• The Dome over Manhattan - what if they actually built it??

    From mummycullen@mummycullen@gmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (MummyChunk) to alt.history.what-if on Sat Oct 12 15:57:12 2024
    From Newsgroup: alt.history.what-if

    The Dome over Manhattan was a proposal by the architects Buckminster
    Fuller and Shoji Sadao to build a 2-mile diameter geodesic dome over mid-Manhattan, New York (1960)

    In 1960, architects Buckminster Fuller and Shoji Sadao envisioned a
    futuristic and ambitious projectua massive geodesic dome over
    Manhattan, stretching two miles in diameter. This bold concept aimed
    to regulate the cityAs climate, providing temperature control and
    pollution reduction under its glass structure. Although never
    realized, the proposal reflected the forward-thinking optimism of the
    era, seeking to transform the cityscape and enhance urban living. The
    dome became a symbol of the boundless imagination of mid-century
    architects, blending innovation with utopian ideals.

    What if there have been enough technical know how and budget to build
    this thing would it still be standing today and would it have had any significant effect on the history of New York up until the present
    day?

    View the attachments for this post at: http://www.jlaforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=675918762#675918762

    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul Leyland@paul.leyland@gmail.com to alt.history.what-if on Thu Oct 17 10:39:21 2024
    From Newsgroup: alt.history.what-if

    Seems to me that 9/11 may well have happened, but with a different target.


    On 12/10/2024 16:57, MummyChunk wrote:
    The Dome over Manhattan was a proposal by the architects Buckminster
    Fuller and Shoji Sadao to build a 2-mile diameter geodesic dome over mid-Manhattan, New York (1960)

    In 1960, architects Buckminster Fuller and Shoji Sadao envisioned a futuristic and ambitious project-ua massive geodesic dome over
    Manhattan, stretching two miles in diameter. This bold concept aimed
    to regulate the city-As climate, providing temperature control and
    pollution reduction under its glass structure. Although never
    realized, the proposal reflected the forward-thinking optimism of the
    era, seeking to transform the cityscape and enhance urban living. The
    dome became a symbol of the boundless imagination of mid-century
    architects, blending innovation with utopian ideals.

    What if there have been enough technical know how and budget to build
    this thing would it still be standing today and would it have had any significant effect on the history of New York up until the present
    day?

    View the attachments for this post at: http://www.jlaforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=675918762#675918762


    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Louis Epstein@le@main.lekno.ws to alt.history.what-if on Tue Nov 19 16:20:45 2024
    From Newsgroup: alt.history.what-if

    MummyChunk <mummycullen@gmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid> wrote:
    The Dome over Manhattan was a proposal by the architects Buckminster
    Fuller and Shoji Sadao to build a 2-mile diameter geodesic dome over mid-Manhattan, New York (1960)

    In 1960, architects Buckminster Fuller and Shoji Sadao envisioned a futuristic and ambitious project?a massive geodesic dome over
    Manhattan, stretching two miles in diameter. This bold concept aimed
    to regulate the city?s climate, providing temperature control and
    pollution reduction under its glass structure. Although never
    realized, the proposal reflected the forward-thinking optimism of the
    era, seeking to transform the cityscape and enhance urban living. The
    dome became a symbol of the boundless imagination of mid-century
    architects, blending innovation with utopian ideals.

    What if there have been enough technical know how and budget to build
    this thing would it still be standing today and would it have had any significant effect on the history of New York up until the present
    day?

    View the attachments for this post at: http://www.jlaforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=675918762#675918762


    Did the technology to build it actually exist then?
    I wonder how maintainable it would have proved and if
    it would be more viable to build now.

