Klein Bottle
Until lunchtime today I didn’t know what one was either.
I’ve been watching the TED Talks on my AppleTV, I still have about 20 of the normal video quality ones to watch before I start on the HD variations. Because they’re only 18 minutes long, I watch a few eating breakfast, then a couple at lunchtime and maybe one or two whilst eating in the evening. I am quite the fan.
Today I watched this talk by Clifford Stoll…
It is such a wonderful and amazing talk made by someone who looks like Dr. Emmett Brown but occasionally has the voice of Emo Philips. No disrespect intended to anyone concerned.
Cliff StollAs Cliff mentions in the talk he makes klein bottles. I certainly hadn’t heard of them but I had heard about Moöbius and his loop with only one edge and one side. So later in the afternoon, and certainly not on company time, I found his website and ordered a big klein bottle.
In the evening I received an email from Cliff Stoll (Chief Bottle Washer) thanking me for my order and saying that he took some photos, which would arrive shortly. A couple of minutes later an email with eight photos attached arrived in my in-box showing the klein bottle, the bottle in bubble wrap, the bottle in a box with packing quavers around it and one with Cliff holding the taped and labelled box.
I’ve bought many many items via the internet, and I’ve had a few email chats with the sellers, but I’ve never had such a fantastic experience. And I haven’t even received the bottle yet, that pleasure is between a week and ten days away.
For someone selling something that they’ve produced, and in limited quantities, this would be a remarkable idea. To see the person who has made the product and see it being packaged isn’t such a huge drain on resources, and it adds so much to the overall experience.
