A Little Bit About the Andrea Doria

What happened to the Andrea Doria?
On July 25, 1956, while sailing off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts bound for New York City, the Andrea Doria collided with the eastward-bound SS Stockholm of the Swedish-American Line in what was to become one of history's most famous maritime disasters

What was the significance of the Andrea Doria?
The SS Andrea Doria was an ocean liner for the Italian Line with a gross tonnage of 29,100 and a capacity of about 1,200 passengers and 500 crew. For a country attempting to rebuild its economy and reputation after World War II, the Andrea Doria was an icon of Italian national pride. Of all Italy's ships at the time, Andrea Doria was the largest, fastest and supposedly safest.

What happened after the Andrea Doria was struck by the SS Stockholm?
After being struck in the side, the list of the mortally wounded ship left half of Andrea Doria's lifeboats unusable, which might have resulted in significant loss of life, but improvements in communications and rapid responses by other ships averted a disaster similar in scale to the Titanic disaster of 1912. On the Andrea Doria 1660 people were rescued and 46 people died. The evacuated luxury liner capsized and sank the following morning.

Why is the Andrea Doria disaster so well known?
The incident and the aftermath were heavily covered by the news media. While the rescue efforts were both successful and commendable, the cause of the collision and the capsizing and sinking of the Andrea Doria afterward generated much interest in the media, and many lawsuits. The Andrea Doria was the last major transatlantic passenger vessel to sink before airplanes became the preferred method of travel.

What is the Andrea Doria's legacy?
There were several months of hearings in New York City in the aftermath of the collision. Both shipping lines contributed to a settlement fund for the victims. For the Swedish-American Line, damages were estimated at $2 million, half for repairs to Stockholm's bow, and half for lost business during repairs. The Italian Line sustained a loss of Andrea Doria's full value, estimated to be $30 million. The Andrea Doria-Stockholm collision led to several rule changes in the immediate years following the incident to avoid a recurrence. Shipping lines were required to improve training on the use of radar equipment. Also, approaching ships were required to make radio contact with one another.

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A Little Bit About Pringles

What made Pringles so special?

Pringles is known for the packaging (invented by Fred Baur), which consists of an upright tubular can with a foil interior, and a resealable plastic lid. The chips are made to a uniform size and saddle shape, so they stack very efficiently within the container, unlike other chips, which are packaged loosely in a bag (typically) or a box. This unique packaging led to stand-up comedian Mitch Hedberg's theory that Pringles' original intention was to make tennis balls, but on the day that the rubber was supposed to arrive a bunch of potatoes showed up instead.

When could you first enjoy a Pringle?

Pringles were introduced in 1967 under the name "Pringle's Newfangled Potato Chips", which was changed to its current name the next year. According to the patent, it was invented by Alexander Liepa of Montgomery, Ohio, United States, (a suburb of Cincinnati) and comprises "A potato chip product and process wherein a dough is prepared from dehydrated cooked potatoes and water and subsequently fried."

Why don't Pringles break when they're in that can?

The Pringles saddle shape chip surface was modeled after, and can be described mathematically by, a hyperbolic paraboloid, which is a form of quadric. This shape is distinctive in that it is curved at all points along its surface; there are no flat planes or lines. This design characteristic is beneficial as it helps keep the chips from breaking during distribution by eliminating lines of stress along which a small crack may easily propagate. Further it keeps the stack of chips tightly interlocked or nested during distribution. Pringles is the only brand of stacked potato chips that exhibit this characteristic double saddle shape; all others are of a single curve surface design such as a parabolic cylinder or circular cylinder. One of the designers of the machine used to mold Pringles was the science fiction author Gene Wolfe.

What unusual uses do people put a Pringles can to?

Because of the metallic interior and long, tubular shape, Pringles cans have been used to make Wi-Fi network antennas, known as cantennas. Some fans of the chip brand collect the empty holders, which are colorful, uniform, and useful for storing small items such as paintbrushes. It is possible to throw the plastic lid on a Pringles can in a similar fashion to a flying disc. When released with the correct technique, they are surprisingly stable in flight, and can travel upwards of 50 feet.

What is the best way to throw a Pringles lid?

The established throwing technique is to hold the lid between the thumb and middle finger, starting with your arm in a backhand throwing position, held at just above waist height. A flick of the wrist is critical when releasing the lid, to achieve sufficient spin. As Pringles lids require much more spin than frisbees to maintain stability, successful forehand throws are extremely difficult to achieve. At sufficiently small angles of incidence Pringles lids will rebound from walls, and due to their lighter construction and shorter range, they are a safe, fun alternative to throwing a disc around indoors.

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A Little Bit About the Bermuda Triangle

What's so special about the Bermuda Triangle?

The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is an area of the north Atlantic Ocean where it is popularly believed a significant number of ships and aircraft have disappeared under highly unusual circumstances. It has become popular through its representation by mass media as an area of paranormal activity where the known laws of physics are violated. It has even been suggested that extraterrestrial beings are responsible for some of the disappearances.

Where is the Bermuda Triangle?

As its name suggests, the Bermuda Triangle is approximately triangular in shape, with three corners roughly defined by Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Its size is nearly half a million square miles. The Triangle marks a corridor of the north Atlantic stretching northward from the West Indies along the North American seaboard as far as the Carolinas. The Gulf Stream, an area of volatile weather, also passes through the Triangle as it leaves the West Indies.

How did the Bermuda Triangle receive its spooky connotations?
The area achieved its current fame largely through the efforts of Charles Berlitz in his 1974 book The Bermuda Triangle and its subsequent film adaptation. The book recounts a long series of mysterious disappearances of ships and aircraft, in particular the December 1945 loss of five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo bombers in the infamous Flight 19 incident. The book was a bestseller and included several theories about the cause of the disappearances, including accidents due to high traffic volumes; natural storms; "temporal holes"; the lost empire of Atlantis; transportation by extraterrestrial technology; and other natural or supernatural causes.

What about Flight 19's disappearance in the Bermuda Triangle?

One of the best known, and probably the most famous Bermuda Triangle incidents concerns the loss of Flight 19, a squadron of five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger torpedo bombers on a training flight out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida on December 5, 1945. According to Berlitz, the flight consisted of expert naval aviators who, after reporting a number of odd visual effects, simply disappeared. However, a more likely scenario indicate that the flight commander became confused and disoriented, ultimately leading his flight out to sea where they ran out of gas and ditched in stormy night time waters. And, although his student-pilots believed he was mistaken as to their location, he was the Flight Leader, and he was in command. By the time he took one of the trainee pilots advice to fly west, they were too far out to ever make landfall.

Is the Bermuda Triangle really a dangerous place?

The marine insurer Lloyd's of London has determined the "triangle" to be no more dangerous than any other area of ocean, and does not charge unusual rates for passage through the region. Coast Guard records confirm their conclusion. In fact, the number of supposed disappearances is relatively insignificant considering the number of ships and aircraft which pass through on a regular basis. Additionally, in an area frequented by tropical storms, the number of disappearances that occur are mostly neither disproportionate, unlikely, nor mysterious.

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