    2 miles is actually a fraction of Manhattan's 21 square miles,
    the margins would be daunting.
    -=-=-
    The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
    at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From mummycullen@mummycullen@gmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (MummyChunk) to alt.history.what-if on Tue Nov 19 21:03:33 2024
    From Newsgroup: alt.history.what-if


    MummyChunk wrote:
    The Dome over Manhattan was a proposal by the architects
    Buckminster Fuller and Shoji Sadao to build a 2-mile diameter geodesic
    dome over mid-Manhattan, New York (1960)

    In 1960, architects Buckminster Fuller and Shoji Sadao envisioned a
    futuristic and ambitious projectua massive geodesic dome over
    Manhattan, stretching two miles in diameter. This bold concept aimed
    to regulate the cityAs climate, providing temperature control and
    pollution reduction under its glass structure. Although never
    realized, the proposal reflected the forward-thinking optimism of the
    era, seeking to transform the cityscape and enhance urban living. The
    dome became a symbol of the boundless imagination of mid-century
    architects, blending innovation with utopian ideals.

    What if there have been enough technical know how and budget to
    build this thing would it still be standing today and would it have
    had any significant effect on the history of New York up until the
    present day?

    Anyone remember the show Under The Dome.

    Helps visualize this concept a bit better

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_Dome_(TV_series)

    View the attachments for this post at: http://www.jlaforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=678568695#678568695


    This is a response to the post seen at: http://www.jlaforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=675918762#675918762


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  • From Dimensional Traveler@dtravel@sonic.net to alt.history.what-if on Wed Nov 20 07:35:54 2024
    From Newsgroup: alt.history.what-if

    On 11/19/2024 8:20 AM, Louis Epstein wrote:
    MummyChunk <mummycullen@gmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid> wrote:
    The Dome over Manhattan was a proposal by the architects Buckminster
    Fuller and Shoji Sadao to build a 2-mile diameter geodesic dome over
    mid-Manhattan, New York (1960)

    In 1960, architects Buckminster Fuller and Shoji Sadao envisioned a
    futuristic and ambitious project?a massive geodesic dome over
    Manhattan, stretching two miles in diameter. This bold concept aimed
    to regulate the city?s climate, providing temperature control and
    pollution reduction under its glass structure. Although never
    realized, the proposal reflected the forward-thinking optimism of the
    era, seeking to transform the cityscape and enhance urban living. The
    dome became a symbol of the boundless imagination of mid-century
    architects, blending innovation with utopian ideals.

    What if there have been enough technical know how and budget to build
    this thing would it still be standing today and would it have had any
    significant effect on the history of New York up until the present
    day?

    View the attachments for this post at:
    http://www.jlaforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=675918762#675918762


    Did the technology to build it actually exist then?
    I wonder how maintainable it would have proved and if
    it would be more viable to build now.

    2 miles is actually a fraction of Manhattan's 21 square miles,
    the margins would be daunting.

    I don't think the technology to do it exists today. And I expect
    maintenance would be a nightmare. A "window cleaner" job would be a
    whole lot more ... exciting.
    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From pyotr filipivich@phamp@mindspring.com to alt.history.what-if on Wed Nov 20 10:26:37 2024
    From Newsgroup: alt.history.what-if

    Louis Epstein <le@main.lekno.ws> on Tue, 19 Nov 2024 16:20:45 -0000
    (UTC) typed in alt.history.what-if the following:
    MummyChunk <mummycullen@gmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid> wrote:
    The Dome over Manhattan was a proposal by the architects Buckminster
    Fuller and Shoji Sadao to build a 2-mile diameter geodesic dome over
    mid-Manhattan, New York (1960)

    In 1960, architects Buckminster Fuller and Shoji Sadao envisioned a
    futuristic and ambitious project?a massive geodesic dome over
    Manhattan, stretching two miles in diameter. This bold concept aimed
    to regulate the city?s climate, providing temperature control and
    pollution reduction under its glass structure. Although never
    realized, the proposal reflected the forward-thinking optimism of the
    era, seeking to transform the cityscape and enhance urban living. The
    dome became a symbol of the boundless imagination of mid-century
    architects, blending innovation with utopian ideals.

    What if there have been enough technical know how and budget to build
    this thing would it still be standing today and would it have had any
    significant effect on the history of New York up until the present
    day?

    View the attachments for this post at:
    http://www.jlaforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=675918762#675918762


    Did the technology to build it actually exist then?
    I wonder how maintainable it would have proved and if
    it would be more viable to build now.

