Index T-Z
red number --- takes you to an archived story here at this web site, complete with video links and journal citations. Once there, scroll down or use Ctrl-F to search.
blue number --- takes you to a PDF file of support material (video links and journal citations) for the stories published in the book. Once there, scroll down or use Ctrl-F to search.
T
Table, balancing a wobbly, 1.268
Tablecloth trick, 1.164, 1.230
video of me, The Tonight Show
Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse, 2.4, 2.4
Tae-kwon-do punch, 1.45
Takeoff illusion, 1.17
Tang grain behavior, 2.106
Tape, glow, 5.17, 5.17
Tape measure, dangerous when retracting, 1.154
Tattoos, magnetic effects, 5.40, 5.40, 5.42
Taylor, Charles, gyroscope vehicle, 1.219
Tea
leaves collected at cup's center, 2.25
pouring from rotating platform (Coriolis force), 1.242
roll patterns in, 2.90
secondary flow, 2.25
sloshing control, 2.199
Teapot
self-pouring, Royle's, 2.198
teapot effect, stream doubling back on spout, 2.51
whistling, 3.3
Tears of strong wine, 2.88
Teeshirt optics, 6.86, 6.159
Teeth
thermal properties of fillings, 4.53
tingling of fillings, electrical, 5.27
Telegraph lines, magnetic effects due to solar storms, 5.47
Telephone wire sounds, 3.2, 3.2
Television snow illusion, 7.30
Tennis, 1.79, 2.13
Termite mounds, temperatures and ventilation schemes, 4.83
Tesla coils, 5.62
Thames River tunnel, champagne pressure, 4.72
The Birds, movie, bird flocking, 2.166
Thermal expansion and contraction, 4.53
Thermal inversion
elephant calls, 3.10
long-distant sounds, 3.10
mirage, 6.30
sky colors, 6.5
Thermal stress to open wine bottle, 4.113
Thermoremanent magnetism (TRM), 5.39
Thin-film optics (iridescence, color shifting)
anticounterfeiting currency, 6.119, 6.119
cooking pans, 6.114
herring, 6.115
meat, 6.135
Morpho butterfly, 6.115
oil slick, 6.114
paints and inks, 6.119, 6.119
plants, 6.118
soap film, 6.114
Thixotropic fluids, 2.58, 2.58
Throat singing, 3.6
Throw-in, football (soccer), 1.162, 1.228
Throwing cards, 2.10
Throwing hot water into very cold air, 4.16, 4.16
Thrust SSC, land speed record, 3.54, 6.28
Thunder
lightning thunder, 3.56
winter thunder, 4.74
Tia Maria patterns, 2.89, 2.89
Tibetan singing bowls, 2.74
Tides, 2.33
Bay of Fundy, 2.34
tidal bores, 2.32
Tiger beetles, colors due to surface structures, 6.115
Tigers, roaring, 3.10
Tightrope walking, 1.91
Tinnitus, noise induced, 3.30
Tippy tops, 1.106
Tires
balancing, 1.176
distortion, 1.151
electric conduction, 5.9
explosions, 4.114
road noise turned into music, 3.88
squealing, 3.42
Toad, catapult-like propulsion of tongue, 1.27
Toast, tumbling, 1.99, 1.99
video of me, The Daily Planet
Toilet paper tearing, 1.93
Toilets (see also Bathroom physics)
blowing raspberries, 3.90
flatulence, 3.89, 3.92, 3.93
functioning, 2.41
toilet paper tearing, 1.93
toilet stall electric field, 5.52
whoopee cushion, 3.89
Tomahawks, 1.29
Tomatoes, speckle on, 6.124
Tongue
catapult-like propulsion of toad's tongue, 1.27
frozen to cold metal pole, 4.26, 4.26
stuck in bottle by pressure difference, 4.73
Tonic water glow, 5.19, 5.19
Tooth filling, electrical effect, 5.27
Toothpick trick, 1.251
Tops,
eggs, spinning, 1.107, 1.107
inverting top, 1.106, 1.106
personalities, 1.104
tippy top, 1.106, 1.106
Tornados
formation, 2.36, 2.37, 2.36
green skies, 6.12
