Our electric popcorn popper used to cause the TV to go on the blink. We always thought it was some kind of wave interference. The popcorn popper was in a different room, but loud enough to hear in the TV room.
--- In [email protected], "Max H." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Oh, come on, I'm only in my <mumble> thirties, and I remember those remotes > from when I was a toddler. My parents inherited a big wooden console TV from > my grandparents, and it came with a big honkin' remote with all of two > buttons that stuck up at least an inch and a half, and when you pushed them > all the way down (which took some effort), they made this little "wheeet" > sound that I probably couldn't hear now. I can't be the only one who was > fascinated by those as a child in the seventies or earlier. > > -Max H. > > On 12/16/06, gina_ellis_ca <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > Being one, I subscribe to Straight Dope. Today has a couple of > > doozies, one of which you can even try out at home. > > > > Dear Cecil: > > > > I know this is going to sound crazy, but my Slinky (that's the > > Original Slinky Walking Spring Toy) has the power to turn on, turn > > off, and change channels on our TV set! Shortly after receiving the > > Slinky as a birthday gift, I was watching TV and absentmindedly > > tumbling the Slinky back and forth in my hands. The TV went off, then > > came back on a minute or two later. At first I figured our TV was on > > the blink. But when the TV switched itself on the next time I played > > with the Slinky the truth dawned. Since then, all our friends and > > visitors have experienced firsthand the power of Slinky. We can turn > > the TV off and on and change channels. My brother was even able to > > adjust the volume. There is no physical contact between the Slinky > > and the TV. It works best from a chair about six feet from the set. > > Can you explain this? --Karen Schrage, Chicago > > > > Cecil replies: > > > > It's questions like this that give me the strength to go on. To be > > sure, I had heard of such things before. But most of the letters were > > along the lines of the following: "How come when you hold a chopstick > > in your teeth and pluck it, the TV screen shimmies? Nothing else > > shimmies." Clearly a case of heavy-metal poisoning, although whether > > from cadmium or Aerosmith is hard to say. > > > > Karen's letter, however, was refreshingly rational. We called to > > check one vital detail: did the set have an ordinary remote control? > > Karen didn't know, but the set was pretty old (it had come with the > > apartment), and it might have had one once. > > > > That was all we needed to know. Prior to the early 1980s, most TV > > remote controls communicated with the set via ultrasonic sound-- > > sound too high-pitched for the human ear to hear. Typically these > > devices worked by striking a series of metal bars with a tiny hammer. > > There was usually an audible click, but the frequencies that actually > > did the job were inaudible harmonics. (You acoustics buffs will know > > what I'm talking about.) Obviously you don't need a remote control > > box to bang metal together, although getting the right frequencies is > > a bit hit-and-miss. > > > > A call to the folks at Zenith, which introduced the first ultrasonic > > remote control in 1956, confirmed that there had been occasional > > reports of kids switching channels by spilling pennies onto the floor > > from their piggy banks. We had also heard of people switching on TVs > > by jingling their keys. When Karen told us someone had turned her set > > on by jingling keys too, we concluded the Slinky was mimicking a long- > > lost ultrasonic remote control. > > > > Unfortunately for those of you who were looking forward to a pleasant > > evening of experimenting on your own (why stop with Slinkies? why not > > anvils and sledgehammers, Caribbean steel drums, or samurai swords?), > > ultrasonic remote controls are now obsolete. They've been supplanted > > by infrared (invisible light) technology, which is better suited to > > conveying the complex digital information needed to operate today's > > plethora of TV controls. Nothing fun ever lasts. > > > > WHEN WILL I LEARN? > > > > Dear Cecil: > > > > Recently you put down an anonymous writer who asked, "How come when > > you hold a chopstick in your teeth and pluck it, the TV screen > > shimmies? Nothing else shimmies." You ascribed the effect to heavy > > metal poisoning. Well, Cece, I think you dismissed the question > > prematurely, without trying it. This effect does occur and results > > from a vibration of the eyes (connected to the tooth bone) at a > > frequency near that of the vertical scan rate on the TV, producing a > > visible modulation effect of shimmying, speaking vernacularly. The > > other objects in the visual field may appear slightly fuzzy, but they > > don't shimmer. Chopsticks are fine, but if you want to see the effect > > more clearly, vibrate your jaw or head with an electric vibrator > > using different speeds while viewing TV. Hope this shakes you. Find > > that letter and apologize. --Jim S., Dallas > > > > Dear Jim: > > > > I can't stand it. Every time I rummage through the circular file > > looking for a letter exemplifying the depths to which the Teeming > > Millions have sunk--believe me, you'd feel the same impulse if you > > had this job--I come up with somebody who's tapped into some lost > > truth of physics. As a matter of fact, I did try this silly stunt-- > > once. But not being the kind of guy who believes in doing it with the > > shades drawn, I used a well-lit room, which made the effect a lot > > less noticeable. Having returned to the (darkened) lab, I find that, > > sho 'nuff, the screen does shimmy. To be more precise, it looks as > > though it had turned into a jiggling sheet of Jell-O. Very bizarre. > > Had we discovered this in the 60s it might have replaced the lava > > lamp. > > > > A ripple effect of this sort is characteristic of interference > > between two wavefronts, in this case the chopstick- (or spoon- or > > crunchy candy-) induced vibration in your skull and the flicker of > > the TV. The precise mechanism of this interference I leave to the > > grad students to figure out, but it happens all right. > > > > --CECIL ADAMS > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > -- > --Max H., moderator Freecycle Olney, MD, Freecycle Rockville >
