The commotion is that the flying man who always comes by has returned once again.

#1581; The Longest, Most Fruitless Search

  — January 23rd, 2026

[ Tags: , , , ]       Permalink: https://wondermark.com/c/1581/

Continued from Wondermark #024
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True Stuff: Radium

Thanks so much to those who came out to the Ann Arbor talk on Wednesday! Especial thanks to Eli, Matt, and Shirley of the Ann Arbor District Library for making the trip totally smooth; Kelly and Mike for kind hospitality; Nealie and Flex for incredible graciousness (they took me to the Henry Ford Museum! I took pictures of steam gauges!!) and everyone I’ve met in Michigan this week. I have many thanks to extend for the Dearborn trip as well (Morgan, Becca, Arica, Vicky, Hannah, et al) but let’s leave it at, if you think you ought to be thanked, you are.

I am in Charlotte now for Heroes Con! It’s all this weekend at the Charlotte Convention Center! How about that!

ANYWAY. I came across this article tonight in a 1904 issue of a magazine called Technical World. It’s a really interesting piece about the discovery and properties of X-rays and radioactivity, but these few paragraphs in particular caught my eye:

…[Radioactive] complex molecules are continually disintegrating into simpler ones, and in so doing are setting free the energy that was originally put into them when the processes of life first built them up into their complex forms…

[This energy is] enormously greater than the energies involved in any of the ordinary chemical transformations. The disintegration of a gram of uranium…sets free at least a million times as much energy as that represented in any known chemical change taking place with a gram weight of any compound substance.

The experiments of the last eight years have marked a most notable advance in science, in that they have proven the existence of this immense store of sub-atomic energy. It seems highly improbable, however, that this energy can ever be utilized on the earth to serve man’s economic needs.

…Radium may possibly prove to be of some practical value in the cure of disease, although it is too early yet to assert even this with assurance.

Nailed it.

BONUS: Another mention of radium in Popular Science, 1921:

I guess that’s one way to get a “natural, healthy glow.”

Wednesday night: Ann Arbor!

Just a reminder that I’ll be in Ann Arbor this Wednesday, June 1, presenting a slideshow of True Stuff From Old Books! I had a fun time at the World Steam Expo in Dearborn over the weekend — pictures of that coming soon. In the meantime, I’m preparing for the Ann Arbor talk and I hope to see you there!

Wednesday June 1, 2011: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm — Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room
343 South Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor, MI

More info on the Ann Arbor District Library website.

“Tinkerer’s Rules” POSTER

I’m pleased to announce that the “Tinkerer’s Rules” comic from the other week is now available as a 16″ x 20″ poster, suitable for classing up any office, workspace, project-cave, studio, creative den, bureau of wizardry, Ministry of Clever Thoughts, or crawlspace-under-the-stairs.

My good friends at TopatoCo will pack it up and ship it to you post-haste! Or, bundle it with any other clever poster to save on shipping.

Folks have also asked about getting the entire “Tinkerer’s Rules” as a booklet — I am taking it under advisement. For now, the poster’s the thing!

Dare I say…Father’s Day gift? Dare I?

Maker Faire sketches / Next up: Michigan!

Thanks to everyone who said hello at Maker Faire last weekend! It was a whirlwind trip, but what fun it was. Here are some sketches I did for folks at the show!

(Confidential to the Annie E.Z. and Nancy C.D. who got books from me at Maker Faire: Would you email me please?)

Next weekend — I’m in Dearborn, Michigan for the World Steam Expo! It will be my first time ever visiting Michigan, and I’m very excited to meet Eminem. He will be at the airport, right?

The show runs Friday through Monday at the Henry Ford Museum, which I’ve heard is quite the place. I mean the Hyatt! Which I’m sure is nice too. I’ll be doing a special “Making of Wondermark” panel on Sunday afternoon, but if that wasn’t enough, there is also a ton of other steampunky programming, including a “Mad Science Fair.” Oh and I also designed the programs for the show!

Then, on Wednesday, June 1, I’ll be presenting my “True Stuff from Old Books” lecture at the Ann Arbor District Library! I believe it is free to attend. I further believe that it will be amazing? I’ll be signing books and stuff afterward as well.

Finally — I’ll have a little time to kill in Ann Arbor and environs during the trip. Any recommendations of things to check out while I’m in town? Leave a comment or send me an email!

TCAF Sketches / Maker Faire Bay Area this weekend!

TCAF was great! It was super busy (as you can see above) — another reason why it is one of my favorite shows ever. Here are a couple of sketches I did for folks!

My sketches are very self-aware.

We also played a game of Machine of Death Draw & Guess in Toronto! This was mega fun. We have some great pictures, as well as full video, of that event over on the MOD blog.

Also in that same blog post, I talk about the Machine of Death Official Seal Embosser that I’ve started bringing to shows. If you’d like to get your copy of MOD not just signed, but sealed against tampering, come see me at any appearance this year. See some pictures of it in action!

Next on the docket is this coming weekend — Maker Faire, in San Mateo!

Here is a picture of me taken at last year’s Maker Faire (by Flickr user notthatjeffy).

I think it makes me look like a crazy man who makes comics in a canoe adrift on a lake. AM I? Come to Maker Faire and find out for yourself!

P.S. I’ll have these brand-new items at the show! shhhhhh


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