looking up into interior (and living), 2.37
sparking, 5.29
Tortilla chip sounds, fresh versus old, 3.52
Total internal reflection
diamond's sparkle ruined by grime, 6.94
fish's view of external world, 6.84
magic trick, 6.84
Totems, Chinese balancing, 1.239
Towel popping sounds, 3.59
Tower, Lego, 1.272
Toys
aircannon vortex, 2.40, 2.40
balloon
buoyancy motion in turning car, 2.131
video of me, The Daily Planet
bursting, 1.212
inflation, 4.70
in air stream, 2.144
ball suspended in air stream, 2.144
boomerang, 2.9
bullroarer, Australian, 3.81
chain collisions in adjacent pendulums (Newton's cradle), 1.42
corrugated tubes, sound emission, 3.39
diabolo, 1.108
domino
amplifier, 1.68, 1.68
chain reaction, 1.68, 1.68
human chain reaction, 1.68
stacking, 1.68
dunking bird
large, 4.63
normal size, 4.62
possible cult, 4.63
electric train, smallest, 5.61
fiddlestick, 1.160
flying toys modeled on helicopter seeds, 2.11
gomboc, self-righting toy, 1.274
hula hoop, 1.84, 1.84
inverting top, 1.106, 1.106
juggling, 1.25
jumping beans, 1.39, 1.39
kaleidoscope, 6.65
kite, 2.6
lasso, 1.84
leaning tower of blocks, 1.66
Lego blocks
stacking schemes, 1.66
towers (giant), 1.272
Plexiglas, electric discharge paths, 5.18
putt-putt boat, 4.52, 4.52
video of me, The Daily Planet show
radiometer, 4.91, 4.91
rattleback, 1.109, 1.109
rotor on notched stick, 1.161, 1.161
rubber band thermo machine, 4.86
self-righting gomboc toy, 1.274
Slinky
falling, 1.249
stairs, descending, 1.65
treadmill, 1.65
whistler, acoustic, 3.78
Super Ball, 1.76, 1.76
tippy top, 1.106, 1.106
too quick to slide, 1.156
top,
rotation, 1.104
inverting, 1.106, 1.106
tube, singing corrugated, 3.39
WaterWow! coloring book, transparent when wet, 6.86
yo-yo, 1.85-1.86
Traffic
platoons, 1.2
shock waves, 1.3
Trains
collision, 1.13
electric train, smallest, 5.61
hunting (searching) by wheels, 1.182
jackknifing, 1.72
passing trains, aerodynamics, 2.3, 2.3
rail crossing accidents, 7.59
sonic boom, tunnel, 3.55
train size illusion, danger of, 7.59
train surfing, 1.199
Transformer, electric power lines, 5.47
Transmission lines
AC versus DC argument, 5.22
repairing live lines with helicopter, 5.22, 5.22
Transmission through envelope, magic trick, 6.86, 6.86
Transmission through shower door (nude-in-the-shower effect), 6.88, 6.90
Transparent animals, 6.90, 6.90
Transparent skin, 6.90, 6.90
Transparent when wet, 6.86, 6.86
Trebuchet, siege machine, 1.31
Trees
falling, dangerous motion direction of lower end, 1.69
falling leaves and seeds, 2.11, 2.11
oscillating in wind, 1.132
water flow in, 2.136
Triboelectricity,
razorback, Martian and kitchen, 5.53
sweaters, playgrounds, surgery, 5.8
Tritium gun sights, 6.161
Truck,
falls onto car, 1.229
in strong wind, 1.227
Knight Rider (television) stunt, car driven into moving truck, 1.226
loading and unloading, novel ways, 1.164
Tug-of-war, loss of fingers, 1.173
Tumbleweeds, 2.186
Tunnel
aerodynamics of trains, 2.3, 2.3
fire, 4.95
pressure effects with champagne, 4.72
sonic booms from trains, 3.55
through Earth's center, 1.141, 1.141
Turkey, cooking, deep frying dangers, 4.80
Turtles, self-righting, 1.274
Twilight duration, 6.142
Twilight purple light, 6.145
Twining plants, 1.207
Twinkies, glow in UV light, 6.134
Twinkling stars, 6.32
Twin towers collapse, 1.48
Tyndall figures in ice, 4.22
U
Ultraviolet light and tee-shirts, 6.159
