Comments on: WWII "war sand" on the beaches of Normandy http://boingboing.net/2012/08/13/wwii-war-sand-on-the-beach.html Brain candy for Happy Mutants Sat, 18 May 2013 08:31:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: OoerictoO http://boingboing.net/2012/08/13/wwii-war-sand-on-the-beach.html#comment-1507386 OoerictoO Tue, 14 Aug 2012 19:26:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=176225#comment-1507386 wtf is that, what looks like a perfect sphere 100um across, upper left? edit: NM. RTFA, and they purport the spheres ARE the steel, possibly melted and cooled. i wouldn't think the shrapnel would errode/rust that way. wtf is that, what looks like a perfect sphere 100um across, upper left?
edit: NM. RTFA, and they purport the spheres ARE the steel, possibly melted and cooled. i wouldn’t think the shrapnel would errode/rust that way.

]]> By: cap cavern http://boingboing.net/2012/08/13/wwii-war-sand-on-the-beach.html#comment-1506817 cap cavern Tue, 14 Aug 2012 13:23:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=176225#comment-1506817 I grow up in Normandy by the sea . I remember ,as a kid,  looking for "little orange spaghetti .This "spaghetti" were hard like a seashell . So we would break them to form letters and light them . Even wet it would burn intensively and leave a black mark . it was cordite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordite . They were still easy to find in the 80's and 90's . I grow up in Normandy by the sea . I remember ,as a kid,  looking for “little orange spaghetti .This “spaghetti” were hard like a seashell . So we would break them to form letters and light them . Even wet it would burn intensively and leave a black mark . it was cordite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordite . They were still easy to find in the 80′s and 90′s .

]]> By: penguinchris http://boingboing.net/2012/08/13/wwii-war-sand-on-the-beach.html#comment-1506532 penguinchris Tue, 14 Aug 2012 03:14:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=176225#comment-1506532 I was going to say - that book sounds awesome both for its content (but hey, I'm a geologist) and also because it takes a seemingly boring topic so seriously and earnestly. You <i>know</i> a book like that is going to be interesting. I was going to say – that book sounds awesome both for its content (but hey, I’m a geologist) and also because it takes a seemingly boring topic so seriously and earnestly. You know a book like that is going to be interesting.

]]> By: GlenBlank http://boingboing.net/2012/08/13/wwii-war-sand-on-the-beach.html#comment-1506522 GlenBlank Tue, 14 Aug 2012 02:58:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=176225#comment-1506522 Anyone interested in the composition of beach sand should take a look at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0760331987/ref=rdr_ext_tmb" rel="nofollow">A Grain of Sand: Nature's Secret Wonder</a>, Dr. Gary Greenberg's  stunningly gorgeous (and surprisingly educational!) book of sand-grain microphotography. There's a whole world of gemlike wonder and biogenic surprises to be seen when you look very, very closely at what looks like "plain ol' sand." Anyone interested in the composition of beach sand should take a look at A Grain of Sand: Nature’s Secret Wonder, Dr. Gary Greenberg’s  stunningly gorgeous (and surprisingly educational!) book of sand-grain microphotography.

There’s a whole world of gemlike wonder and biogenic surprises to be seen when you look very, very closely at what looks like “plain ol’ sand.”

]]> By: Halloween_Jack http://boingboing.net/2012/08/13/wwii-war-sand-on-the-beach.html#comment-1506303 Halloween_Jack Mon, 13 Aug 2012 23:28:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=176225#comment-1506303 Reminds me of the section in China Mieville's <i>The Scar</i> in which they land on the island (the one with the anophelii) which is littered with the remains of ancient machines; a close examination of the red sand on the beach shows that it's composed of billions of nearly-microscopic rusting gears. Reminds me of the section in China Mieville’s The Scar in which they land on the island (the one with the anophelii) which is littered with the remains of ancient machines; a close examination of the red sand on the beach shows that it’s composed of billions of nearly-microscopic rusting gears.

]]> By: Teller http://boingboing.net/2012/08/13/wwii-war-sand-on-the-beach.html#comment-1506299 Teller Mon, 13 Aug 2012 23:18:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=176225#comment-1506299  Agree. Read "Cod" and "Salt." May as well read "Sand."  Agree. Read “Cod” and “Salt.” May as well read “Sand.”

]]> By: Jay Parser http://boingboing.net/2012/08/13/wwii-war-sand-on-the-beach.html#comment-1506276 Jay Parser Mon, 13 Aug 2012 22:54:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=176225#comment-1506276 Boo, hiss, wink. It is an absolutely excellent book about one of the most important substances that exists. At this very moment you're typing on sand, across sand, and to sand. Boo, hiss, wink. It is an absolutely excellent book about one of the most important substances that exists. At this very moment you’re typing on sand, across sand, and to sand.

]]> By: fergus1948 http://boingboing.net/2012/08/13/wwii-war-sand-on-the-beach.html#comment-1506094 fergus1948 Mon, 13 Aug 2012 20:35:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=176225#comment-1506094 This would make great vacation reading together with 'A Complete History of Rust' and 'Dandruff; Its Cultural Implications in a Post Industrial Society.' This would make great vacation reading together with ‘A Complete History of Rust’ and ‘Dandruff; Its Cultural Implications in a Post Industrial Society.’

]]> By: Ipo http://boingboing.net/2012/08/13/wwii-war-sand-on-the-beach.html#comment-1505960 Ipo Mon, 13 Aug 2012 19:28:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=176225#comment-1505960 I remember that game.   I remember that game.  

]]> By: Chairman MAO http://boingboing.net/2012/08/13/wwii-war-sand-on-the-beach.html#comment-1505938 Chairman MAO Mon, 13 Aug 2012 19:14:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=176225#comment-1505938 It is a very fascinating read, as is his blog, Through the Sandglass http://throughthesandglass.typepad.com/through_the_sandglass/ It is a very fascinating read, as is his blog, Through the Sandglass http://throughthesandglass.typepad.com/through_the_sandglass/

]]> By: Conan Librarian http://boingboing.net/2012/08/13/wwii-war-sand-on-the-beach.html#comment-1505881 Conan Librarian Mon, 13 Aug 2012 18:34:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=176225#comment-1505881 "Like sand in an hourglass, so are these the shrapnels of our howitzers." -Erwin Rommel “Like sand in an hourglass, so are these the shrapnels of our howitzers.”

-Erwin Rommel

]]> By: Teller http://boingboing.net/2012/08/13/wwii-war-sand-on-the-beach.html#comment-1505880 Teller Mon, 13 Aug 2012 18:32:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=176225#comment-1505880 I used to think shrapnel in battle was composed entirely of shards of metal but it also includes pieces of human bone, a foul discovery. I used to think shrapnel in battle was composed entirely of shards of metal but it also includes pieces of human bone, a foul discovery.

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