There was a time when I did collect things such as insect specimens and medical ephemera. I still pick up the occasional syringe or hand blown glass eye, but really those days are over. And for good reason. But just recently I was overtaken with the feeling that I had somehow lost these three specimen boxes along with a weird and truly wonderful array of hydrometers (more on that later), all purchased over the years during trips to Paris. I searched a little, but mostly forgot about them, not wanting to imagine where and when I had mistakenly thrown them in the trash. Well, I should have known, the other day I looked up at my shelves and there, in a box clearly labeled Bug Specimens and Hydrometers, they were. And, it turns out that the boxes themselves were from Deyrolle. I didn’t notice until just today.

I never did that well at physics in school. But, in hindsight, I think I want to blame the teacher for making a subject that is so fascinating and poetic into something utterly prosaic. These videos are super cool. From the folks over at Wanken.