June 06, 2012

Space: The Final Frontier ... for ethnic musical instruments

Of all the emotions that one must go through, boredom would have been the one that surprised me the most. Even when an astronaut is just hanging out, with no official duties, I have to imagine that the majesty of the Earth mixed with the ever present danger of imminent death in space (astrocicle!) would mean that boredom would be eternally banished from their mind.

But then I remember that the mind has an amazing ability to get used to things. Ever-present danger? P'shaw, says the mind. Give me a little variety once in awhile! The captivating beauty of our home set against the bastion of space? What ev's, I've totally seen it, like, a lot. Give me something new! screams the mind. So what's a bored lump of gray matter to do? Make a spacedidgeridoo out of vacuum cleaner parts, of course!



This video raises a couple of questions (and proves that even in space the mind wanders). First off, do didgeridoo players wear Crocodile Dundee style shirts? And why are space vacuum cleaner parts made out of aluminum? I mean, I got a vacuum (I even used it once!) and it's made out of plastic. Cheap, light plastic. Maybe because you can't have regular old Earth stuff in space. It has to be spacey and futuristic!

Ok, so that's probably not the real answer. There may indeed be a good reason for metal vacuum cleaner parts. I'll have to ask NASA next time they're in town. Though I may get detained by security when they see me waddling up encumbered with rubber hoses and vaguely ominous pieces of plastic. Somehow, I don't think "Well, I just wanted to show them my crevasse tool" is gonna fly in that situation.

This clip comes courtesy of Fuck Yeah Fluid Dynamics, by way of physicscentral.com, and ultimately from NASA. And space!

[Update: While bumming around youtube looking for awesome didgeridoo playing I stumbled across this video of a metal music bagpiper. Yes, I said metal music and bagpipes, and no he's not Jonathan Davis]
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