A Missing Dog (statue)

March 08, 2020 by Brady Haran

I’ve written here before about my dad’s tracker dog Caesar.

Dad was teamed with Caesar during the Vietnam War.

They developed a special bond and Caesar save dad’s life - twice!

So I owe that dog bit of a debt, I guess.

This statue of Caesar - a symbol for all dogs that served during the Vietnam War - was erected in Sydney three years ago.

It was placed near the railway station at Edmondson Park.

Well, I’ve just learned that in December it was stolen. (A Channel 7 report on the theft via Facebook and here’s another report.)

Maybe it was melted down - maybe it’s intact?

If you can help in any way, do let me know. It would mean a lot.

To quote an email from my dad:

“It wasn't all about Caesar but has stolen the memory of 10 other dogs that saved many Australian lives - and mine (twice) and then were abandoned after the war. To think that the sculpture has been melted down for quick cash or placed in someone's front yard as a garden gnome breaks my heart.”

Here’s a video I made about Caesar with my dad… I have another one unedited which I’ll try to get back into production.

POST SCRIPT: Some great news

A Holy Trinity

February 26, 2020 by Brady Haran

Here are three videos we filmed at The Vatican with “The Pope’s Astronomer” - Brother Guy Consolmagno.

First, a tour of four telescopes at the Papal residence and gardens at Castel Gandalfo, outside Rome.

Telescopes were once stationed on the walls of The Vatican itself, but they were moved out of Rome due to light pollution.

Second, a look at some space rocks and other treasures in the Vatican Observatory collection.

And finally, a longer sit down interview with Brother Guy. Talking about religion, space, and other stuff.

These videos were posted across three of my channels - Deep Sky Videos, Objectivity and Sixty Symbols.

If you are unfamiliar with any of them, please do have a look.

Here are more telescope tours on Deep Sky Videos. And here are more space-themed videos from Objectivity.

Pictured below is James Hennessy filming one of the telescopes during our trip.

Our thanks to Brother Guy for hosting us at The Vatican Observatory.

Ptolemy's Theorem

February 10, 2020 by Brady Haran

The latest Numberphile video is a beautiful proof of Ptolemy’s Theorem, presented by Zvezdelina Stankova.

Zvezda’s proof was followed by a second video, which utilises Ptolemy’s Theorem to show two remarkable things about equilateral triangles and pentagons - well worth a look and a much shorter video.

There is a third video, posted to the Numberphile2 extra channel, which shows a little bit more about the method of inversion.

PS: The first video’s length and “epic-ness” is perhaps matched only by our “Epic CIrcles” from 2014, which funnily enough also heavily featured the use of inversion. That video was presented by Simon Pampena.