I'm reluctant to make it ridiculously easy by giving you a huge clue,
and at the moment, that huge clue is the only one I have in mind. So
unless you start giving halfway clever answers, I can only cajole you
with halfway clever posts.

Instead, I'm gonna add a requirement:


Tell me WHY Ed was wearing whatever it was I saw him wearing.


If you make a guess as to WHAT he was wearing you are required to
also guess WHY he was wearing it.

Anyone who fails to include BOTH WHAT and WHY will be punished by
receipt of a large shipment of SERIOUSLY overripe bananas from some
other thread!

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

__________________
http://www.FreeMars.org/jeff/

"I find astronomy very interesting, but I wouldn't if I thought we
were just going to sit here and look." -- "Van Rijn"

"The other planets? Well, they just happen to be there, but the
point of rockets is to explore them!" -- Kai Yeves

He was wearing a towel in anticipitation of the Vogons' destruction of Earth?

__________________
Science is like sex. Sometimes something useful comes out, but that is not the reason we are doing it.
-- Richard Feynman

Andreas,

Good guess!

Completely wrong, thank heavens.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

__________________
http://www.FreeMars.org/jeff/

"I find astronomy very interesting, but I wouldn't if I thought we
were just going to sit here and look." -- "Van Rijn"

"The other planets? Well, they just happen to be there, but the
point of rockets is to explore them!" -- Kai Yeves

Is it an instrument of some kind?

__________________
Lighten up! This is a stellar board!

No, not an instrument of any kind. (Not a stethescope hanging around
his neck, for example!)

Apparently you underestimate the overripeness of the bananas I'm going
to have to send to you, George.

NEXT!

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

__________________
http://www.FreeMars.org/jeff/

"I find astronomy very interesting, but I wouldn't if I thought we
were just going to sit here and look." -- "Van Rijn"

"The other planets? Well, they just happen to be there, but the
point of rockets is to explore them!" -- Kai Yeves

Curiously, that was one of the possibilities I had in mind, but I could find no reason for it to become only useful after taking it off. Was it an item of clothing with some information on the backside, like for instance some formula or map?

__________________
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge" -- Charles Darwin
"Your right to hold an opinion is not being contested. Your expectation that it be taken seriously is." -- Jason Thompson
Meet the OOONG TOE.

Curious George likes bananas.

Was the item worn a fruit?

__________________
Lighten up! This is a stellar board!

No. I never saw the back side of it, but it is extremely unlikely
that it had any information on it. It would be a *most* peculiar
location to store information that could only be used after taking
the thing off!

I'll say this: Although I never saw the back of the item, I did see
what was under it.


What did I sometimes see astronomer Ed Nye wearing when I visited
the physics building on the main campus of the University of Minnesota?

He had to take it off in order for it to do him any good.

Tell me WHY Ed was wearing whatever it was I saw him wearing.


I still think this isn't all that difficult.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

__________________
http://www.FreeMars.org/jeff/

"I find astronomy very interesting, but I wouldn't if I thought we
were just going to sit here and look." -- "Van Rijn"

"The other planets? Well, they just happen to be there, but the
point of rockets is to explore them!" -- Kai Yeves

George,

I answered slang's post before seeing yours. I very nearly added a
clue to that post saying another thing that the thing in question is NOT.
But decided against it because you are monkeying around too much.

No, Ed wasn't wearing any fruit, and as far as I know he never went
out with Carmen Miranda.

NEXT!

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

__________________
http://www.FreeMars.org/jeff/

"I find astronomy very interesting, but I wouldn't if I thought we
were just going to sit here and look." -- "Van Rijn"

"The other planets? Well, they just happen to be there, but the
point of rockets is to explore them!" -- Kai Yeves

BUMP!


There is a question to be answered. You have a duty and an obligation
to discover that answer forthwith and posthaste. Gentlemen, ladies...
ladies? Boys and girls? Persons of whatever species... Step up to your
keyboards... Okay, Roll your chairs up to your keyboards and let the
world know how brilliant you are. Or serve as an inspiration to others
by making them think, "Wow. Even I can do better than that!"

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

__________________
http://www.FreeMars.org/jeff/

"I find astronomy very interesting, but I wouldn't if I thought we
were just going to sit here and look." -- "Van Rijn"

"The other planets? Well, they just happen to be there, but the
point of rockets is to explore them!" -- Kai Yeves

He was wearing skis. The reason he was wearing them was to have objects ready to club persons who were staring at him over the head. Of course he had to take them off before they could do him any good as offensive weapons.

