side of a balance scale and a one-pound weight on the other side. Then you fill the glass with water until the two sides are perfectly balanced. Now you put your finger down into the water without touching the glass. It makes the water level in the glass rise, but it doesn’t overflow. What happens to the scale?
a) The glass side goes up. b) The glass side goes down. c) It holds still.
4. You’re sitting in a boat in a swimming pool. You have a large anchor in the boat. You drop the anchor into the water, and, of course, it sinks immediately. What happens to the water level in the pool?