Ultraviolet, seeing in, 6.154
Umbrella fabric, diffraction by, 6.104
Underwater hearing, effect on perceived direction, 3.26
Underwater vision,
Anableps anableps, fish, simultaneous air and water vision, 7.19
fish seeing fisherman, 6.85
humans, penguins, crocodiles, 7.18
Unicycle riders, 1.116
Upside down racing, cars on the ceiling, 2.1, 2.1
Upward streamers, lightning, 5.1, 5.7, 5.1
V
V flight formation of birds, 2.18, 2.18
V-1 and V-2 rockets
flipping by British pilots, 2.20, 1.273
sounds (sonic boom), 3.54
Vacuum
collapse of railway tank car, 4.54
human exposure, 4.5, 4.5
van Gogh, Vincent
Red Vineyard at Arles, 6.47, 7.6
Starry Night, 7.6,
Sunflowers and bee vision, 7.54
Variable displays, 6.109
Varnish, optics, 6.131
Vaseline in UV light, 6.134
Vee formation of birds in flght, 2.18, 2.18
Vegetables, musical, 3.91
Veins, blue, 6.123
Velvet, optics of,
black velvet gloss, 6.131
green turns to red, 6.132
Venus and the visual blister effect, 7.27
Venus, spokes seen on, due to blood vessels in eye, 7.4
Vernal equinox and eggs, 1.138, 1.138
Verne, Jules, starting fire with ice lens, 6.93
V formation, birds, 2.18, 2.18
Videos, fake
catching a melon with your face, 2.169
cell phones popping popcorn, 4.101
liquid mountaineering, 2.169
Nike football commercial, 1.78
Vikings
Greenland spotted via mirage, 6.30
navigation using polarized sky light, 6.127
Vinyl record reflection patterns, 6.107
Violins
bowing, 3.34
flashing (illusion), 3.35
Viscoelastic creep, 1.142
Viscosity
ballpoint pen ink, 2.58
butter, 2.58
cornstarch slurry, 2.58, 2.58, 4.99
glass flow, church windows, 2.57
ketchup, 2.58
liquid rope coils, 2.62
one-coat paint, 2.58
rod climbing rods, 2.61
silicone putty (Silly Putty), 2.58
soup reversal, 2.59
Vision
also see Illusions
blind spot and decapitation, 7.3, 7.3
bright and dark lines, tear layers, 7.5
butterfly, 6.117, 6.117
dashing specks, 7.4
fisherman's view of fish, 6.84
fish's view of fisherman, 6.85
floaters, 7.5, 7.5
gray network upon waking, 7.4
latency, depth with motion, 7.23
mineral eyes, 7.51
moth, 6.117, 6.117
pinhole reading, 7.33, 7.33
radial lines, 7.5
reading in the dark, 7.15, 7.15
reflecting eyes, 7.17
rhino-optical effect, 7.21
snowblindness, 6.55
underwater
Anableps anableps, 7.19
crocodiles, 7.18
penguins, 7.18
swimmer, 7.18
Visual latency (depth with motion), 7.23
Volcano
Krakatoa
infrasound wave world wide, 3.74
noctilucent clouds (luminous night clouds), first appearance, 6.59
sandblasting cockpit window, 6.105
shock waves, 3.54
sky colors, 6.8
sound waves hopping, 3.18
sparking, 5.30, 5.30
Vortex
bath tub, 2.23, 2.23
bottle, 2.168
cannon, classroom to very large, 2.40, 2.40
coffee cup, 2.24
dolphin, 2.40
Dresden WWII bombing, 4.82
dust devils, 2.39 2.39
fire devil, 4.82
fog devils, 2.39
large-scale, entire lake draining into a mine, 2.23
Miller Lite vortex bottle, 2.168
ring, 2.40
steam devils, 2.39
tea leaves and olives, 2.25
tornado, 2.36
tornado, looking up into, 2.37
waterspouts, 2.38
Voss-Andreae, Julian, sculpture, 6.77
W
Wakes, water, ducks to aircraft carriers, 2.68
Walker, Patrick, tae-kwon-do forward punch, 1.45
Walking, Groucho, 1.259
Walking in space, 4.5
Walking on hot coals, 4.8, 4.9
Walking or running on water,
Criss Angel magic act, 6.89
liquid mountaineering (fake video), 2.169
lizards, 2.42, 2.58, 2.169
water and corn starch slurry, 2.58
