26 February 2023 - THE CALENDAR SUNDIAL - IRELAND

 

THE CALENDAR SUNDIAL 

- IRELAND -

G'day folks,

This modern sundial uses ancient methods to tell time and date perfectly. 

 The Calendar Sundial in Galway, Ireland tells both the time of day and the month of the year. Located in Brigit’s Garden, a local park, the Calendar Sundial, built in 2006, is the biggest in Ireland. Its five-foot spike of bog oak, situated near the center of a stone circle, casts a shadow that can be used to determine much information with beautifully simple techniques. 

 

Elliptical lines carved in the stone show the passage of the shadow during the different months of the year, while the length of the shadow determines the time of day.

The Calendar Sundial can show the time and date to great accuracy using methods that have been available for thousands of years. Ironically, it sits in a country famous for its frequent rainy days.

24 November 2021 - MASSIVE CUCKOO CLOCK IN WIESBADEN, GERMANY

 

MASSIVE CUCKOO CLOCK 

IN WIESBADEN, GERMANY

G'day folks,

This tremendous timepiece was once the largest cuckoo clock in the world. 

You don’t have to strain your eyes to check the time on this colossal clock. The clock face, which is surrounded by a charming woodland scene, dominates the front of a store. 

In the mid-1940s, Sergeant Fred Stern of the New York Police Department approached his uncle, Emil Kronenberger, with an idea: to build the largest cuckoo clock in the world. 

 Kronenberger owned a souvenir shop in Kaiser-Friedrich Square in Wiesbaden, Germany, a tourist region known for its spas and home to a large American military presence following the Second World War. Stern convinced his uncle that such an attraction would be appealing to American patrons, both servicemembers and tourists alike.

The two set to work, and it wasn’t long before the clock was erected at the entrance of the shop. Measuring over 15 feet tall and nearly nine feet wide, it easily caught the eye of all who passed by. In the 1950s, the clock was named “World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock” by the Guinness Book of World Records, though it has since lost that title.

Clancy's comment: Stunning workmanship.

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23 June 2020 - EXTRAORDINARY CLOCKS AND WATCHES MADE OF WOOD

EXTRAORDINARY CLOCKS 

AND WATCHES MADE OF WOOD

G'day folks,

As you know, I'm always seeking people with amazing talents. Here is another one.

Valerii Danevych is not your average watch maker. You see, Valerii builds watches that are completely made of wood! He has dedicated his life to making watches, and in 2005, made his first wooden wristwatches, and by 2008 - his first wooden pocket watch. To say that it is entirely wood, though, is not entirely true, as Danevych makes use of one, and only one, metal spring to hold his invention together.

His watches take between 1500 and 2000 hours of work, and he is selling the latest for $132,500.

Now, let's see some of his work ...

Clancy's comment: Wow. Absolutely amazing. Gob smacking talent.

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3 June 2018 - THIS DAY IN HISTORY - Tiananmen Square

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

 - Tiananmen Square -

G'day folks,

A lot happened on this day in history, but here is one notable event. 'Tank Man' is the nickname of an unidentified man who stood in front of a column of tanks on June 5, 1989, the morning after the Chinese military had suppressed the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 by force.

With protests for democratic reforms entering their seventh week, the Chinese government authorizes its soldiers and tanks to reclaim Beijing’s Tiananmen Square at all costs. By nightfall on June 4, Chinese troops had forcibly cleared the square, killing hundreds and arresting thousands of demonstrators and suspected dissidents.

On April 15, the death of Hu Yaobang, a former Communist Party head who supported democratic reforms, roused some 100,000 students to gather at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to commemorate the leader and voice their discontent with China’s authoritative government. On April 22, an official memorial service for Hu Yaobang was held in Tiananmen’s Great Hall of the People, and student representatives carried a petition to the steps of the Great Hall, demanding to meet with Premier Li Peng. The Chinese government refused the meeting, leading to a general boycott of Chinese universities across the country and widespread calls for democratic reforms.

 Ignoring government warnings of suppression of any mass demonstration, students from more than 40 universities began a march to Tiananmen on April 27. The students were joined by workers, intellectuals, and civil servants, and by mid-May more than a million people filled the square, the site of Mao Zedong’s proclamation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

On May 20, the government formally declared martial law in Beijing, and troops and tanks were called in to disperse the dissidents. However, large numbers of students and citizens blocked the army’s advance, and by May 23 government forces had pulled back to the outskirts of Beijing. On June 3, with negotiations to end the protests stalled and calls for democratic reforms escalating, the troops received orders from the Chinese government to seize control of Tiananmen Square and the streets of Beijing. Hundreds were killed and thousands arrested.

 In the weeks after the government crackdown, an unknown number of dissidents were executed, and hard-liners in the government took firm control of the country. The international community was outraged by the incident, and economic sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries sent China’s economy into decline. By late 1990, however, international trade had resumed, thanks in part to China’s release of several hundred imprisoned dissidents.

Also on this day in history …

• American Revolution
• 1780 Former Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson dies in England
• Automotive
• 1957 U.S. Supreme Court rules against Du Pont in General Motors suit
• Civil War
• 1864 Union disaster at Cold Harbor
• Cold War
• 1990 Bush and Gorbachev end second summit meeting
• Crime
• 2010 Van der Sloot arrested for murder in South America
• Disaster
• 1989 Natural gas explosion kills 500 in Russia
• General Interest
• 1800 President Adams settles in new capital
• 1937 Duke of Windsor weds
• 1965 An American walks in space
• Hollywood
• 2002 Lew Wasserman dies
• Literary
• 1936 Larry McMurtry is born
• Music
• 1956 Rock and roll is banned in Santa Cruz, California
• Old West
• 1936 Western author Larry McMurtry is born
• Presidential
• 1800 President John Adams moves into a tavern in Washington, D.C.
• Sports
• 1937 Josh Gibson hits ball 580 feet in Yankee Stadium
• Vietnam War
• 1968 Le Duc Tho joins negotiations in Paris
• 1970 Nixon calls Cambodian operation a success
• World War I
• 1916 U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signs National Defense Act
• World War II
• 1940 Germans bomb Paris

 Clancy's comment: I clearly recall when this happened in Tiananmen Square. Love ya work, Tank Man.

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