Audiostretto 59/4/24 English

Thunderstorms can be very dangerous. Especially in the mountains it can be very dangerous - at least that's what I know without having any experience with it - because a change in the weather can happen relatively quickly. I know situations where the sun was shining and then it started to thunder and some time later a heavy thunderstorm actually came. Even if unexpected - but still not unannou...

Do you also belong to the group of people who forget things from time to time or maybe even more often or do not remember certain things despite their efforts? So-called mnemonic devices can help. In German, this term originated like this: Donkeys don't want to go through water, no matter how deep, and that's why small bridges had been built for them. What is meant by this is that although...

The topic of energy and energy supply is currently very present. There is much debate about how much energy we need and whether this need can be met and with which energy sources - fossil or natural. In the end, the balance has to add up. So: let's not consume more than we have available. There are two approaches: either restricting and reducing consumption or expanding capacity and availabili...

Have you noticed how different dogs' ears are? There are the pointed, erect ears on a German Shepherd and then the floppy ears like a rabbit on a Cocker Spaniel. How come? Both are dogs, aren't they, animals of the same species? I have heard that the pointed, erect ears are actually much better for sensing and being warned of danger than the floppy ears. So the shepherd dog uses its hearin...

There are these white and red battens in the context of construction sites. They demarcate an area or an area that is only accessible to authorised persons, even though one could very easily remove or climb over such a lath. But if you do so, you do so firstly at your own risk and secondly you may even be liable to prosecution. So this coloured wood has an authority that is set by society or the g...

One of the best known natural products is honey. It is produced by bees. We humans cannot produce it ourselves. We are therefore dependent on the work of the bees. Actually, it is astonishing. These little industrious creatures work so reliably and the best we can do is to protect them and create the best possible environment for them by taking care of the natural resources. That's all we can...

Drawers or pigeonholes do not only enjoy a good reputation. Namely, when they are synonymous with classifying, cataloguing or even pigeonholing people without serious examination. We classify people and, as it were, lock them away in our imagination and opinion of them without giving them the chance to be - in our perception - as they actually are. Nevertheless, pigeonholes help us to bring order...

I went to the optometrist the other day. They tested my vision and then they offered me a vision aid that would best correct my visual impairment. In this process, I was fitted with glasses that made it possible to use several lenses with different correction values and correct both astigmatism and dioptre. Finally, the optometrist had another tool: a lens that she manually placed additionally in...

In German, we use the term Stichwort to refer to a concept on which we base a topic or start a discussion. From the etymology of the word, it is more or less about a term that is cut out, like you cut out a biscuit. I find that interesting. The keyword thus becomes a kind of anchor or focus point from which something starts or to which the following can always be oriented or traced back. So a sing...

In the language of design or in the environment of design, there is the principle form follows function. This means that the form or the exterior is subordinate to the functionality or is derived from it. In concrete terms, this can mean: A chair leg is simply a sufficiently thick, straight piece of wood sawn to the right length. Nothing more. No ornamentation as we know it from antique chairs or...

We humans are beings who live or have to live on both active and resting times. We cannot be awake or active continuously for several days. We need rest, sleep, recuperation, regeneration, so that we can perform again afterwards, no matter to what extent. This principle of rest and activity also runs through the whole of creation. There is night and day, and animals and plants also behave accordin...

I have been travelling with planes more than average in the past few months. I am fascinated by the fact that these heavy means of transport manage to get off the ground and stay in the air. I think this amazement is obvious. But what is no less amazing, or at least necessary, is that the ground of airports must have enormous stability. I cannot imagine how many tonnes a day such a floor has to wi...

As far as I understand it, a motor works as follows: it has a certain mechanism that is able to move something - be it in a car to move forward or in an operating machine to fulfill another task. For this to succeed, the machine must be driven. Energy is necessary for this. Something is supplied, converted as in a combustion engine and finally converted into movement. So there is no drive without...

We know the expression about having a roof over our heads. This means that you have a place where you can live at least temporarily, i.e. you don't have to be out in the open or otherwise outside. I find the phrase amusing, because a roof can't really be anything other than over your head, so in that sense it's a pleonasm for me. A roof expresses protection against influences from abov...

Pictograms can be used to communicate very well and across language barriers. For example, a pictogram of a single person who looks like a man is clear: there is the gents. Pictograms are used both in public spaces etc. and as icons in apps on smartphones. Interestingly, when it comes to a telephone or a telephone-related application, a handset from an analogue telephone is usually used, which was...

Staircases are found in multi-storey buildings - hence the stairs to get from floor to floor. And they are older than the lift, which is used in many modern buildings today. , I got stuck on the term "house", which is used in the German term: Staircase. It sounds like this place is a place where you live. Yet it is only a space of passage, a transit area. But still, as such, not outside...

Some say they only believe what they see. To a certain extent I can understand that. On the other hand, I also wonder whether feelings of any kind are non-existent for them, because you don't see them or illnesses or anything else. I also ask myself why I should rely exclusively on one sense, the sense of sight, to recognise realities and not on all the senses that are available to me. Or I th...

We are in a season when many things that fly are more active again. So we see many insects and birds, bees, butterflies etc. flying through the air. I notice that the different species have very different wings and therefore - I assume - very different flight styles. A butterfly with its large wings flies quite differently from a bee and birds such as blackbirds or pigeons also fly quite different...

I find right angles fascinating. The right angle is the exact fourth part of a full circle. It is especially central in geometry, building and so many other areas. If pieces of furniture or other things are constructed in a right angle, they can be stacked well or otherwise combined with other things, etc. The transmission of force is also very good with a right angle or the resistance is then opt...

I was taught that you wear hiking boots when you go hiking. This is so that you have a good grip on the terrain. It makes sense to me that the higher and more stable shoes protect and stabilise the ankles and the corresponding joint. But if I were to walk on scree or ice, then - according to my thesis - even the high and stable shoes would not really be of any use to me. To a certain extent, the s...

When we have thunderstorms, lightning often appears. These can be quite impressive. Suddenly, a dark night sky brightens for fractions of a second and many things become briefly visible. These flashes are extremely energetic and can cause massive damage and start fires. This is why buildings usually have a lightning conductor to protect a building from a random strike. If you are out in nature dur...

If you peel a banana, you usually proceed like this: You hold the banana in one hand and then peel it vertically from the base of the stalk from top to bottom. The skin is peeled off in strips along the length of the banana. I suppose it would never occur to anyone to peel the banana horizontally in a ring or spiral - simply because it would be very tedious, as the peel structure is not at all lik...

The Enlightenment had brought man a supposed liberation from superstition or the transcendent. It elevated it to sovereignty and independence in its system. Yet not entirely convincing. For today there are still many offers of a religious and supernatural nature and many are those who seek them. Why? Why is it not enough for us to simply live our lives and accept our fate? I believe that it is bec...

It's barbecue season again. When I was a kid, we used to grill when we went hiking, but not on the terrace or otherwise in everyday life. I like a piece of meat or vegetable or grilled cheese better from the grill than from the pan. But when I think back to the old days, it's not only the end product that makes it special, but also the atmosphere, the surroundings. So it's not only the...

Let's say you have an assignment that you absolutely have to do well and completely. What do you do? I imagine you plan carefully and try to organise everything so that you don't forget anything and are not disturbed. And what for? Firstly, so that you complete the job to the full satisfaction of the client and secondly, so that you don't make any mistakes. At least that's my hypot...