A Ton of Crap (87 page)

Black Tuesday
On October 24, 1929, what would become known as Black Thursday, the New York Stock Exchange crashed and large amounts of people began selling their stocks. Black Thursday is considered the beginning of the Great Depression. Five days later, Tuesday the 29th, was the worst day in the history of the stock market. Panic spread and people could not sell fast enough. With everyone selling and nobody buying, stocks plummeted. That day, known as Black Tuesday, more than 16.4 million shares of stock were been sold. The next day, the stock market was closed.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
tells the story of a young girl named Alice who one day while sitting by the river sees a rabbit run past her talking about how late he is. As he goes down the rabbit hole, Alice follows him. At the bottom, Alice finds a drink labeled “drink me.” As she drinks, she begins to shrink, and soon she enters a wonderland full of talking animals and interesting creatures. Each time she eats or drinks, she changes size. When the Queen of Hearts accuses the Knave of Hearts of stealing tarts, Alice tries to help out, but instead, she gets accused. The book ends with Alice back on the riverbank, awake, leaving us to wonder whether it was all just a dream or not.

GAME THEORY

Cooperative Game Theory
There are two types of game theory: cooperative and noncooperative. The main difference between the two types is found in the independence given to the players of each. In cooperative game theory, players do not know what will happen outside of what will happen with their own decisions, but they rely on the cooperation of the other players in deals or contracts. In essence, they are making decisions based entirely on what they know of their choices. An example of a cooperative game would be if there is a person willing to sell an object, and there are two different and unrelated people wanting to buy that object at their own prices. If there is bargaining between two of the three people, then there is cooperation.

ARCHIMEDES

The Archimedes Heat Ray
Archimedes invented many objects, though none have been as controversial as his supposed heat ray. In the second century a.d., it was written that Archimedes created a device that had the ability to destroy ships with fire. Anthemius of Tralles claims that he did so using glass. The Archimedes Heat Ray used mirrors that would focus the sun’s light onto a ship, making the boat catch on fire. There have been many attempts at recreating the Archimedes Heat Ray. A test in 1973 resulted in an immediate explosion of the test boat; however, it is believed this was due to its tar paint. In 2005, students from MIT conducted a test that resulted in small flames, but only after an extended period of time. The Archimedes Heat Ray has been tested numerous times on the popular show
Mythbusters
, and each time it has been “busted.”

ARABIC

Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic is the language that is featured in the Qur’an and classical literature, and is based on the medieval dialects of Arabic. Classical Arabic is considered a sacred language and is only used for prayer. Of the Old North Arabian languages, Classical Arabic is the only one to survive. Many symbols featured in the language are absent in the present form of Arabic.

THE GREAT DEPRESSION

Hoovervilles
Hoovervilles were the names given to the shantytowns (named after President Hoover) that formed coast to coast in the cities of the United States. The Great Depression led to widespread poverty. From 1929 to 1933, over 100,000 businesses failed and many people were left homeless with nowhere else to stay but in these shantytowns. The largest Hooverville was found in New York City’s Central Park. When Hoover’s term ended in 1933, unemployment was at 13 million.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Through the Looking Glass
Through the Looking Glass
continues Alice’s story at a later point in time. At the beginning of the story, Alice comes to the realization that she can step into the mirror, leading to an alternate world. There, she finds a book that is written backward. As she holds it up to the mirror, she reads a poem “Jabberwocky” (another one of Lewis Carroll’s most famous works). As she leaves the house, she comes across several new characters, including Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the White Queen, and Humpty Dumpty (who explains “Jabberwocky” to Alice).

GAME THEORY

Noncooperative Game Theory
Noncooperative game theory involves making a decision based on the participation of the other players, but without any sort of cooperation in the form of deals or bargains. Instead, decisions are made independently. Noncooperative game theory is about working from what is known about the other players to achieve your own goals. In noncooperative game theory, all of the other players’ moves and options are known by everyone else. For example, if a major retailer wanted to make a decision regarding a product, they might check with their competition to see if the decision is worth it.

ARCHIMEDES

The Golden Crown
Archimedes was approached by King Hiero II, who suspected that his goldsmith had replaced some of the gold in his new crown with silver. The king asked Archimedes to figure out if this was the case, and because it was for the gods, he was not to damage it in any way. Archimedes realized that the density of the crown could be measured by placing it in a tub of water. If the crown was made of other materials, the density would be lower than that of gold. By doing this test, it is said that Archimedes was able to conclude that the crown had been made of materials other than gold. Whether this is the method he actually used has been called into question, however, due to the fact that the differences in density are so slight (the water would have risen in centimeters).

ARABIC