2007-06-07 The World We Live In

I wrote a program today. Just for myself. It's not complete yet, so I'll continue on Saturday. The thing is, I have almost forgotten that writing software can be fun! I also exposed myself to fresh air for a while.

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Today's Sherlock Holmes movie (The Sign Of Four) had a pretty funny line in it: Shortly before the end, Watson paid Holmes a compliment, to which Holmes replied "Elementary, dear Watson. Elementary." At the very end, when Watson kissed the girl (quite Bond-like, now that I think of it), Holmes said "Amazing!". Watson replied "Elementary, dear Holmes. Elementary." Who said Watson cannot be quick at repartee!
In the one and only book on Sherlock Holmes (A Study In Scarlet) that I ever read, Holmes didn't know that it was Earth that rotated around the Sun, instead of the other way round. When Watson told him, he wasn't even interested and deliberately tried to forget it in order to save his brain capacity for crime-related knowledge. A few years ago I went to a party where a very similar thing happened to me. (Now that was a great transition, wasn't it?)
There was this group of four or so people, talking about the Moon and why it has phases. Since I was a little kid I was interested in the Solar System, so I thought everybody knows why the Moon has phases. You can imagine my surprise when it turned out that these guys didn't have a clue. They thought that it's Earth that casts a shadow on the Moon!
This is the place where you look shocked and snort derisively if you don't want to attract attention, because obviously that is wrong. The truth is that on its way around Earth, the Moon is illuminated by the Sun from different directions. For example, when Earth, Sun and Moon form a triangle with a right angle at the Moon's position, we have half Moon. For more obtuse angles we approach new Moon, for more acute ones it is full Moon. It's that simple. This is why new Moon is almost during the day and full Moon is in the middle of the night.
They were not completely on the wrong track, however, because every now and then Earth does cast a shadow on the Moon. We call it a lunar eclipse. When the Moon casts a shadow on the Earth, which is quite rare indeed, the result is a solar eclipse.

Since that party I've turned the question "why does the Moon have phases" into my own personal "picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant", in reference to the little prince. By now I must have asked over fifty people. And you know what? About half of them didn't know the correct answer! I've learned not to expect the correct answer anymore, but I think I'll never understand why people don't find it interesting!

Okay, I think I need to cool down a little...

So, if you were able to bear my gripe, you definitely deserve a giggle: go to Google Moon and zoom in to reveal the Moon's final secret...

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Have you ever wondered how cats spend their time? Here is your answer!