    Good questions. But engineers and such have had all sorts of mega projects in mind, "The idea is feasible, the rest is just
    engineering." (IOW: "just money".)
    My grandfather in the fifties said that the idea of building a
    bridge to the moon was feasible, although anchoring it would no doubt
    prove "interesting" (engineer speak for "expensive"). Allowing for
    the variations of the orbital distance could be handled by expansion
    joints. Each one doesn't have to be "big" - but with enough they will
    allow for the miles of difference. Getting the design worked out and
    the on-ramps approved would be the tricky part. The rest would just
    be plain old engineering.
    --
    pyotr filipivich
    "History rarely repeats herself" is the cliche. In reality she just
    lets fly with a frying pan yelling "Why weren't you listening the first time!?" --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dimensional Traveler@dtravel@sonic.net to alt.history.what-if on Wed Nov 20 17:54:06 2024
    From Newsgroup: alt.history.what-if

    On 11/20/2024 10:26 AM, pyotr filipivich wrote:
    Louis Epstein <le@main.lekno.ws> on Tue, 19 Nov 2024 16:20:45 -0000
    (UTC) typed in alt.history.what-if the following:
    MummyChunk <mummycullen@gmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid> wrote:
    The Dome over Manhattan was a proposal by the architects Buckminster
    Fuller and Shoji Sadao to build a 2-mile diameter geodesic dome over
    mid-Manhattan, New York (1960)

    In 1960, architects Buckminster Fuller and Shoji Sadao envisioned a
    futuristic and ambitious project?a massive geodesic dome over
    Manhattan, stretching two miles in diameter. This bold concept aimed
    to regulate the city?s climate, providing temperature control and
    pollution reduction under its glass structure. Although never
    realized, the proposal reflected the forward-thinking optimism of the
    era, seeking to transform the cityscape and enhance urban living. The
    dome became a symbol of the boundless imagination of mid-century
    architects, blending innovation with utopian ideals.

    What if there have been enough technical know how and budget to build
    this thing would it still be standing today and would it have had any
    significant effect on the history of New York up until the present
    day?

    View the attachments for this post at:
    http://www.jlaforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=675918762#675918762


    Did the technology to build it actually exist then?
    I wonder how maintainable it would have proved and if
    it would be more viable to build now.

    Good questions. But engineers and such have had all sorts of mega projects in mind, "The idea is feasible, the rest is just
    engineering." (IOW: "just money".)
    My grandfather in the fifties said that the idea of building a
    bridge to the moon was feasible, although anchoring it would no doubt
    prove "interesting" (engineer speak for "expensive"). Allowing for
    the variations of the orbital distance could be handled by expansion
    joints. Each one doesn't have to be "big" - but with enough they will
    allow for the miles of difference. Getting the design worked out and
    the on-ramps approved would be the tricky part. The rest would just
    be plain old engineering.

    And the lack of tidal locking of the moon to a geosynch orbit wasn't considered a significant problem? o_O
    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From pyotr filipivich@phamp@mindspring.com to alt.history.what-if on Fri Nov 22 09:33:12 2024
    From Newsgroup: alt.history.what-if

    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> on Wed, 20 Nov 2024 17:54:06
    -0800 typed in alt.history.what-if the following:

    Good questions. But engineers and such have had all sorts of mega
    projects in mind, "The idea is feasible, the rest is just
    engineering." (IOW: "just money".)
    My grandfather in the fifties said that the idea of building a
    bridge to the moon was feasible, although anchoring it would no doubt
    prove "interesting" (engineer speak for "expensive"). Allowing for
    the variations of the orbital distance could be handled by expansion
    joints. Each one doesn't have to be "big" - but with enough they will
    allow for the miles of difference. Getting the design worked out and
    the on-ramps approved would be the tricky part. The rest would just
    be plain old engineering.

    And the lack of tidal locking of the moon to a geosynch orbit wasn't >considered a significant problem? o_O

    Oh it would pose some "engineering challenges".

    Let's just say that there were a number of "interesting" aspects
    of a project of this size which would require some forward thinking
    and innovative engineering (read that as "even more expensive that you imagined.")

