Orbital Speed

XKCD has recent discussed orbital speed over at What If? using the International Space Station (low earth orbit, traveling about 8 km/sec) as as reference:

The ISS moves so quickly that if you fired a rifle bullet from one end of a football field, the International Space Station could cross the length of the field before the bullet traveled 10 yards.

Although this discussion of relative velocity compared to a traveling bullet is interesting, there is one further aspect of firearms not explored here but helpful to an appreciation of the tremendous speeds involved in attaining orbit:

At 8 km/sec, the ISS would cross the 100 yard (91.44 m) field in about about .011 seconds, or 11 ms.

On a Mauser or Springfield 1903 infantry rifle, the lock time (time from trigger pull to primer strike) is about 5-6 ms.

This means that if you could fully pull the trigger at the exact instant the ISS began its run down the field, the ISS would reach midfield before the firing pin even touched the bullet's primer.

Downton: What really happened

The deleted scene that shows really happened at the end of Downton Abbey, Season 3, that Julian Fellowes had to cut because the episode was already running too long.  And shared by us because this version would make us feel a bit better.

**SPOILER ALERT**
(meaning you can probably guess what was actually shown on the episode by what is written here)





Matthew Crawley has just seen his newborn son at the hospital when the nurse catches him as he is leaving.  "The telephone is for you," she says, "it is Mr. Branson and he sounds desperate."  Matthew went to the telephone and picked up the set. 

"Tom, what is it?" 

"Matthew, thank goodness I caught you.  My brother left Liverpool a few days ago, and hadn't been seen until this morning, when he told someone at the pub here in Downton that he meant to drive a lorry full of explosive up to the house when everyone returned today to show the English what they can do with their aristocracy.  He has a green open-bed lorry, and I believe he means it." 

"Tom, the train is already here.  The family is on the way up to the house already, there is no time to lose!"

"If you cut up the old farm road, you may be able to head off Kieran before he gets here on the main road.  But Matthew, you have to keep that lorry from reaching Downton Abbey!"

[Cut to Matthew driving furiously.]

Really happened in a deposition - I was there

Q: You know that we need the answers to be verbal?
A: (The witness moved head up and down.)

Fish in the news

Pike found choked on Zander

The article linked to above discusses a Dutch fish found choked with another fish nearly as big as himself in his mouth, and speculates that the fish died of greed.  Had the fish been found in the lazy rivers of the deep South, however, the only reasonable explanation would have been that the Zander had found a few beers floating in the river, been enjoying them with some friends, then turned to them and said, "Hey, ya'll, I bet I can swim right through that Pike over there!"