BY JOURNAL TIMES STAFF | Posted: Saturday, April 12, 2008 12:00 am
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has a couple of Web sites and phone numbers that can help. For maps of road construction and closings in Milwaukee and statewide you should go to:
http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/driving-cond.htm
There is also a statewide, county-by-county listing at:
http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/road/workzones.htm
You can get road closing information for the Milwaukee area by calling (888) 468-0037 or (414) 227-2166. For road reports across Wisconsin, try (800) ROADWIS (762-3947).
How fast does a whip go when it is snapped?
The tip of a whip travels at more than 1,400 feet per second, much faster than the speed of sound. The speed of sound is roughly 1,230 feet per second.
The crack of a whip is actually a small sonic boom. The "crack" is the sound of air rushing back into the vacuum created by the whip.
Whips achieve their velocity through their taper. A good whip gradually narrows from handle to tip.
A smart flick of the wrist sends a wave down the length of the whip. Velocity increases as roughly the same amount of energy acts on a progressively tapered and smaller mass.
And why is this? We refer you to the first law of thermodynamics.
The conservation of energy principle states that the total energy of an isolated system remains constant, regardless of changes within the system.
The whip is an isolated system. The whip-snap energy, in this case, is a function of mass and velocity.
As the mass of the tapered whip decreases, the velocity of the snap increases.
The same theory applies to snapped towels, which will draw blood if snapped right. But remember - payback is a pain.
Did Johnny Carson once start a toilet paper shortage?
Surprisingly enough, yes.
This question stood out when submitted, and we wondered if someone decided to play a little joke on GYA.
No joke. We poked around online, and discovered this did happen. There's even a tie to Wisconsin.
In late 1973, Wisconsin congressman Harold Froehlich claimed the federal government was falling behind in soliciting bids to supply toilet paper. Froehlich claimed the U.S. might face a shortage of toilet paper within a few months.
The Television News Archive at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., confirms that Walter Cronkite reported on Froehlich's assertion during the Dec. 10, 1973, edition of the CBS Evening News.
Vanderbilt's abstract about the story at the Web site of their television news archive reads as follows: "Wisconsin Representative Harold Froehlich predicts paper shortage unless paper industry allowed to increase prices. Government should limit pulp exports; toilet paper may soon be in short supply."
Carson and his writers fashioned a joke from this story that Carson used in his monologue in the Dec. 19, 1973, opening of "The Tonight Show."
Carson said, innocently enough, that we faced an acute shortage of toilet paper and that the white stuff was disappearing from stores everywhere.
Bear in mind this took place during the height of the oil crisis and Christmas was coming. By the morning of Dec. 20, 1973, people were flocking to stores and buying all the toilet paper available. Most stores were out of stock by noon.
Carson rescinded the joke and apologized several nights later. Scott Paper showed video of their plants in full production and asked everyone to stay calm.
But it wasn't until almost three weeks later that the madness stopped and normalcy returned in the form of fully stocked shelves of toilet paper.
Froehlich served in the House from 1973-1975 after 10 years in the Wisconsin State Assembly, from 1963-1973. He is now a circuit judge in Outagamie County.
What is GYA?
GYA seeks answers to your questions. Have a question? Call us at (262) 631-1758 or send us an e-mail at
ask@journaltimes.com