Meteor Over Midwest

Why Not by Oculus+Habent · 2003-03-28 05:43 · Score: 4, Funny

So why do astronomers always compare the size of meteors to Volkswagen bugs?

Perhaps you would prefer an Isetta.

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That what was all this school was for... to teach us how to solve our own problems. -- janeowit

Re:Why Not by SpaceLifeForm · 2003-03-28 05:50 · Score: 4, Funny

The VW bugs are used as a comparison because they have been around as long as meteors and last nearly as long too.

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Re:Why Not by neuroticia · 2003-03-28 06:07 · Score: 5, Insightful

Actually, it's because the VW Bug is a common object in American culture, and probably elsewhere in the world as well. When you say "VW Bug", it doesn't take a whole lot of scrabbling around in ones memory to come up with an appropriate mental picture of how large the asteroid is. If someone said 'The size of a Toyota Camry', it would be a bit more difficult--and "The size of a small car" is a tad too open to interpretation. Because the design of the bug (size-wise) has remained consistent for a LONG time, the mental image people get will be consistent with the image astronomers/the media want people to get.

Most people can relate better to an image of "A meteor the size of a volkswagon bug impacted with the moon" rather than "A x ton meteor impacted with the moon". The relationship to a physical object that most people have encountered in their lifetime rather than an abstract measurement of weight, elicits the desired emotional response from people. Awe. If you say "A x-ton meteor", it won't be quite as impressive as saying "A meteor the size of the empire state building", no matter how many tons "x" is.

For abstract numbers, people need a sense of scale. "The new budget for executive toenail clippers is equivalent to the salaries of 1200 secretaries." It's more likely to bring about anger at the stupidity of the budget than a number is.

-Sara
Re:Why Not by Mysticalfruit · 2003-03-28 06:12 · Score: 4, Funny

Duh... After the scientists made contact with aliens, they decided to standardize all measurements on the VolksWagen Bug, shorted as VWB.

Hence, when an alien vessel parks in earth orbit, it's size is referred to in cublic VWB's.

Hence, smaller objects are referred to in terms of they're size as a percentage of 1 VWB. Since a VWB was about 900 pounds (I think) then I'm 1/4.5ths of a VWB in terms of mass...

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Yes Francis, the world has gone crazy.
Re:Why Not by fishbowl · 2003-03-28 06:26 · Score: 4, Interesting

It would not surprise me in the least to hear of VWOA issuing cease and desist orders against the use of "Volkswagen" and "Bug".

This isn't even a joke.

I understand that corporations are obligated to defend their trademarks, but I disagree that they are forced into the brutally hostile position, like in VW's case, attacking the people who have made the whole aircooled vw hobby possible, making aftermarket parts, doing rallys, publishing magazines, that sort of thing.

I've been a VW enthusiast for a very long time. My first car was a beetle, in 1979. I've owned 7 vw's of various types. But VW's trademark escapades were the main influence against me buying a Passat. I won't touch VW ever again, after what they've done to the hobbyists in the name of "trademark protection".

I really do not believe there's any law that obligates you to be an asshole. That's just how it is interpreted by people who need an excuse to play bully.

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-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
Re:Why Not by Scaba · 2003-03-28 07:12 · Score: 4, Funny

Hmmm, and I thought they compared them to VW Bugs because that's all scientists can afford to drive.
Re:Why Not by fitten · 2003-03-28 07:21 · Score: 5, Funny

I agree.

Should we have a new metric measurement? The Bug? :) We could have milliBug, centiBug, Bug, kiloBug, etc!
Re:Why Not by JahToasted · 2003-03-28 07:29 · Score: 4, Funny

So how long before Bush decides invades Germany for building VWMDs?
Re:Why Not by Zenjive · 2003-03-28 07:31 · Score: 3, Funny

No, you see, it's because a VW bug seems kinda harmless. Like, if they said it was the size of a Lincoln Navigator people would freak out. Or if they used the example of a car of relative size to a VW bug, like, say a Pinto, people would have visions of gas tanks exploding. :end sarcasm:

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A vacuum is a hell of a lot better than some of the stuff that nature replaces it with. - Tennessee Williams

Meteor strikes not that uncommon by Drunken+Coward · 2003-03-28 05:44 · Score: 4, Interesting

Meteor strikes like these are not as uncommon as one may think, it's just that the information is rarely released in such a public fashion. Who wants to release news that may create mass hysteria?

The issue is that the scientific community has chosen to withhold any information regarding the potential threat of meteors for this very reason. With more public acknowledgement of the problem, we could develop something like the Patriot missile defense system for extraterrestrial bodies so things like this would not happen. The trillions of dollars spent on SDI and later the Patriot system would have been better spent on such protection.

