Every Lincoln impersonator uses the same voice. But we don't have any recordings of Lincoln speaking, do we? He died in 1865 and Edison invented the phonograph in 77. So is the Lincoln voice that we hear today a fiction, based on what tall, lanky Kentuckians sound like? Or is an interpretation that's been handed down from Lincoln impersonator to Lincoln impersonator for 150 years?
edit: never mind, found my own answer on wikipedia. It's sort of a cool answer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by teh internets
Unlike the quiet, deep voice later used by impersonators and actors, Lincoln reportedly had a strikingly high-pitched speaking voice which aided him at times when he needed to be heard by crowds of thousands before the existence of microphones. Despite his legendary talent as orator, he was said to have been shy and awkward in intimate social situations, especially in his youth.
Every Lincoln impersonator uses the same voice. But we don't have any recordings of Lincoln speaking, do we? He died in 1865 and Edison invented the phonograph in 77. So is the Lincoln voice that we hear today a fiction, based on what tall, lanky Kentuckians sound like? Or is an interpretation that's been handed down from Lincoln impersonator to Lincoln impersonator for 150 years?
edit: never mind, found my own answer on wikipedia. It's sort of a cool answer.
I'm just gonna post this without wikipediang it, but IIRC, Lincoln was from Illinois.
Brain fart. You'd think the red underlined text would have clued me in, but brain farts tend to deaden the smarts. (There, I wrote some poetry to make up for it.)
I believe they freeze it, or at least cool it, so it doesn't run, and then pour the chocolate around it.
Actually I understand that solid caramel and a bit of water or liquid invert sugar is sealed within the chocolate. The liquid gradually softens the caramel while the product is packaged, transported and sitting around in a warehouse.
How long would it take me to build a computer with the following circumstances as the starting point:
tools: none
contact with the outside world: none
human knowledge: unlimited
human resources: unlimited
natural resouces: unlimited
A computer of any kind? or a computer that resembles what we have today? If you are talking about a modern computer with LCD screen, complete with all the peripherals we enjoy today. I am thinking minimum a year. Most of that time would be spent building tools to build tools to build tools to finally be able to complete the finished product.
Even with tools, the Babbage Engine took 2 years to build by the London Institute and it was mechanical and couldn't really be called a computer since it only did polynomial calculations. The reason I mention this, is that it was designed over 200 year ago, but only first built in the 1990's. So it has some bearing on what you are describing even though they had a rather limited budget for manpower and materials.
Here is a video of it operating, so you have some idea of the scope of the project.
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A computer of any kind? or a computer that resembles what we have today? If you are talking about a modern computer with LCD screen, complete with all the peripherals we enjoy today. I am thinking minimum a year. Most of that time would be spent building tools to build tools to build tools to finally be able to complete the finished product.
Really? That's it? Wouldn't I first have to mine ores and things first to make metals? (And that's not even taking into consideration putting in place agricultural techniques to keep my unlimited human resources fed...)
I guess i misunderstood what you meant by unlimited resources. If you had all of civilization to build from the ground up, it may take a little while longer than a year. I was just considering the part about building the computer.
__________________
"Wake up, Luigi! The only time plumbers sleep on the job is when we're working by the hour."
I guess i misunderstood what you meant by unlimited resources. If you had all of civilization to build from the ground up, it may take a little while longer than a year. I was just considering the part about building the computer.
Fair enough. I was sorting thinking of a desert island scenario whereby you are an expert in everything and have a population of islanders who are keen to help you build your computer. How fast can you advance from the Stone Age to the Computer Age?
I think you could do it in a lifetime, provided your human resources didn't revolt at your tyrrany. Although with unlimited human resources, you can have a huge army of people who's job is just to keep the workers in line.
I see two big phases: from 0 to industrial technology: there's certain industrial machines - probably a wire drawer and a lathe - that you're going to need. Getting these to a level where you can produce quality wire will probably take some time, but you don't need to repeat the entire bronze and iron ages. Should be a matter of months or at most a couple years to get to an industrial level.
Once you do though, you can build a lot of the components of your computer, as well as setting up a electrical generation system. I'd skip vacuum tubes and go straight to transistors. Obviously you'll need a group of people working on plastics as well. Assuming you already know the chemicals and processes needed to make appropriate plastics, this should take very little time.
I think the biggest question and the hardest part will be setting up some sort of memory system. I think the ferromagnetic drum memory might be the way to go. This means you'll also need a motor powering the drum, but that should be relatively easy at this point.
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