Wednesday, April 6, 2011

A Subject Dear to My Heart

The Physics of Clown Cars Explained

The scientific engineering writers over at Car And Driver have been working overtime figuring out the physics of clown cars, a subject I ponder over at odd moments.  Anything to occupy my mind right now as sucky as things are is a welcome diversion.  Now that I understand the theory behind clown car-age stuffing, perhaps my dream of running away and joining the circus is not so far from reality.  I think I need to decrease my mass somewhat to ensure I would not be crowding my fellow clowns in stuffage.

I quote from the article The Physics of: Clown Cars:
Unfortunately, and contrary  to accepted folklore, clowns need to breathe. Discomfort is to be anticipated, but General Sur­vivability demands some consideration of  physiological needs.  Moreover, the overriding concern of anyone packing clowns into a car must be that the result is Maximum Clown Hilarity. Not only must the clown car dispense clowns, it must also disgorge props such as expandable luggage, beach balls, and two-person giraffe outfits with spring-loaded necks.
Maximum Clown Hilarity - now that is what I need to seeking from life!!!  Less General Survivability but More MCH!!!

In the video clip of a modern variation of the clown car gag from the Ringling Brothers Circus, I feel that I look like Cat Women, but feel like the Flash - I think I need the big jug of energy drink he has!  And my fat feet look like his today!!! - maybe I wouldn't need much of a costume!




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5 comments:

  1. Oh my! Very interesting! Haha!

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  2. Jessica, as sucky as my last two weeks have been, I figure my General Survivability factor is about nill, so I have to up the Maximum Clown Hilarity to compensate. Hope you don't have to tweak your own formula. Seeing a friend of mine take her kids and her husbands cousins kids and the neighbor's kids to baseball practice, I think she needs to use some of the tips because she sure packs em in the ol minivan!!!

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  3. Haha..but, seriously...clowns are a little freaky! =)

    Where in MO are you located? My BFF lives in Wentzville and is due to have twins girls in July...so I am coming for a visit. How great would it be to meet for coffee or lunch!?! As long as you keep Bling far, far away from my shins...and more importantly...my head!

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  4. You know, I can only recall one time I went to a live cicrus in the 1960's. It was with my father. I was amazed that horses ran what I thought was wild in the ring. Loved the video dear one.

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  5. Jessica, I live in a little town called Mount Vernon, on I-44 between Joplin MO and Springfield MO (where I work) and am about five hours away from Wentzville (which is a suburb of St. Louis). I was just near there yesterday seeing Dr. House at Barnes Jewish Hospital/Washington University Physicians. Love to meet you and I promise to make Bling behave - just depends if I can make it with The Legs. ...sigh, I'm the only clown lover in the family so I'm used to the deep levels of clown creepiness felt by most people!!! :)

    JBR: Sounds like that was a great memory for you! One of my earliest memories is seeing the Shrine Circus with my family and my Aunt Nadine's family, and getting my first helium balloon - a clear baloon with a blue Mickey Mouse Head balloon inside of it. My big sister made sure I got one since I wanted one sooo badly, and then I let go of it after the circus was over and cried and cried after it floated away in the bright sunshiney sky. I wanted to keep it forever! :)

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