water striders, 2.80, 2.85, 2.169
Wallis, Barnes, rotating bombs, dambusters, World War II, 1.94
Wall, climbing by robots, 5.54
Wall, hanging a bottle, 1.221
Wall illusion, 7.58
Wall mirage, 6.28, 6.28
Wall of Death, circus act, 1.211
Wammy doddle toy, 1.161
War
see Weapons (below)
acoustic shadows, Civil War, 3.19, 3.19
airplane shock wave, 3.54, 3.54
Big Bertha, German long range artillery, 1.136
Caesar's escape, 2.165
dambusters, World War II, 1.94, 1.94
explosions heard at long distance, World War I, 3.18
Falkland Islands, long range artillery, 1.136
firestorm, Dresden World War II bombing, 4.82
mushroom clouds, 4.76
protuberances on stealth aircraft absorb radar, 6.117
retroreflectors, landing behind enemy lines, 6.72
smoke screens, World War II, 4.76
sound mirrors, enemy airplane detection, 3.85
V1 flying bombs tipped by Spitfire airplanes, 2.20, 1.273
Washboard road, 1.185, 1.185
Water and block puzzle, 2.164
Water bells in kitchen stream, 2.101
Water balloons, 4.94
Water freezing, sounds, 4.16, 4.16
Waterhouse, John William, mirror reflections in his painting, 6.75
Water, free standing on table (fake video), 2.181
Water, running or walking on,
Criss Angel magic act, 6.89
liquid mountaineering (fake video), 2.169
lizards, 2.42, 2.58, 2.169
water and corn starch slurry, 2.58
water striders, 2.80, 2.85, 2.169
Water sheets in kitchen stream, 2.101
Water striders, 2.80, 2.85, 6.89
Water, weight of, crushing car, 2.191
Water wells and atmospheric pressure, 4.92
Waterfalls,
acoustical resonance, 3.17
falling over Niagara Falls, 1.195
ground oscillations, 2.118
Watering during sunlight and possible burning by light focusing, 6.92
Waterspouts, 2.38
WaterWow!, coloring by making page wet, 6.86
Waves, water
beach cusps, 2.72
Benjamin Franklin, oil, water waves, 2.73
bow wave riding, dolphin, porpoise, 2.70, 2.70
circular pattern in kitchen sink, 2.29
diffraction, 2.66, 2.165
edge waves, 2.71
formation, 2.63
hydraulic jump, 2.29, 2.163
oil and water waves, 2.73
pond resonance, 2.67, 2.67
porpoise bow-wave riding, 2.70, 2.70
rain calming ocean waves, 2.133
rogue waves, 2.64, 2.64
sandbar reflections, 2.132
seiches, 2.67, 2.67
solitary wave, 2.31
surfing, 2.69, 2.69
through narrow opening, 2.66
tidal bore, 2.32
turning toward beach, 2.65
wake patterns, ducks to aircraft carriers, 2.68
waves on falling water stream, 2.100
wave suppression by rain, 2.133
Weapons
Archimedes death ray, 6.81
atlati, 1.27
back splatter, Kennedy assassination, 1.146
bergship (iceberg aircraft carrier), 2.160
Big Bertha and coriolis effect , 1.136
blowgun, 1.244
body armor,
Kelvar, 1.130, 1.130
Linothorax, cloth used by Alexander the Great 1.130
bola, 1.30
bullet
shot into wood block, 1.267
shot into water container, 1.146
shot upward, falling back down, 1.112, 1.112
spinning on ice 1.236
cards, thrown as weapons, 2.10, 2.10
catapult, 1.31
dambusters of World War II, 1.94, 1.94
explosions
mushroom cloud, 4.76
shock wave, 3.54
Falkland Islands, long range artillery and coriolis effect, 1.136
firestorm, huge fire vortex, 4.82
Garfield assassination, magnetic search for bullet, 5.41
Geoffrey Pyke, bergship, proposed iceberg aircraft carrier, 2.160
Japanese samurai horo, silk cloth versus arrows, 1.130
gun sights,
pinholes, 6.167
quark transformation, 6.161
precoil, rifle and gun, 1.168
rotating bombs, used on dams in WWII, 1.94, 1.94