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Have you been stalked by Seth today?

Re:Meteor strikes not that uncommon by Anonymous Coward · 2003-03-28 05:45 · Score: 5, Funny

Who wants to release news that may create mass hysteria?

Ohh me me me - pick me please please pleeeeease me me memememememe!!!
Re:Meteor strikes not that uncommon by nomadicGeek · 2003-03-28 06:10 · Score: 4, Insightful

Ok, I'm calling bullshit on this one.

Trillions of dollars? You realize that the US economy is about $10 trillion a year. Do you really think that we spent that much on the patriot system and SDI research?

Secondly: Maybe I am really uninformed. I can't remember anyone that I know every being hurt my a meteor. I can't even remember any friend of a friend type stories. Is it really that serious? Worth spending a significant portion of the GDP (trillions) on?

Maybe I am just nieve and my grandma was really hit by a meteor and didn't have a stroke. Maybe the stroke was caused by a meteor?
Re:Meteor strikes not that uncommon by Sgt+York · 2003-03-28 06:32 · Score: 5, Informative

Well, it's rare, but it does happen....
Injuries were light.

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There is a reason for everything. Sometimes that reason just sucks.
Re:Meteor strikes not that uncommon by MacGod · 2003-03-28 06:34 · Score: 4, Funny

the Patriot missile defense system for extraterrestrial bodies

Why do I feel like there's a Captain Kirk Joke in there? Something to do with missles and alien bodies perhaps?

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"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one " -Albert Einstein
Re:Meteor strikes not that uncommon by DeputySpade · 2003-03-28 06:40 · Score: 5, Funny

Worse yet, they may mistake my volkswagen beetle for a meteor. :P

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Re:Meteor strikes not that uncommon by LMCBoy · 2003-03-28 06:49 · Score: 4, Insightful

Sorry, DC, I'm afraid I don't quite agree with your detective work there...

Meteor strikes like these are not as uncommon as one may think, it's just that the information is rarely released in such a public fashion. Who wants to release news that may create mass hysteria?

Meteor falls are quite rare, actually. There are typically about 50 recorded per year for the entire planet.

Do you really think that stories on meteor falls are being suppressed by the media? Really? I just can't believe that anyone would think that the media would not pounce on such a story. And to give as justification that they are worried about causing mass hysteria is just laughable. (A) the news media lives and breathes by ratings, and disaster stories create high ratings; (B) where is the "mass hysteria" that this event (which the Chicago Tribune so foolishly refused to suppress) caused? There isn't any, because people understand that these are rare events. So when they occur, they are regarded as an interesting novelty, not as a portend of coming doom.

With more public acknowledgement of the problem, we could develop something like the Patriot missile defense system for extraterrestrial bodies so things like this would not happen.

God, what a phenomenal waste of effort and money that would be. Who gives a damn about this class of meteor fall? Are you truly suggesting the government invest trillions so that some dude's bedroom mirror doesn't get broken by a falling rock? Get some perspective, man, there are far more dangerous things to worry about than falling VW-sized rocks.

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Liberal (adj.): Free from bigotry; open to progress; tolerant of others.
Re:Meteor strikes not that uncommon by guacamolefoo · 2003-03-28 06:51 · Score: 5, Funny

Yes, we should spend money on a metor defense system since they do kill almost 0 people per year.

Assume that:

1. A meteor (of catastrophic size) will strike the Earth every 60 million years or so; and
2. Said meteor would wipe out most of the population if not diverted or destroyed;
3. Assuming a human perceives his life as being worth $5,000,000 in constant dollars (about what Kip Viscusi came up with in a study a number of years ago); and
4. Assuming a population of 10,000,000,000 earthlings, then:

1. The value of human life is approximately 50,000,000,000,000,000, or 50 quadrillion dollars.

2. The chance of being hit by a catastrophic meteor in a given year is 1/60,000,000

3. The average annual cost of a meteorite premium for "Earth insurance" should be about 50,000,000,000,000,000/60,000,000, or $833,333,333.33 in today's dollars.

Conclusion:

A small price to pay on a yearly basis.

Action plan:

Contact FEMA and ask if humanity can purchase a meteor rider for its flood insurance policy, which was issued by God (tm) to some Jews a few thousand years back.

GF.

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Lots of petrified grits

Ford Pintos by Lxy · 2003-03-28 05:47 · Score: 5, Funny

Why not a Ford Pinto?

They explode when they crash....