__________________
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge" -- Charles Darwin
"Your right to hold an opinion is not being contested. Your expectation that it be taken seriously is." -- Jason Thompson
Meet the OOONG TOE.

Perfectly logical, but very, very stupid. Almost as stupid as a
bugblatterbeast. Also, wrong.

At least you don't have to worry about overripe bananas.

In another building on the same campus, years earlier, I saw a
girl wearing what appeared to be ski boots. Downhill ski boots.
I don't remember seeing her trying to walk in them. It doesn't
matter. She could wear anything she wanted and look fabulous.
Imagine the ideal California blonde ski bum. Mary Utne, in tenth
grade, the class ahead of mine.

NEXT!

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

__________________
http://www.FreeMars.org/jeff/

"I find astronomy very interesting, but I wouldn't if I thought we
were just going to sit here and look." -- "Van Rijn"

"The other planets? Well, they just happen to be there, but the
point of rockets is to explore them!" -- Kai Yeves

Dark glasses. Had to take them off to see anything. To preserve night vision. Want bananas.

__________________
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge" -- Charles Darwin
"Your right to hold an opinion is not being contested. Your expectation that it be taken seriously is." -- Jason Thompson
Meet the OOONG TOE.

Eroica already guessed "Eclipse shades". But that's something
different, with a different function and different purpose.

I am fairly desperate to get this over with, but your answer is not
the "correct" answer. It isn't the answer I'm looking for. But it is
3/4 of the way there. So you are set up to be the winner, but you
haven't quite got it yet.

"Dark" is correct. "To preserve night vision" is correct. "Had to
take it off in order to see" is correct. He wasn't wearing glasses.
He could see while wearing this thing. Yes, I read what I just typed.


What did I sometimes see astronomer Ed Nye wearing when I visited
the physics building on the main campus of the University of Minnesota?

He had to take it off in order for it to do him any good.


You only get bananas if you are bad. I'm sure you will get plenty
of bananas. I've got my hunches.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

__________________
http://www.FreeMars.org/jeff/

"I find astronomy very interesting, but I wouldn't if I thought we
were just going to sit here and look." -- "Van Rijn"

"The other planets? Well, they just happen to be there, but the
point of rockets is to explore them!" -- Kai Yeves

So the question reduces to "what, besides dark glasses and eclipse shades, preserves night vision without completely obstructing the view". Hmm.

Dark goggles.
IR goggles, on low intensity.
Thin cloth.
Darkened diving mask.

If it's not one of those, I yield and will take the overripe bananas, letting someone else take the win.

You're enjoying this, ain'tcha?

That almost motivates to keep this going until the reply-count here matches your post-count. Almost.

__________________
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge" -- Charles Darwin
"Your right to hold an opinion is not being contested. Your expectation that it be taken seriously is." -- Jason Thompson
Meet the OOONG TOE.

Nope, nope, nope, nope. All of your guesses are wrong in exactly
the way I was fiendishly hoping.

No! You are too close! You have completely answered the "why"
part of the question, and you are half right on the "what" part.

Who, me?

As long as you give me something I can work with.

Look, if you can answer the question correctly, I might send you a
fresh, not-too-ripe banana! You'd like that! (Although you *might*
have to pay for shipping...) If George can answer it, I might send
him some ice cream. Similar goodie for anyone else. You've reduced
me to offering bribes, now. Good thing I'm not a politician or lobbyist.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

__________________
http://www.FreeMars.org/jeff/

"I find astronomy very interesting, but I wouldn't if I thought we
were just going to sit here and look." -- "Van Rijn"

"The other planets? Well, they just happen to be there, but the
point of rockets is to explore them!" -- Kai Yeves

Eskimo shades, with just a tiny slit?

You're a mean man, Jeff... keeping me teetering on the brink of getting it, and yet continuing in my despair.

__________________
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge" -- Charles Darwin
"Your right to hold an opinion is not being contested. Your expectation that it be taken seriously is." -- Jason Thompson
Meet the OOONG TOE.

I happened to log in here just 3 minutes after you posted!

No. Same problem as all your other guesses!

I'm not a mean man-- I'm a very nice man. Just a mean wizard.
Or something.

If you think about it from the beginning, using the info you now
have, it should be easy.

Who else here has figured it out?

