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28

Dec

Aha Moment Maker: Battle of the Bubbly

by Your friends at OIC on December 28, 2013

Waiter with drinks, illustrating the accidental discovery of champagne, an opportunity for readers to have their own aha moment

CHAMPAGNE, 1668—A Benedictine monk named Dom Pierre Pérignon arrived at the Abbey of Hautvillers near Épernay. His tenure as the cellar master for the abbey’s prized wines began with a challenging assignment.

It seems that unexpected cold snaps in the fall when the wine was bottled had temporarily halted the fermentation of the wine. When temperatures warmed in the spring, the vintage began to ferment for a second time, producing excess carbon dioxide and giving the liquid inside a fizzy quality.

Not only was fizzy wine considered poor winemaking, but bottles in the cellar kept exploding. Dom Pierre Pérignon’s assignment was to correct the situation.  Read more...

 

Your Own Aha Moments

21

Dec

Aha Moment Maker: Kernels of Curiosity

by Your friends at OIC on December 21, 2013

MicrowavePopcorn

LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, 1945—Shortly after the end of WWII, Percy Spencer was touring the labs at Raytheon, where he worked. During the war, the Allies had charged the company with mass producing magnetrons, the tubes that powered radar systems. Percy had been instrumental in solving critical efficiency and production issues, so when he spotted one of his achievements in the lab, he naturally stopped to admire it.

We don’t know whether he got a warm feeling inside while inspecting the magnetron, but we do know that he got a warm feeling inside his pocket, and soon discovered that a chocolate bar he had been saving there was melting.  Read more...

 

Your Own Aha Moments

16

Dec

Jonathan Tessero’s Hunt to Know the (Musical) Score

by Janine Boylan on December 16, 2013

A butterfly on a musical score, symbolizing Jonathan Tessero's life passion for music and his search for Offenbach's original music to the ballet, Le papillon. (Image © Anna Maria Thor / iStock)

Where was the original musical score for the ballet Le papillon?
© Anna Maria Thor / iStock

A Life Passion for Music, A Love of Ballet

When conductor Jonathan Tessero heard a recording of Jacques Offenbach’s single ballet Le papillon (The Butterfly), he fell in love with it. He wanted to know how Offenbach could direct stringed instruments to perfectly mimic butterflies. So Tessero went looking for the original score.

He found plenty of information about the composer, the history of the performances, the story line. He found audio recordings and videos of parts of the choreography. He found the modern adaptation John Lanchbery did for the Houston Ballet.  Read more...

 

Discoveries/On the World Stage/The World's Music

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