Steam Engine: From Fun to Functional

Steam is powerful stuff. I first figured that out when I burned my face trying to find out where all of those bubbles were coming from in a boiling pot. But steam isn't just an evil spirit protecting the secret of the bubbles, steam can be harnessed to do great things. From the steam engine to nuclear reactors, steam directed toward a worthwhile goal is a fairly recent application considering the history of steam.

The first recorded steam engine was way back in the first century A.D. in Greece. 

An aeolipile, a.k.a. spinning ball face-burner.

This thing was only for fun and to show off the properties of steam. Whee! But finally, after 1600 years this novelty became useful in the invention of the steam engine in 1690. Wow. That is a really long time. Fascinating compared to the principle of human flight. Think of it. The first recorded instance of human "flight" was a parachute-assisted fall from an observatory in 1783. Less than 200 hundred years later, we landed on the moon! Do you realize how awesome that is?

So the question I have is what do we have now that is not living up to its potential? What area of science or technology is going to change the world next? We have a few candidates, from new medicines or telecommunication. What do you think? I think anything is better than getting your face melted off by vaporized water.

Crowdsourcing: Wins and Losses

Do you want tons of people to work for you for little to no money? Boom! Crowdsource it! But beware, by giving your task to a community doesn't mean that it will be done right or in the way that you want it. In fact, there might be something deliberately wrong with the end product. Here are some examples of crowdsourcing at its best and worst.

Blunder:The Mets get Rick Roll'd


Do you remember Rick Rolling? No? Well, check out the new trailer for the Dark Knight Rises that just came out!
In 2008, the New York Mets opened up a vote for what song would be played during the 7th inning stretch. Seeing a fantastic opportunity for shenanigans, the internet community flooded the polls with Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up". The song won by a landslide and the Mets obliged.

Lesson: Always retain control of your project, or else you will be messed with during the 7th inning of a Mets game.

Wonder: The Encyclopædia and Wikipedia


Crowdsourcing isn't a new thing. One of the earliest incarnations of the Encyclopedia occurred in the 18th century, gathering information from around the world, from hundreds of people. This collaborative effort to gather the world's information in one place for everyone to have exemplified the the spirit of the French Revolution. Now, Wikipedia is the poster boy of accessible information. But there are some issues. Iffy credibility and deliberately misleading information plagues Wikipedia and prevents it from becoming a viable source of knowledge for some people.

Lesson: Knowledge is power, gullibility is hilarious. 


Blunder: McDonald's Mutiny


Very recently, McDonald''s wanted to hear everyone's stories about their favorite McDonald's memories and post them on Twitter. What could go wrong? It's not like thousands of people would recall that one time where they got food poisoning from a Big Mac and didn't leave the bathroom for three days...right? The Golden Arches pulled the hashtag #mdstories after only 2 hours of activity.

Lesson: Don't just expect people to do what you want. We know when we are being used.


Crowdsourcing can be a very powerful tool...when used correctly. But when everything goes wrong, at least it is pretty hilarious to the people watching it all fall apart.