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There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
:wq

Volkswagen bugs? Use real units! by CrystalFalcon · 2003-03-28 05:48 · Score: 5, Funny

Volkswagen? That unit is meaningless to me. How many Volkswagen bugs are there in one Library of Congress?

VWs are popular by Rinikusu · 2003-03-28 05:48 · Score: 4, Informative

Because there are probably more VW's on the road in just about any country you can imagine. Tell someone something was the size of a VW Bug and an image instantly comes to mind (not to mention that being an highly "odd" shape, it helps me conjure an irregular surfaced object). For example "It was the size of a VW bug" as opposed to "It was an irregular object approximately 2 meters by 5 meters by 2 meters", which is more helpful to the average person, even someone in the science fields?

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If you were me, you'd be good lookin'. - six string samurai

Relax... by jpsst34 · 2003-03-28 05:50 · Score: 4, Funny

It's not just meteors that get compared to volkswagon bugs, those little things are used in all kinds of analogies.

"You see, Bruce, I like to pick up girls on the rebound from a disappointing relationship. They're much more in need of solace and they're fairly open to suggestion. And, I use that to fuck them some place very uncomfortable."

"What, like the back of a Volkswagen?"

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How are you going to keep them down on the farm once they've seen Karl Hungus?

Corvair (was Re:Ford Pintos) by pergamon · 2003-03-28 05:55 · Score: 3, Funny

Or the Corvair: Unsafe plummeting through any atmosphere

New Midwest slogan for farms that got hit... by Gorphrim · 2003-03-28 05:57 · Score: 5, Funny

Move over bacon...now there's something meteor.

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Queens of the Stone Age - they rule

Explanation by Joe+the+Lesser · 2003-03-28 05:57 · Score: 5, Funny

"I thought, 'Is it God? Is it an attack? Are we going to die?' The light freaked me out. It felt really funny, like it went through me," she said.

In a statement released later, God denied any involvement in the meteor attack on Chicago, saying he was busy blessing and damning souls at the time. No other supernaturals have commented on the charges, although the leader of the Vulcans stated that attributing the attack to them would, of course, be highly illogical.

Paranormal scientists currently are investigating the Roman and Greek Dieties for involvment, as they could not be found anywhere, perhaps in hiding.

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"I only speak the truth"
Karma: null(Mostly affected by an unassigned variable)

Certainly does seem that way, doesn't it... by duckHole · 2003-03-28 06:02 · Score: 3, Informative

"So why do astronomers always compare the size of meteors to Volkswagen bugs?"

I was skeptical, but:
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20010528/mete or.html
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/1999/f eb/m14-013.shtml
http://www.theblob.info/xtras/kecksburg.pdf

Just once... by pergamon · 2003-03-28 06:03 · Score: 5, Funny

...I'd like to hear a report of an actual Volkswagen Bug entering the atmosphere from space and crashing. I imagine the report would go something like this:

A Volkswagen Bug estimated to be the size of a 'meteor' exploded over the Midwest around midnight yesterday morning. The resulting small pieces of engine and other parts hit homes causing some damage. The largest piece found was the steering wheel.

Today a Volkswagen Bug, approximately the size of a meteorite,

Pointy Haired Boss by sfled · 2003-03-28 06:04 · Score: 5, Funny

From the story:

Garza said he was in bed when heard his dog barking and what sounded like thunder. He got out of bed and was downstairs when the meteor hit.

This morning, he called his boss and told him he wasn't coming into work today. "I told him what happened, and he said, 'Okay, but don't use that excuse again.'"

Now, *that* is a true-blue, dyed-in-the-wool, head-up-the-ass boss!

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I'm not really a web designer, I just play one on the Internet.

Great Reminder. by pete-classic · 2003-03-28 06:08 · Score: 5, Interesting

"I thought, 'Is it God? Is it an attack? Are we going to die?' The light freaked me out. It felt really funny, like it went through me," she said.

I need to see something like this, from time to time. It reminds me that, on an evolutionary time scale, we just stepped out of the caves a few moments ago.

I'm not saying the human race is doomed. But we do still have one hell of a long road ahead of us. I'm going to read some Sci-Fi now.

-Peter

Re:Great Reminder. by crustBro · 2003-03-28 06:48 · Score: 4, Interesting

me and a bunch of friends were out on a week long mountain biking trip in the wilderness Moab, Utah the third night out we were treated to the full lunar eclipse that occured while the Hale-Bopp Comet was visible we were toally awed by the celestial display one of my friends commented that "A few thousand years ago, this would have been taken as an omen. Perhaps an omen of the end of the earth!" we all chuckled and got a bit smug about how far we've come as a civilization five days later we returned from the wilderness, switched on the TV in the motel room and were treated to the news of the Heaven's Gate mass suicide in Rancho Santa Fe (about 20 minutes from where we all grew up). We had to re-evaluate our smug attitude about how far our civilization has progressed. Just stepped out of the cave. Indeed.

