Category Archives: Fun

I have just one piece of advice: Don’t!

NASA Goddard: NASA’s Guide To Black Hole Safety. (YouTube, 2:39min) “Have you ever thought about visiting a black hole? We sure hope not. However, if you’re absolutely convinced that a black hole is your ideal vacation spot, watch this video before you blast off to learn more about them and (more importantly) how to stay safe.”

Link via Astronomy Picture of the Day.

“Brits don’t quit” – “And then he quit”

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee: A Brief History of Brexit for Americans. (YouTube, 7:05min, 6 March 2019) “Are you an American having a hard time understanding Brexit? Allow Amy Hoggart to translate it for you.”

Bonus episode: The Original Trump Haters (YouTube, 7:11min, 8 February 2017) “We sent Amy Hoggart to Scotland to discuss resisting oppression with people who are born crotchety.”

“Just because it’s bonkers doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea.“

Have you ever heard of The Biggest Little Railway in the World? It was

“a temporary 71 mile (114 km) 1.25 inches (32 mm) O-gauge model railway from Fort William to the City of Inverness, the two largest settlements in the Scottish Highlands. It has been described as a crackpot project to run a model train the length of the Great Glen Way by an army of madcap enthusiasts, geeks, and engineers in the best spirit of eccentric Britishness.”

56 volunteers built it over the course of 12 days and also drove the engine called Silver Lady along it. The track included a temporary bridge across the Caledonian Canal, a huge trestle bridge and a spiral loop near the end that enabled the train to climb five metres over a very short distance.

The model train achieved what the real railway didn’t: It ran from Fort Williams to Inverness.

There is a five-part Channel 4 TV series about this incredible project that you can watch in its entirety here:

Futility Closet: Thinking Big. (5 x 45min)

I watched it over the past few days and enjoyed it thoroughly even though I’m neither a train nor model train enthusiast.