Archimedean Excogitation
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Archimedean Excogitation
''Archimedean Excogitation'' is a 1987 audiokinetic rolling ball sculpture by George Rhoads. It is located in the atrium of the Museum of Science in Boston. Description ''Archimedean Excogitation'' consists of a metal and glass display case framing a system of nine tracks on two main levels. The lower level tracks contain billiard balls, which encounter a series of mechanical obstacles as they roll, some of which (such as a drum and xylophone) produce noise. The upper level tracks contain larger duckpin bowling balls, which push windmill blades and encounter similar obstacles. In total, the sculpture has slightly fewer than 30 moving or sound-producing components, and is tall. Construction ''Archimedean Excogitation'' was commissioned for the Museum of Science in Boston, with a budget of $536,100. It was designed by George Rhoads, with assistance from Rock Stream Studios, and was installed in 1987. In 2015, the sculpture was refurbished and moved from the museum's lower l ...
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George Rhoads
George Rhoads (January 27, 1926 – July 9, 2021) was a contemporary American painter, sculptor, and origami master. He was best known for his whimsical audiokinetic sculptures in airports, science museums, shopping malls, children's hospitals, and other public places throughout the world. Early life George Rhoads was born in Evanston, Illinois, the oldest of four children. His father, Paul S. Rhoads, was a physician and professor of internal medicine at Northwestern University. His mother, Hester Chapin Rhoads, was trained as an interior decorator. Rhoads attended the University of Chicago with the goal of studying physics and mathematics. After earning enough credits to complete his associate degree, Rhoads began taking design and drawing classes at Chicago's Art Institute. Two years later he left Chicago and moved to New York City to become a painter. His work focused on portraits and impressionistic cityscapes, but he was not critically or financially successful. In 1952 ...
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George Rhoads (cropped)
George Rhoads (January 27, 1926 – July 9, 2021) was a contemporary American painter, sculptor, and origami master. He was best known for his whimsical audiokinetic sculptures in airports, science museums, shopping malls, children's hospitals, and other public places throughout the world. Early life George Rhoads was born in Evanston, Illinois, the oldest of four children. His father, Paul S. Rhoads, was a physician and professor of internal medicine at Northwestern University. His mother, Hester Chapin Rhoads, was trained as an interior decorator. Rhoads attended the University of Chicago with the goal of studying physics and mathematics. After earning enough credits to complete his associate degree, Rhoads began taking design and drawing classes at Chicago's Art Institute. Two years later he left Chicago and moved to New York City to become a painter. His work focused on portraits and impressionistic cityscapes, but he was not critically or financially successful. In 1952 ...
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Kinetic Sculptures In The United States
Kinetic (Ancient Greek: κίνησις “kinesis”, movement or to move) may refer to: * Kinetic theory of gases, Kinetic theory, describing a gas as particles in random motion * Kinetic energy, the energy of an object that it possesses due to its motion Art and entertainment * Kinetic art, a form of art involving mechanical and/or random movement, including optical illusions. * ''Kinetic'', the 13th episode of the Smallville (season 1), first season of the TV series ''Smallville'' * Kinetic (comics), ''Kinetic'' (comics), a comic by Allan Heinberg and Kelley Pucklett * Kinetic (song), "Kinetic" (song), a song by Radiohead Companies * Kinetic Engineering Limited, Indian automotive manufacturer * Kinetic Group, Australian-based public transport company Technology * "Kinetic", Seiko's trademark for its automatic quartz technology * The ''Kinetic camera system'' by Birt Acres (1854–1918), photographer and film pioneer * Kinetic projectile Military terminology * Kinetic militar ...
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1987 Sculptures
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, killing everyone except a little girl; The King's Cross fire kills 31 people after a fire under an escalator Flashover, flashes-over; The MV Doña Paz sinks after colliding with an oil tanker, drowning almost 4,400 passengers and crew; Typhoon Nina (1987), Typhoon Nina strikes the Philippines; LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055 crashes outside of Warsaw, taking the lives of all aboard; The USS Stark is USS Stark incident, struck by Iraq, Iraqi Exocet missiles in the Persian Gulf; President of the United States, U.S. President Ronald Reagan gives a famous Tear down this wall!, speech, demanding that Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev tears down the Berlin Wall., 300x300px, thumb rect 0 0 200 200 Zeebrugge disaster rect 200 0 400 200 ...
