This week’s curiosity box has
- Can you shower within a minute?
- Who is the team behind Obama’s witty speeches?
- I wish my science classes were like this…
Can you shower within a minute?
Life for a submariner can be fascinating. Like us, they don’t have a 24-hour day. Instead, their days are 18 hours long split into three 6-hour shifts for duty, sleep, and other activities. The most fascinating concept for me was the way they take showers.
When a submarine goes into a stealth mode, even the noise of discharging wastewater can give away their location. So water used for cooking, drinking, and bathing has to be minimal. So when a submariner showers, water is turned on for 10 seconds to make yourself wet. Then water is turned off for 30 seconds; this time is used for applying soap or shampoo. And finally, 10 seconds of water to rinse. That is it.
Luxury showers look like this:<30 seconds of water at the start. The shower turns off to apply soap or shampoo, and then <60 seconds of the shower to rinse.
I have always been curious about how Obama comes up with witty speeches every single time?
His wit, not only grabs the attention of the crowd but also conveys profound messages that have helped shape global politics. But I have always wondered how he gets to deliver such speeches time after time.
Behind the scenes is a dedicated team to help him come up with scripts for every speech. Like said in the video, a speech is to be heard, not written. And writing one for someone else also includes understanding public opinion and portraying the personality. Quite a challenge, but they manage it through a process.
How do you explain the theory of general relativity in simple language?
A simple and easy to understand demonstration of the general theory of relativity. After Einstein got his “ah-ha” moment about relativity. He imagined what would happen to someone’s weight when he jumps off a building. Einstein then let the idea brew for 8 years before he came up with the general theory of relativity.
E=mc2 was an afterthought. Who knew?