Here's another clue that won't do you any good: A friend of mine,
one of the founders of the Minnesota Space Frontier Society, would
not be able to use this thing the way Ed used it. He could use it
the way other people use it, but he has no need to, so he
doesn't.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

__________________
http://www.FreeMars.org/jeff/

"I find astronomy very interesting, but I wouldn't if I thought we
were just going to sit here and look." -- "Van Rijn"

"The other planets? Well, they just happen to be there, but the
point of rockets is to explore them!" -- Kai Yeves

If your goal is exquisitly unhelpful hints, then you are on steeply rising trajectory.

__________________
Non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem.

A lace bra.

__________________
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge" -- Charles Darwin
"Your right to hold an opinion is not being contested. Your expectation that it be taken seriously is." -- Jason Thompson
Meet the OOONG TOE.

C'mon, now. This is a perfectly legit question, with a perfectly legit
answer. It isn't unique to Ed Nye-- other astronomers have done the
same as he did. You know 3/4 of the answer, and I've given you a
bunch of additional clues that actually do help. Your guesses all have
the same flaw.

Another clue: Stop thinking analog and start thinking binary.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

__________________
http://www.FreeMars.org/jeff/

"I find astronomy very interesting, but I wouldn't if I thought we
were just going to sit here and look." -- "Van Rijn"

"The other planets? Well, they just happen to be there, but the
point of rockets is to explore them!" -- Kai Yeves

Yarrrrrrrrrr!!! Eye patch?

__________________
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge" -- Charles Darwin
"Your right to hold an opinion is not being contested. Your expectation that it be taken seriously is." -- Jason Thompson
Meet the OOONG TOE.

ARRRRRR!!

EYE PATCH IS CORRECT, MATEY!

U of M astronomer Ed Nye sometimes wore a standard black eyepatch
on one eye (don't remember which) to give him night vision capability
quickly while observing from the observatory on the roof of the physics
building.

slang, the burden is now on your shoulders. (Whew!) Quiz us.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

__________________
http://www.FreeMars.org/jeff/

"I find astronomy very interesting, but I wouldn't if I thought we
were just going to sit here and look." -- "Van Rijn"

"The other planets? Well, they just happen to be there, but the
point of rockets is to explore them!" -- Kai Yeves

Whew indeed! Epiphany doesn't even come close to my feelings say, 10 seconds after reading your last clue. Now, who else had thought of the eye patch but didn't post? Don't worry, I won't offload the burden of the question to you, I'm just curious

Please give me some time to try to come up with something reasonably clever, hopefully without having to resort to the dreaded 20...

__________________
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge" -- Charles Darwin
"Your right to hold an opinion is not being contested. Your expectation that it be taken seriously is." -- Jason Thompson
Meet the OOONG TOE.

The possibility if an eye patch did cross my mind. Couldn't tell you why I didn't post it actually.

__________________
Science is like sex. Sometimes something useful comes out, but that is not the reason we are doing it.
-- Richard Feynman

I soncond, third, and fourth that. I doubt we'll get Centaur back here, but that format should be at the sidelines for some time anyway.

__________________
Non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem.

I'm afraid it'll have to be a question of the type "who remembers obscure fact", even though it might be a lot less obscure to others than to me.

GRB's are en vogue, but they are not the only type of bursts. I'm wondering if anyone remembers the discovery of another type of burst, and which observatory/instrument was used for it?

__________________
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge" -- Charles Darwin
"Your right to hold an opinion is not being contested. Your expectation that it be taken seriously is." -- Jason Thompson
Meet the OOONG TOE.

I don't have a large personal library, but I have a novel by Frederik Pohl
that I just took down from the shelf right behind me. One of the main
characters is Dr. Dieter von Knefhausen. Expanded from the story "The
Gold at the Starbow's End", with a new, shorter, one-word title. Please
tell me I'm on the wrong track. I don't need to go through that again.
So soon, anyhow.

And in any case I don't know any of the details.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

__________________
http://www.FreeMars.org/jeff/

"I find astronomy very interesting, but I wouldn't if I thought we
were just going to sit here and look." -- "Van Rijn"

"The other planets? Well, they just happen to be there, but the
point of rockets is to explore them!" -- Kai Yeves

I remember a story named Starbirst, and it might have been Pohl... but not the burst I'm looking for.

__________________
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge" -- Charles Darwin
"Your right to hold an opinion is not being contested. Your expectation that it be taken seriously is." -- Jason Thompson
Meet the OOONG TOE.

Yay!!!!!

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

__________________
http://www.FreeMars.org/jeff/

"I find astronomy very interesting, but I wouldn't if I thought we
were just going to sit here and look." -- "Van Rijn"

"The other planets? Well, they just happen to be there, but the
point of rockets is to explore them!" -- Kai Yeves