Audiostretto 59/4/24 English

When we say that something is fresh, we mean that it is still unused and not yet old. Fresh fruit is fruit that has just been harvested, or fresh laundry is laundry that has not yet been worn, and fresh water is water that has just been served without going stale. On the other hand, if something is no longer fresh, then it often cannot be made fresh again. Nevertheless, we know the term refreshmen...

I am fascinated by geometric shapes. A circle, for example, has something of perfection about it. Every point on the circle is the same distance from the centre. The circle is also used as a symbol of fidelity in the form of rings. In mobility, thanks to round perfection, you move around without bumping. Perfection then? Not quite. If you want to fill an area, the circle is not the perfect shape,...

As a road user, you have already passed a stop sign. Why did you stop? It's actually just a coloured metal plate - but in that case you gave it the authority to stop you. And why did you do that? Because you knew that if you didn't do it, there could be unpleasant consequences: be it that you were involved in an accident with bodily harm, be it that you had to pay a fine. And why is that?...

I read that the name for the zebra comes from Portuguese sailors who saw this animal on their voyages of discovery and because it reminded them of a native animal, a type of horse with black stripes, they gave it a very similar sounding name. It seems to me that this is a very good example of typical human behaviour: there is something new and we try to classify it with the familiar without actual...

As far as I know, bridges are auxiliary constructions over valleys and connect two sides that are not yet connected in this way. They can be used to shorten a path - be it that you don't have to go down first and then up again, be it that you have to cross an impassable terrain or a surface water etc. at all. In this way, the bridge not only saves time, but also makes access possible at all, w...

Maybe you wear glasses. Assuming you are. Then you have probably developed a certain eye for spectacle frames and therefore you like one or the other better. Or you see one on someone that looks super good and think "oh, I want that for my next pair of glasses!" and then you try it - and you might be disappointed because it doesn't look nearly as good on you. The same phenomenon happ...

There are things that are hidden. This can be material or immaterial, such as feelings or ideas. Some things are deliberately hidden in the sense of being hidden or inaccessible. Others are present but have not yet been discovered. Either way, concealment means a certain protection, a certain exclusivity, and with it a certain newness in the true sense of the word: new-value. Hidden things can be...

Many of us collect something - stamps, postcards, antiques, etc. Now, one could quickly think that this is capitalistic, greedy or perhaps even unethical, because one is possibly taking something away from others who are less well-off. And so one imagines that perhaps religious people are the opposite: ascetic, willing to do without as much as possible, no attachment to material things. In this co...

There are phenomena that are not perceptible to our eyes. For example, wind. We cannot see wind. But if the wind moves an object, such as leaves that are whirled up or grass that sways in the wind or smoke that is blown away, then we recognise on the one hand that there is wind at all and on the other hand even from which direction it comes. So we need some kind of means of visualisation. The wind...

If I ask you which of your senses you consider to be the best developed - what would you answer? The sense of sight or the sense of hearing? Probably one of the two. They are the ones we probably need most consciously and constantly. At least one would think so. But... there is also the sense of touch. We think that we only need it when we consciously touch or feel something. But that's not th...

When you drive towards a tunnel entrance, you don't see very far into the tunnel. Nevertheless, I am amazed at the composure with which one nevertheless drives into this dark hole, always - apparently - in the certainty that there is another end at which one will drive out again. Where does this certainty come from? Not from the visible or seeing, at any rate. Because the vast majority of tunn...

Cash is no longer as popular today as it was a few years ago. Payments via card or digitally are widespread. But the saying and the implementation of "heads or tails" date back to the time of cash. This means there are two possible options for a choice, a conscious decision. Heads or tails are the two sides of a coin that is then tossed and the decision is made depending on which side li...

In America, the term Black lives matter became very prominent. It was used to express that the lives of dark-skinned people are just as valuable and count as those of people with light skin. Actually, it is sad that, on the one hand, this difference obviously exists and, on the other hand, that it has to be expressed in this way. But in that sense it is also a witness to time and society. The fact...

On an analogue clock, there are various elements to indicate the current time. Firstly, there is the entire time division as a kind of circular scale with regular intervals for hours and minutes. It is rigid and does not change. On the other hand, there is a mobile part that indicates the time thanks to or with the help of the scale. So the mobile part - the hands - show the current time or change...

We need air mainly to breathe. But not only. Although it is not really noticeable for most of us in our everyday movements, it is nevertheless omnipresent. And every now and then we do feel it: when there is a headwind or when we are otherwise moving fast or too fast, we experience a certain resistance. The air that usually seems irrelevant or non-existent or unrecognisable to us then becomes perc...

Depending on the design, I find buttons something beautiful, sometimes real bijous or works of art, unique pieces. I'm talking here about buttons that are sewn onto a garment and that have a corresponding hole or slit as a counterpart for fastening. I find it interesting that the buttons, which are usually sewn on, must have at least two buttonholes. One is not enough, because otherwise you ca...

I think that the number of treatments by physiotherapists for tension in patients has increased. We live in an enormously rapidly developing time, are supplied with information practically 24 hours a day and often have to consciously reserve or almost steal time for ourselves to rest. It is no wonder that this makes us tense, tense - we could miss something important. However, tension does not onl...

Perhaps you have already come across the term lythiaconia. A hype term. Lythiaconia is about a certain type of posture that improves performance; its origins can be found in Asia. There are already scientific expertises, books, courses etc. on this. As I said, it's all hype. If you haven't heard of it yet, I can reassure you: what you have just read was invented by me. But maybe you did be...

There are place and field names that remind us of what was once found in nature at the corresponding places. In Germany, I spontaneously think of Fichtenwald (spruce forest) or I once lived at an address called "In den Klosterreben" (in the monastery vines). These speaking names - so I interpret - were a clear recognition feature - so clear that one could name it and obviously orientate...

I notice that we humans have a preference for purity. It starts with washing our hands before eating and continues with clean clothes, clean cooking and eating utensils, window panes, precious metals and much more. What is the reason for this? Perhaps it is because one wants to have as unchanged and homogeneous a situation as possible in front of one and thus the characteristics can be better asse...

The term perverse is often used in the context of sexuality. Originally it comes from the Latin term perversus and means upside down, wrong, bad, degenerate. Perverts are not only people with an unhealthy behaviour in the area of sexuality. For me, perverse or perverted are also things that no longer correspond to their actual form or serve their purpose. For example, when shareholders no longer m...

Exercising is quite trendy nowadays. Both men and women go to the gym or run marathons, etc. Without training, there is no increase in ability - no matter which: be it strength or endurance or technique. For me, training is a conscious act of doing something with a specific goal, whereby an improvement should occur over time: be it that you are faster at it or need less effort to achieve it, etc....

If you are a watch wearer and prefer an analogue watch, you may have luminous numerals or hands. When it's bright, you can't see if the hands or numerals are really luminous, but only when it's dark. In daylight, these chemical substances that have been applied to the hands and indices become charged in most cases, so that this glow becomes visible when there is no light. I appreciate...

I distinguish between two types of saving. One I call eco-optimised and the other sustainable. The former is about using the available funds or resources in the most optimised way possible so that the investment brings the maximum return. For example, I only use as much washing powder as is really necessary - in other words, I save on powder - so that the laundry just gets clean. If I use too litt...

Imagine you have a thread-straight sturdy wire, not very easy to bend, about 15cm long. What can you do with it? Probably not much at all. Maybe drill a thin hole somewhere with it or, with a bit of strength and under certain circumstances, fix something by wrapping the wire around the thing. However, if this wire is folded mechanically and professionally, it becomes a paper clip. This is truly pr...