    Remember, technically feasible does not mean practically feasible. Option one is on ramps at the poles, option two is onramp's at the
    equator on a world girdling bridge. Now making the transition from
    the bridge to an onramp or off ramp traveling at ~1000 mph does pose
    some technical challenges, but like the Turboencabulator, I'm sure the Government will be able to fund it.
    --
    pyotr filipivich
    "History rarely repeats herself" is the cliche. In reality she just
    lets fly with a frying pan yelling "Why weren't you listening the first time!?" --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dimensional Traveler@dtravel@sonic.net to alt.history.what-if on Fri Nov 22 22:15:53 2024
    From Newsgroup: alt.history.what-if

    On 11/22/2024 9:33 AM, pyotr filipivich wrote:
    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> on Wed, 20 Nov 2024 17:54:06
    -0800 typed in alt.history.what-if the following:

    Good questions. But engineers and such have had all sorts of mega
    projects in mind, "The idea is feasible, the rest is just
    engineering." (IOW: "just money".)
    My grandfather in the fifties said that the idea of building a
    bridge to the moon was feasible, although anchoring it would no doubt
    prove "interesting" (engineer speak for "expensive"). Allowing for
    the variations of the orbital distance could be handled by expansion
    joints. Each one doesn't have to be "big" - but with enough they will
    allow for the miles of difference. Getting the design worked out and
    the on-ramps approved would be the tricky part. The rest would just
    be plain old engineering.

    And the lack of tidal locking of the moon to a geosynch orbit wasn't
    considered a significant problem? o_O

    Oh it would pose some "engineering challenges".

    Let's just say that there were a number of "interesting" aspects
    of a project of this size which would require some forward thinking
    and innovative engineering (read that as "even more expensive that you imagined.")

    Remember, technically feasible does not mean practically feasible. Option one is on ramps at the poles, option two is onramp's at the
    equator on a world girdling bridge. Now making the transition from
    the bridge to an onramp or off ramp traveling at ~1000 mph does pose
    some technical challenges, but like the Turboencabulator, I'm sure the Government will be able to fund it.

    That's where I walk out of the room, quickly, so whatever they are
    smoking doesn't rot my brain thru second-hand smoke.
    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From pyotr filipivich@phamp@mindspring.com to alt.history.what-if on Sat Nov 23 07:35:04 2024
    From Newsgroup: alt.history.what-if

    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> on Fri, 22 Nov 2024 22:15:53
    -0800 typed in alt.history.what-if the following:

    Remember, technically feasible does not mean practically feasible.
    Option one is on ramps at the poles, option two is onramp's at the
    equator on a world girdling bridge. Now making the transition from
    the bridge to an onramp or off ramp traveling at ~1000 mph does pose
    some technical challenges, but like the Turboencabulator, I'm sure the
    Government will be able to fund it.

    That's where I walk out of the room, quickly, so whatever they are
    smoking doesn't rot my brain thru second-hand smoke.

    A lot of things start out as blue-sky wild ideas and sketches on cocktail napkins. Some of them may not be practical with current
    technology, but without some nut thinking he could transmit voices
    over a telegraph wire, or by radio, we'd have no interwebs and wifi.

    Walking out of that smoker, you would miss out on steam power
    trains rocketing along at 10 miles per hour, heavier than air powered
    flight traveling at more than 100 miles an hour, automatically opening
    door, rockets in space, space elevators, and other far out
    "impractical Ideas".

    As I said, "technically feasible does not mean practically
    feasible". I contemplated as a boy an excellent marketing project, to
    damn the strait of Gibraltar using a frame work of Bic Pens covered in
    Saran Wrap.
    While those might not work, with different materials the concept
    could be implemented. However, there does remain the problem of
    cooperation between Spain and Morocco regarding location, not to
    mention the practicality of all the nations which 'border' the Med
    (including Romania and Russia via the Dardanelle) agreeing. And
    getting the Egyptians to block off the Suez Canal. Like I said,
    feasible, but not practical.
    For a pilot project, we could try damming the Golden Gate in California.