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Entropy sucks.

Pictures of it by alien88 · 2003-03-28 06:10 · Score: 5, Informative

Nbc 5 has some nice pictures of the meteor. The slideshow is really cool. Spaceweather.com also has some more information concerning it.

I was one of the people that felt and heard the sonic boom it created, my sister witnessed it in the sky.

1728 by cybercuzco · 2003-03-28 06:11 · Score: 4, Informative

How many Volkswagen bugs are there in one Library of Congress?

1728

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Scientists can be Wierd by arloguthrie · 2003-03-28 06:19 · Score: 4, Funny

From the Boston.com article:

''For me, it's a dream come true,'' [astronomy professor Paul Sipiera] said. ''I always tell my wife that when I die, I hope I get hit in the head by a meteorite flying through the roof and it came pretty close,'' he said.

To which his wife certainly sighed and replied, "Damn."

Do other scientists feel this way? Does a marine biologist hope to be devoured by sharks? Does a physicist hope an aberration in quantum mechanics obliterates his or her body? Does an anthropologist secretly yearn to be a headhunter's next prize?

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Cheese it! It's the FEDS!

Bug = 1 ton by goodmanj · 2003-03-28 06:22 · Score: 3, Informative

So why do astronomers always compare the size of meteors to Volkswagen bugs?

Because a Bug is an easily-identifiable object which weighs very close to one ton.

These days, since the New Beetle weighs over 1.5 tons, one might use a Mini for comparison. But the Old Bug has become traditional.

Keeping my rocks by DeadBugs · 2003-03-28 06:27 · Score: 3, Informative

from article on CNN....

"Park Forest Police Department said about 60 pieces of space rock ranging from gravel-sized to softball-sized were brought in to the police station."

Have you seen what these are going for on EBAY. Sell, Sell, Sell

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http://www.kubuntu.org/

VW Bug Size Ratio by Nutcase · 2003-03-28 06:31 · Score: 4, Funny

So why do astronomers always compare the size of meteors to Volkswagen bugs?

Because, interestingly enough, the VW Beetle is the only current automobile which has a size which "The Size of Texas" is evenly divisible by. It just sounds better than saying 1/22349938th the size of Texas.

As for Bug comparisons... by pjt48108 · 2003-03-28 06:37 · Score: 4, Funny

"So why do astronomers always compare the size of meteors to Volkswagen bugs"

Have you ever seen an astronomer's paycheck? There's a reason they never compare anything to a Crown Victoria or an SUV, though you might see comparisons made to 'big as two Bugs' in such cases.

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Mmmmmm... Bold, yet refreshing!

Under-appreciated movie by Dr.+Evil · 2003-03-28 06:48 · Score: 3, Interesting

Back when Armageddon, Deep Impact, and other Americans-save-the-world propeganda was flying around, there was a great little Canadian film called "Last night"

The situation is... a little while ago scientists figured out the world was going to end. They tried to do something about it, but realized it was utterly futile. People panicked a bit after that... but that didn't change anything. Yep, the world is going to end and there is absolutely nothing anyone can do about it. It's great :-)

http://users.aol.com/aleong1631/lastnight.html

What makes it extra beautiful for the geeky crowd is that it doesn't even touch the sci-fi aspects. It just ignores that stuff... they don't even really get into why or how the world is going to end. It's just some un-discussed astronomical disaster.

Oh, and the review is a little off... it's not that the world ends at the end of the millenium, it is that they adjust the clocks and calendars so that the world ends at that point. No trite, sucky 'fate' or religious apocolypse overtones...

In other news... by docbrown42 · 2003-03-28 06:55 · Score: 3, Funny

Bruce Willis wasn't immediately available for comment.

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Graphic design services
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I saw it too, and have to admit I freaked by Mr.FreakyBig · 2003-03-28 07:00 · Score: 3, Interesting

I was driving home in the south west suburb of Naperville, and saw the sky light up. It was cloudy, so I could not see where the light came from, but it was intensly bright.

I have to admit it made me think we'd been nuked. But then the light went away a few seconds later. I only heard a bit of a rumble over the roar of my 4 banger running at 3500 RPM at 80 mph. If I had not been going so fast, I would have stopped to take a look around, and soak up some good radiation if was a nuke.

All I can say is I'm glad that some local news made it past all the Iraq coverage.

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