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Rube Goldberg Machine
A Rube Goldberg machine, named after American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, is a chain reaction-type machine or contraption intentionally designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and (impractically) overly complicated way. Usually, these machines consist of a series of simple unrelated devices; the action of each triggers the initiation of the next, eventually resulting in achieving a stated goal. In the United Kingdom, a similar contrivance is referred to as a "Heath Robinson contraption" after cartoons by the illustrator W. Heath Robinson. The design of such a "machine" is often presented on paper and would be impossible to implement in actuality. More recently, such machines are being fully constructed for entertainment (for example, a breakfast scene in '' Peewee's Big Adventure'') and in Rube Goldberg competitions. Over the years, the expression has expanded to mean any confusing or overly complicated system. News headlines include, but are not limited to, "Is Rep. Bi ...
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WQED (TV)
WQED (channel 13) is a PBS member television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Owned by WQED Multimedia, it is sister to public radio station WQED-FM (89.3). The two outlets share studios on Fifth Avenue near the Carnegie Mellon University campus and transmitter facilities near the campus of the University of Pittsburgh, both in the city's Oakland section. Established on April 1, 1954, WQED was the first community-sponsored television station in the U.S. and the country's fifth public television station. It was the first station to telecast classes to elementary school classrooms when Pittsburgh launched its Metropolitan School Service in 1955. The station has been the flagship for the shows ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'', ''Once Upon A Classic'', '' Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?'' (a co-production with Boston's WGBH-TV; filmed in New York City), and ''Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood'' (whose live-action scenes are filmed in Pittsburgh). History A pub ...
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Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' (sometimes shortened to ''Mister Rogers'') is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001, and was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. The series ''Misterogers'' debuted in Canada on October 15, 1962, on CBC Television. In 1966, Rogers moved back to the United States creating ''Misterogers' Neighborhood'' (sometimes shown as ''MisteRogers' Neighborhood''), later called ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'', on the regional Eastern Educational Television Network (EETN, a forerunner of today's American Public Television). The US national debut of the show occurred on February 19, 1968. It aired on NET and its successor, PBS, until August 31, 2001. The series is aimed primarily at preschool children ages 2 to 5, but it was labelled by PBS as "appropriate for all ages". ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' was produced by Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania public broadcaster WQED and Rogers' non-profit production company Fami ...
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Mechanical Device
A machine is a physical system using power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolecules, such as molecular machines. Machines can be driven by animals and people, by natural forces such as wind and water, and by chemical, thermal, or electrical power, and include a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement. They can also include computers and sensors that monitor performance and plan movement, often called mechanical systems. Renaissance natural philosophers identified six simple machines which were the elementary devices that put a load into motion, and calculated the ratio of output force to input force, known today as mechanical advantage. Modern machines are complex systems that consist of structural elements, mechanisms and control components ...
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The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily newspaper in Boston. Founded in 1872, the paper was mainly controlled by Irish Catholic interests before being sold to Charles H. Taylor and his family. After being privately held until 1973, it was sold to ''The New York Times'' in 1993 for $1.1billion, making it one of the most expensive print purchases in U.S. history. The newspaper was purchased in 2013 by Boston Red Sox and Liverpool owner John W. Henry for $70million from The New York Times Company, having lost over 90% of its value in 20 years. The newspaper has been noted as "one of the nation's most prestigious papers." In 1967, ''The Boston Globe'' became the first major paper in the U.S. to come out against the Vietnam War. The paper's 2002 c ...
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Issuu
Issuu, Inc. (pronounced "issue") is a Danish-founded American electronic publishing platform based in Palo Alto, California, United States. Founded in 2004 as a Danish startup, the company moved its headquarters to the United States in 2013. Purpose Issuu converts PDFs into digital publications that can be shared via links or embedded into websites. Users can edit their publications by customizing the design, using templates, or adding links and multimedia to the pages of their documents. Issuu also provides tools for measuring and monetization of content. History Issuu was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2006 by Michael and Rubyn Bjerg Hansen, Mikkel Jensen, and Martin Ferro-Thomsen. By 2011, Issuu software was used by several online publications. In early 2013, the company opened an office in Palo Alto, California and appointed CEO Joe Hyrkin, formerly of Reverb, Trinity Ventures, and Yahoo!, to helm its Silicon Valley operations. The company soon moved its headquarter ...
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Commission (art)
In art, a commission is the act of requesting the creation of a piece, often on behalf of another. Artwork may be commissioned by private individuals, by the government, or businesses. Commissions often resemble endorsement or sponsorship. In classical music, ensembles often commission pieces from composers, where the ensemble secures the composer's payment from private or public organizations or donors. Commissions and visual artist Throughout history, it has been common for rulers and governments to commission public art as a means of demonstrating power and wealth, or even for specific propaganda purposes. In ancient Rome, large architectural projects were commissioned as symbols of imperial glory. The Roman Colosseum for example, was commissioned by Emperor Vespasian. Public statuary was widespread, depicting mythical and heroic figures. The frieze that is carved into the Marcus Column, located at the Campus Martius, depicts the figure of Victory, and would have been co ...
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