Audiostretto 59/4/24 English

I have always been somewhat fascinated by the second to last letter in the alphabet. Mainly because of its name, but also because it is pronounced differently in the German language depending on how it is used. And I also find it interesting that, depending on the direction of view, the letter connects two separate lines into one or, from the other perspective, splits one line into two separate li...

Maybe you have an affinity for ball sports and play a ball sport yourself. Football is certainly the best known in our latitudes. What is so fascinating about the ball? It doesn't matter whether it's a small ball like table tennis or a bigger one like football: there are usually two teams playing against each other and the ball plays a decisive role in the success or the final result. Is it only a...

I don't think I would ever have the courage to skydive either. But I have seen many of these parachutes glide down and land. It looks so peaceful and relaxed. But I think to myself that the moment of getting out of the plane is anything but relaxed. The Parachute is not yet open and it takes absolute confidence from the jumper that the Parachute will actually open when the ripcord is pulled. The j...

Ever been worried? Of course! Worries have - so I observe - the characteristic that they place themselves totally at the centre of our attention. Everything begins to revolve around them. Then we often can't think about anything else, we are not concentrated and no longer listen properly etc. In many cases we go through possible scenarios, imagine what could happen or how who could behave or who c...

I was listening to a podcast the other day on the occasion of the Queen's death. It was also about the distinction between monarchy and democracy. It made me realise that the relationship I have as a citizen with the government - whether it is a royal house or a government or parliament - is quite different. A king is more personal because his government is linked to his life and his family is par...

Some people live with progress according to the motto: yesterday we stood at the precipice and then progress came. By this they mean: progress leads to a crash. Others are so enthusiastic about progress that they are blind to the consequences when it comes to personal fates that can be triggered negatively. Either way, change triggers something. If you are one of the fearful ones, be careful that...

When I learned that for the Jews the new day begins the evening before, I was irritated at first. Then I took note of it. Today I find it remarkable, because during the night we process some of the things of the previous day. When I wake up in the morning, I often have an impression of whether I had a good, quiet night or whether I had to process a lot. And just as I get up in the morning, so I go...

there is this saying "unexpected often comes". This probably means that every now and then something happens that we had not expected and that challenges us to be flexible in our plans. Sometimes this can be very cheerful, but sometimes it can also be a real challenge because it doesn't suit us at all. In addition, some of us are more open to spontaneity and others are not, preferring a planned ro...

We all know the beautiful beach sunset holiday pictures from the travel catalogues. There, paradise is only a question of the chosen holiday destination. Indeed: anyone who has ever been to such a great beach, spent a holiday there and recovered, will remember this place as very special. The local population, the locals, they are the lucky ones who get to live in this paradise all year round? Unfo...

A break is an interruption of an activity - I would say. This means I interrupt or allow myself to be interrupted in what I am doing. It is not the end of the activity, but a stop, a turning to something else before continuing with the activity I have started. We know the saying "take a break" or there was a well-known advertisement that said that the best breaks have a certain colour, namely purp...

Gearwheels have teeth that are arranged circularly around a centre at regular intervals. These gears can be combined with each other. In this way, larger and smaller gears can be connected to each other and transmit movement. For example, in a watch: if you turn the crown on a wristwatch, the hands move. Behind this is a complicated system of many cogwheels of different sizes that interlock and ma...

When it rains - well, some people get annoyed because the sun would be the preferred weather option. But assuming it didn't rain: what alternative would there be to moisten the soil in this way? Irrigation from the ground would be infinitely complex, a whole irrigation system, a drainage system would have to be invented. But this way, the clouds can simply let go of their moisture and the falling...

It is not really a compliment when someone tells another person that they are a brake block. What is often meant is that the behaviour slows down a process unnecessarily and makes them angry because things are not moving forward. Behind this, an irrational or inappropriate fear is often assumed or interpreted. Sometimes this may be true. But brake pads also have their good points. They can protect...

There was a time when many natural river courses were straightened. So a river that meandered was corrected into a straight, man-made riverbed, often with very smooth banks or embankments instead of natural ones. The advantages of this: you could control the river and you gained a lot of space because meandering took up a lot more space and that was not infrequently precious building land. All's w...

When you have washed dirty laundry, in most cases it is wet and needs to dry. The best way to do this is to hang or spread out the laundry. If this is not possible and the wet laundry is not spread out, it will not only hardly dry, but may even develop mould. This is worse than dirty laundry. A clothesline is therefore a great thing in this case. After all, if you don't have a clothesline or anoth...

Why do we have two eyes? Because with one eye we can perceive things in the field of vision, but it is difficult for us to estimate how far away they are. So the combination of both eyes allows us to get the right depth impression and thus the distance to the objects. This means that our eyes are not only used to recognise objects, but also to register the additional information of distance. This...

Target marks as used for surveying usually have one thing in common: they are easy to recognise and have very clear boundaries and very well identifiable centres or points to which the marks refer. This can be a crosshair or an alternating black and white pattern with sharp edges. Why? Because it is consistent: you want to measure precisely, otherwise you wouldn't use marks and they should make th...

I suspect that hardly anyone leaves their house without their mobile phone these days. You can be reached and informed at all times. In everyday life, this works well in most cases. But if you go on a trip or are otherwise unusually on the road, it can happen that you forget the charging cable. It doesn't take long before the device is at the end of its functional life: the battery is empty. Too b...

If you are not vegetarian or vegan, you might like a chicken wing grilled on the fire or on the barbecue. It might be well seasoned and really crispy. It might sound delicious and make your mouth water. And not without good reason. But... when you eat something like that, you rarely think about what it takes to get to that food. There is a living being. That is usually slaughtered and then gutted...

Ashes are produced when something is burnt - i.e. most vividly in the case of wood. This process is not reversible. The wood that is burnt cannot become wood again. And the ash - yes, in most cases it is considered worthless and thrown away. However... ash can be used to make soap with the necessary framework conditions and additives. It needs the right temperature and fat. In this way, ash become...

At this time of year, when the colourful leaves fall from the trees, one has the impression that nature explodes once more in all its creativity and beauty - like a final bouquet of fireworks - before winter comes and with it the seemingly lifeless. Thus, one might interpret the falling leaves as an announced dying, as an indication of a bleak and dark period. Or one may see in them once again the...

Surely you have had a dripping tap - at home, at work, on holiday or elsewhere. Sometimes it can be very annoying. Apart from the unnecessary loss of water, the constant dripping noise is somehow unnerving. It somehow leaves you feeling helpless or powerless: you just can't stop the tap - the water just drips and drips... now you might say that it's not really bad, just annoying. But as mentioned:...

On a construction site or when cleaning up after natural events and the consequential damage, sometimes larger or smaller construction machines are used. They can be used to move huge fallen tree trunks or rubble and debris or collapsed structures and walls, thus clearing paths. i am always impressed by the power of these machines compared to their size. And I like the fact that you need training...

Surely you can imagine a butterfly in your imagination when I ask you to. You will certainly see large wings in front of you and a relatively smaller body. I am impressed how butterflies not only move, but how they can handle these large and massive wings. I imagine that my arms would be the wings and still have correspondingly large surfaces attached. I suspect I would barely last a minute with k...

I was recently in an area where there used to be a lot of volcanic activity. In a volcano - before it erupts - there is extreme activity of hot rock masses, it rumbles massively under the earth's surface and then suddenly accompanied by earthquakes, this enormous mass breaks with corresponding energy to the earth's surface and after the eruption a volcanic crater can often be seen. This crater is...