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The Oikofuge: Phenomena

This is the Phenomena feed from The Oikofuge---mainly natural phenomena, physics, optics ... and a bit of relativity.

Publisher:  Oikofuge
Message frequency:  0.02 / day

Message History

A discussion of the phrase "brass monkey weather", and a refutation of the folk etymology of "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey".

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A description of the components of lunar libration, which allow us to peek a little way into the lunar far side, including some animations of the various effects.

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How a short stretch of water in the middle of the Zambezi River became a contender for the shortest international border in the world---and why a century passed before anyone knew which countries were involved.

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In 2025, Saturn's rings have disappeared from view. But they'll come back. Galileo had the same problem in 1612. This is the story of why that keeps happening.

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The Western and Orthodox Christian traditions usually celebrate the same festivals on different dates. But in 2025, their Easter dates align. Here's why.

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