    I mean, with enough nukes we could excavate a sea-level canal from
    the Pacific to the Atlantic through Nicaragua, or Columbia even.

    There are a lot of technically feasible ideas, but the
    practicalities currently get in the way. Connecting the Quatrra
    Depression in Egypt to the Med for power, salt and possibly increased
    rainfall is feasible. There remains this issue of 40 km of tunnel or
    canal needed for the connection.
    Similar proposals have been made for the Dead Sea.
    --
    pyotr filipivich
    "History rarely repeats herself" is the cliche. In reality she just
    lets fly with a frying pan yelling "Why weren't you listening the first time!?" --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Louis Epstein@le@main.lekno.ws to alt.history.what-if on Tue Dec 3 06:59:48 2024
    From Newsgroup: alt.history.what-if

    pyotr filipivich <phamp@mindspring.com> wrote:
    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> on Fri, 22 Nov 2024 22:15:53
    -0800 typed in alt.history.what-if the following:

    Remember, technically feasible does not mean practically feasible.
    Option one is on ramps at the poles, option two is onramp's at the
    equator on a world girdling bridge. Now making the transition from
    the bridge to an onramp or off ramp traveling at ~1000 mph does pose
    some technical challenges, but like the Turboencabulator, I'm sure the
    Government will be able to fund it.

    That's where I walk out of the room, quickly, so whatever they are
    smoking doesn't rot my brain thru second-hand smoke.

    A lot of things start out as blue-sky wild ideas and sketches on cocktail napkins. Some of them may not be practical with current
    technology, but without some nut thinking he could transmit voices
    over a telegraph wire, or by radio, we'd have no interwebs and wifi.

    Walking out of that smoker, you would miss out on steam power
    trains rocketing along at 10 miles per hour, heavier than air powered
    flight traveling at more than 100 miles an hour, automatically opening
    door, rockets in space, space elevators, and other far out
    "impractical Ideas".

    As I said, "technically feasible does not mean practically
    feasible". I contemplated as a boy an excellent marketing project, to
    damn the strait of Gibraltar using a frame work of Bic Pens covered in
    Saran Wrap.
    While those might not work, with different materials the concept could be implemented. However, there does remain the problem of
    cooperation between Spain and Morocco regarding location, not to
    mention the practicality of all the nations which 'border' the Med
    (including Romania and Russia via the Dardanelle) agreeing. And
    getting the Egyptians to block off the Suez Canal. Like I said,
    feasible, but not practical.
    For a pilot project, we could try damming the Golden Gate in California.

    I mean, with enough nukes we could excavate a sea-level canal from the Pacific to the Atlantic through Nicaragua, or Columbia even.

    There are a lot of technically feasible ideas, but the
    practicalities currently get in the way. Connecting the Quatrra
    Depression in Egypt to the Med for power, salt and possibly increased rainfall is feasible. There remains this issue of 40 km of tunnel or
    canal needed for the connection.
    Similar proposals have been made for the Dead Sea.

    Meh,I want to polish one of the larger craters on the moon
    to a parabolic arc so it can serve as a reflecting telescope,
    with a station-keeping satellite above it as the eyepiece.

    -=-=-
    The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
    at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From pyotr filipivich@phamp@mindspring.com to alt.history.what-if on Wed Dec 4 10:07:46 2024
    From Newsgroup: alt.history.what-if

    Louis Epstein <le@main.lekno.ws> on Tue, 3 Dec 2024 06:59:48 -0000
    (UTC) typed in alt.history.what-if the following:

    There are a lot of technically feasible ideas, but the
    practicalities currently get in the way. Connecting the Quatrra
    Depression in Egypt to the Med for power, salt and possibly increased
    rainfall is feasible. There remains this issue of 40 km of tunnel or
    canal needed for the connection.
    Similar proposals have been made for the Dead Sea.

    Meh,I want to polish one of the larger craters on the moon
    to a parabolic arc so it can serve as a reflecting telescope,
    with a station-keeping satellite above it as the eyepiece.

    Cool! And also do one to use as a radio telescope.