shooting yourself down, 2.155, 2.155
siege machines, 1.31
shooting along a slope, 1.174
slings, 1.28
stealth aircraft, 6.117
swords, 1.198
tomahawks, 1.29
trebuchets, 1.31
V1 and V2 rockets,
flipping by pilots, 2.20, 1.273
sounds, 3.54
whip, 3.59
Web, spider, colors produced by diffraction, 6.105
Weight lifting, 1.41, 1.41
Weissenberg effect, liquid climbing rotating rod, 2.61
Welding
friction, 4.112
humps and beading, 2.81
Westinghouse, George, AC versus DC argument, 5.22
Wet tee-shirt optics, 6.159
Wetting
bird droppings (poop) on car, 2.98
breath figures on mirror, 2.92
coffee stains, 2.91, 2.91
cookie dunking, 2.95
drops and films on solids, 2.84
lotus effect, 2.93
paintbrushes and hair, 2.95
sandcastles, 2.86
Whales
bubble nets, 2.79
sound production, 3.16
Whammy doddle toy (rotor on notched stick), 1.161, 1.161
Wheeler, Matthew, ice lens to start a fire, 6.93
Wheel of Death, 1.205
Wheel, rotating, image, 1.247
Whimmy doddle toy (rotor on noticed stick), 1.61, 1.61
Whiplash injury, 1.14
Whip move, roller derby, 1.231
video, calculations
Whips, sounds, 3.59
Whirl-a-gig beetles, 6.115
Whirlpools, large scale, 2.23
Whisper
diffraction by mouth, 3.22
producing, 3.4
Whispering galleries, 3.62, 3.63, 3.63
Whiskey pub trick, 2.120
Whistle, 3.3
Whistlers
culvert, 3.77, 3.77
Slinky, 3.78
Whistling, 3.3
Whistling bottle, 3.3
Whiteouts and bone goggles, 6.55
Whitman, Walt, shadow with spokes on water, 6.41
Whoopee cushion noise, 3.89
Widget, Guinness, carbon dioxide release, 2.76
Witchita Lineman, telephone wires singing in the wind, 3.2
William Tell overture played using road noise, 3.86
Window cleaner fall, 1.49
Wind-chill index, 4.56
Wind
foehn and Chinook, 4.87
shear, tornado, 2.36
sounds, scary, 3.1
standing and walking in strong wind, 1.227
towers, 4.83
truck blow-over, 1.227
Window
air traffic controller’s, 6.63
frost flowers, 4.111
glass flow in old churches, 2.57
multiple images in, 6.79
scattering of light by scratches, airplane window, 6.105
Windrows, wind-produced pattern on water, 2.137
Window screen diffraction pattern, 6.104
Windshield
light streaks across, 6.106, 6.106
multiple reflections, 6.106
potato rubbing as wiper replacement, 2.98
reflections of dashboard, 6.63
stress spots in polarized light, 6.129
thrown through, 1.253
Wine
cork removal
corkscrew replacement, 1.269
plastic bag, empty bottle, 1.213
shoe, 2.196
thermal stress to open wine bottle, 4.113
evaporation pattern, 2.193
tears of strong wine, 2.88
Wineglass
bar trick with sound, 3.43
optics (caustics) of, 6.98
shattering with voice, 3.44, 3.44
singing, 3.43, 3.43
video of me, CSU series
Wing, race car aerodynamics, 2.1, 2.1
Wintergreen mint, glow, 5.19, 5.19
Winter solstice, sunbeam reaching inner chamber, Newgrange, 6.23, 6.23
Wire screen diffraction, 6.104
Wires, sound from transmission wires in wind, 3.2
Wobble, table, 1.268
Wobbling coins and bottles, 1.110, 1.110
Wooden mirrors, 6.165
Woodpeckers, collisions and the brain, 1.10
World Trade Center collapses, 1.48
Worm grunting, 1.224
Wormholes in ice cubes, 4.21
Worst Hard Time, The, electrical discharges, dust storms, 5.29
Wrestling, 1.111
X
X rays, peeling tape, 5.17
Y
Yardangs (desert rock formations), 2.112
Yard-of-ale, how to drink from, 2.120, 2.120
Yogurt (yoghurt) drainage pattern, 2.159
Yo-yo, 1.85, 1.86, 1.85
Z
Zodiacal light, 6.149