Awesome Cultural Exposure of the Day: 19th Century Entertainment edition

Do-it-yourself x-rays used to be a thing. At least for the bored and rich.

DIY x-rays were a mechanical spectacle of the late 19th Century that rivaled the phonograph, Diorama shows, and early cinema. I think I would want my own x-ray machine if I didn't think I would die from radiation poisoning or cancer. I can't imagine seeing the x-ray as a new invention.

Wired Science has a post about a recent exhibit at San Fransico's Museum of Modern Art with some awesome pictures: X-Ray Discovery Sparked 19th-Century DIY Craze.

Film this makes me think of: The Prestige*. I love newfangled inventions!

The 19th Century: A time of invention and great mustaches.

*note: the book is way weird and not as interesting, but both are equally creepy and 19th Century magiciantastic.

Awesome Cultural Exposure of the Day: Humorous Physicist Edition

Today's BYU forum featured physicist Dr. Brian Greene of string theory fame. I became a fan my junior year of high school when I saw the PBS NOVA special called The Elegant Universe.* You could probably point to Brian Greene for any pop cultural reference of string theory since he makes the information so accessible. Anyone who is really excited about science and explains it well is automatically great in my book.** And if you're actually funny, even better.*** My favorite moment was the beginning of his speech when he got into character (the introducer mentioned Brian Greene's work in such films as Frequency) and stated one of his lines: "Hey, that's a good question." It just got more awesome from there as he recounted the history of how we think of space and time. Maybe I'll actually read one of his books someday...

Plus, this picture is adorable.

*You should totally watch it online, it's fascinating.
**Bill Nye, I'm looking at you.
***"Let's Talk About Stress" is the greatest parody song ever created, if only because of the source material.