    On Farside of course.
    --
    pyotr filipivich
    "History rarely repeats herself" is the cliche. In reality she just
    lets fly with a frying pan yelling "Why weren't you listening the first time!?" --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul Leyland@paul.leyland@gmail.com to alt.history.what-if on Wed Dec 4 18:34:16 2024
    From Newsgroup: alt.history.what-if

    Oops! Meant to follow-up (which this is doing) rather than reply (my
    first attempt) but I'm still getting the hang of this UI.

    8-(


    On 04/12/2024 18:07, pyotr filipivich wrote:
    Louis Epstein <le@main.lekno.ws> on Tue, 3 Dec 2024 06:59:48 -0000
    (UTC) typed in alt.history.what-if the following:

    There are a lot of technically feasible ideas, but the
    practicalities currently get in the way. Connecting the Quatrra
    Depression in Egypt to the Med for power, salt and possibly increased
    rainfall is feasible. There remains this issue of 40 km of tunnel or
    canal needed for the connection.
    Similar proposals have been made for the Dead Sea.

    Meh,I want to polish one of the larger craters on the moon
    to a parabolic arc so it can serve as a reflecting telescope,
    with a station-keeping satellite above it as the eyepiece.

    Cool! And also do one to use as a radio telescope.

    On Farside of course.

    A radio telescope built into a crater of order 1-10km in diameter has
    long been proposed and has been possible from an engineering POV for
    decades. Arecibo and the 500m radio telescope in China proves that. The
    only (!) problems arise from politics and economics.

    As for optical telescopes, the OWL, at 100m was rejected on economic
    grounds, not technical. Current engineering *may* be able to reach 500m
    or perhaps even a kilometre, but I rather doubt the latter for the near future, even in the absence of weather and under lunar gravity.

    The big difficulty in the original proposal, as I see it, lies in
    putting the detector on a station-keeping satellite. The Moon's rotation period is so slow that orbital mechanics rule out a lunar stationary
    satellite (and, any way, the focal length would be unfeasibly high.
    Station keeping could doubtless be done with a propelled satellite to counteract lunar gravity and perturbations from the Earth, the Sun and
    the other planets. For the foreseeable future any form of rocketry would likely involve large amounts of reaction mass, though presumably
    frequent re-supply could overcome that issue. Reactionless propulsion,
    such as a solar sail, seems to me to be a mover viable solution.
    Admittedly, that may just be a failure of imagination on my part.

    Given that km-scale towers are already achievable on Earth, in 1/6g
    lunar gravity it should be possible to suspend detectors, working at
    most any wavelength longer than hard-UV above a reflector which is 10km
    in diameter, again on the Arcibo model. That said, normal incident
    reflectors which work well into the soft X-ray region are currently
    available. Unfortunately, they have reflectivities around a few per cent
    at best and have yet to be built more than a centimetre or few across.

    BTW, I would make the primary mirror spherical and correct its
    aberration at the secondary where the reflector(s) are much smaller and
    easier - which also means cheaper.

    How can you tell that a good number of very smart astronomers and
    engineers have been thinking about this in great detail?

    Paul


    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Louis Epstein@le@main.lekno.ws to alt.history.what-if on Wed Dec 11 06:14:41 2024
    From Newsgroup: alt.history.what-if

    pyotr filipivich <phamp@mindspring.com> wrote:
    Louis Epstein <le@main.lekno.ws> on Tue, 3 Dec 2024 06:59:48 -0000
    (UTC) typed in alt.history.what-if the following:

    There are a lot of technically feasible ideas, but the
    practicalities currently get in the way. Connecting the Quatrra
    Depression in Egypt to the Med for power, salt and possibly increased
    rainfall is feasible. There remains this issue of 40 km of tunnel or
    canal needed for the connection.
    Similar proposals have been made for the Dead Sea.

    Meh,I want to polish one of the larger craters on the moon
    to a parabolic arc so it can serve as a reflecting telescope,
    with a station-keeping satellite above it as the eyepiece.

    Cool! And also do one to use as a radio telescope.

    On Farside of course.

    Would Gary Larson be involved in the design?
    :)

    -=-=-
    The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
    at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2