Round Museum

If you are a flea, then this pock-marked front porch might be your lunar landscape, an alien Sea of Tranquility painted green, with mysterious huge rocking chair structures left behind by some ancient race of interstellar travelers. Or something.

07.22.19

When American astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped off the lunar landing module and onto the surface of the moon at 10:56 p.m. on July 20th back in 1969, he had a few words to share that more than a billion people on Earth would hear –– “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” If he didn't have this little "Snoopy Cap" on to broadcast it, we would have never heard his famous quote.

Cincinnati Museum Center
07.20.19

With thin, needle-like crystals floating inside, this quartz sphere has a habit. But this is not a habit it would be able to break, as a habit in mineralogy is the acicular appearance of its crystal structure, and not an addiction. We feel better already.

Wagner Free Institute of Science
Philadelphia, PA

07.19.19

On board ship you need a variety of rings to tie things down, especially when the seas get rough. On the deck of the Cruiser Olympia, a tar covered ring is planted at the ready for a line. Currently in dock in Philadelphia by the Independence Seaport Museum, the Olympia is the oldest steel warship afloat in the world, launched in 1892.

07.18.19

Don't even argue with the line judge, there is no controversy with this out call. The ball is clearly way outside of the lines, the court, the stadium, the parking lot, maybe even the neighbor's driveway across from the parking lot. And forget the orange. That's not in either.

07.17.19

Ah, the Twinkie... the much beloved but nutritionally vacant snack cake. One is OK, a bowl full may require some self-restraint. Invented in 1930, the Twinkie gained so much popularity that it has become more than just a sweet treat. It can be a metaphor for unhealthy lifestyles or throwing caution to the wind, for perceived intelligence or something without substance. In Ghostbusters, it provided the comparative analysis for the level of ghostly psychokinetic activity menacing New York City. Now that's a big Twinkie!

07.16.19

Tennis ball vs. Boo Radley the King Charles Cavalier Spaniel. If scientists tested the durability of a ball for the duration of a game of catch with Boo, this half-chewed monstrosity might be the mean point. That dog will not stop till the fuzz is gone. In dogspeak this is known as "BALLBALLBALLLBALL!!!!"

07.15.19

When you're walking down the street to work, school or the office, the question on your mind is probably "how much do I weigh?" Well, maybe not. But in the 1920s, apparently this was the thing. At a time when bathroom scales didn't yet exist, coin operated scales offering up just such information were on nearly every street corner or local store. So ubiquitous in the hey day of weigh days, that at one point there were nearly a million of them in the U.S.

07.13.19

Upon arriving to the hotel late at night, worn out from your long flight and looking for a convenient place to hang your clothes you might be tempted by that sprinkler head up on the ceiling. Management wants to remind you that’s not such a great idea. A whole room shower effect is probably not what you want, nor do they.

07.12.19

Circles suggest infinity and squares suggest integrity, according to Frank Lloyd Wright. This light in the center of a square ceiling tile from the interior of his Oak Park home and studio has both, but I was struck by the patterned movement of the detail swirling around the light bulb, which seems different from most of his geometric arts and crafts style interiors.

07.11.19