Tall Things, Part 8: The world's tallest thermometer

By Jack Brummet, Travel Editor

The world's tallest thermometer is located in Baker, California, in the Mojave Desert.

Actually, calling it a thermometer is a misnomer.  It doesn't have fifty gallons of mercury in a glass tube.  It is an electric sign, posting readings from an analog thermometer, but just a little taller than the ones you see outside of banks and shopping malls. 

The sign is 134 feet tall, in tribute to a record 134 degrees Fahrenheit recorded in adjacent Death Valley in 1913.  The "thermometer" weighs 38 tons and is held together by 125 cubic yards of concrete.  It can display a maximum temperature of, duh, 134 degrees.

The thermometer is planted right next to a Bob's Big Boy restaurant.  You can see it from Interstate 15 in the  Mojave. 

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Boom! — The U.S. drops 20,000 pounds of pure sodium into a lake 130 miles east of Seattle (circa 1947)

In 1947, the U.S. government dumped 20,000 pounds of sodium into a lake 130 miles east of Seattle. This video shows the US War Assets Administration disposing of steel drums filled with 20,000 pounds of pure metallic sodium by dumping them into the alkaline lake, Lake Lenore.

If you've ever seen a demonstration of sodium and water on YouTube, or in science class, you know what will happen.  Except, the time I saw this in a chemistry class, they used a couple of ounces. 

This YouTube footage is spectacular.

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All This Is That contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We make these materials available to advance the understanding of political, economic, literary, artistic, and social issues. In some cases we satirize, parody, or lampoon materials from other sources. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of copyrighted material as provided for by section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit for research, educational, and entertainment purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', please read and follow our Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license and attribute the work to All This Is That, along with our URL (http://jackbrummet.blogspot.com).

The weirdest mirror you will ever see - a safety first mirror

By Jack Brummet

I bought this mirror years ago at Archie McPhee in Seattle.  Here is a photo of the mirror, and details of each panel.  Oddly enough, the shark and plane crash panels are the most hopeful; no visible damage has been done to anyone. . .yet.  It seems likely that either the mirror itself, or the images themselves come from Mexico.

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Santorum: Satan has his sights set on the USA

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All This Is That contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We make these materials available to advance the understanding of political, economic, literary, artistic, and social issues. In some cases we satirize, parody, or lampoon materials from other sources. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of copyrighted material as provided for by section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit for research, educational, and entertainment purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', please read and follow our Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license and attribute the work to All This Is That, along with our URL (http://jackbrummet.blogspot.com).

Faces No. 271 - Thought Leaders

Drawings by Jack Brummet

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A disconnect between the newsroom and the marketing team

The newsroom and marketing team probably need to chat once in a while, I think. /Mona 

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Faces No. 270 - 15 Scratchboard Faces (and reversed)

by Jack Brummet
[a) Scratchboard for Dean and Mary; b) scratchboard digitally reversed]

click to enlarge images

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Spring Training Has Begun!

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All This Is That contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We make these materials available to advance the understanding of political, economic, literary, artistic, and social issues. In some cases we satirize, parody, or lampoon materials from other sources. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of copyrighted material as provided for by section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit for research, educational, and entertainment purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', please read and follow our Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license and attribute the work to All This Is That, along with our URL (http://jackbrummet.blogspot.com).

Poem: Foghorns

The lighthouse and foghorn at Alki Point in West Seattle

By Jack Brummet

Foghorns

I hear three foghorns moaning  tonight,
Probably at Bainbridge Island,
Point No Point, and Alki.

I can't detect a pattern.
The foghorns sing to each other
Back and forth across the murky Puget Sound.

There will come a time
When we will likewise
All sing to each other.
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Send Titanium Sporkestra to Austin for HonkFest!

This video was made for the Sporkestra's 2012 Spring fundraising campaign. Please visit www.TitaniumSporkestra.com for more info and to donate money!  Send these guys some money—they are a Seattle treasure.  /jack

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Faces No. 269 - Six

Drawings by Jack Brummet

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Over-50 middle fingers (including Johnny Cash, Stan Lee, George W. Bush, Mickey Rourke, Nelson Rockefeller, Willie Nelson, Ben Bernanke, and Katy Couric)

Compiled By Mona Goldwater, Signs and Gestures Editor


This batch of middle fingers come from both reader submissions and a few we found and saved off for a rainy day. . .  /Mona

Ben Bernanke

Willie Nelson

Stan Lee

Donald Rumsfeld

Nelson Rockefeller

Mickey Rourke

Keith Richards

Katie Couric

Johnny Cash

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All This Is That contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We make these materials available to advance the understanding of political, economic, literary, artistic, and social issues. In some cases we satirize, parody, or lampoon materials from other sources. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of copyrighted material as provided for by section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit for research, educational, and entertainment purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', please read and follow our Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license and attribute the work to All This Is That, along with our URL (http://jackbrummet.blogspot.com) and let us know!