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Michael Woudenberg's avatar

And..... What was it?

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Andrew Smith's avatar

The weight? 6 × 10²⁴ kilograms, give or take some kilograms.

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hexheadtn's avatar

Very interesting. I know the characters but not this particular story.

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Andrew Smith's avatar

Michell and Cavendish were such nerds! I love their story.

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hexheadtn's avatar

I first heard of them, particularly Cavendish, in this book "A Short History of Nearly Everything." (I listened to it while on the road on CD-- 6 hours on a 10.5-hour trip home). I love Cavendish's story that he wouldn't talk except by passing notes through his housekeeper!) (For some reason this also triggers a memory of learning about "cabinets of curiosity".)

Bryson also wrote "A Walk in the Woods", an excellent book itself about attempting to complete the Appalachian Trail. He is a great storyteller. I worked on the Appalachian Trial where it went through Hanover New Hampshire where I was employed at Dartmouth College.

You stirred up some memories for sure on this one, :-)

https://www.amazon.com/Short-History-Nearly-Everything/dp/1486283977/ref=asc_df_1486283977?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80264463751824&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583863992208382&psc=1

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Andrew Smith's avatar

Damn, now I need to get that other Bryson book, or at least add it to a watchlist! Thanks!

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Andrew Smith's avatar

Oh yeah, I should probably go ahead and endorse the "Short History" book too. It's a banger.

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hexheadtn's avatar

Hahaha! I have stacks of backlog books to read. I never pass up a potentially good book even to read later.

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