BOMBS, BOOBS & BURGERS

I'm heading to the UK tonight for a week to do a last bit of research, but fear not - there will be regular, daily posts here while I'm gone. Starting tomorrow, I'll be posting seven days worth of interesting "little-known facts" from my book that will make you the Cliff Clavin of every party you go to.

One of the things I'll be doing while in the UK is getting some more information on the development of radar, which was invented there during World War II. It's a little-known fact (don't worry, this doesn't count among the other seven) that the microwave oven was derived from radar. It's true. Percy Spencer, an engineer working for defense contractor Raytheon, was playing around with a magnetron - the radar's heart - in his lab when he discovered that a chocolate bar in his pocket had melted. He then tested the magnetron's heating properties with an egg and some popcorn, and when both cooked, he quickly patented microwave cooking. And the rest is, as they say, history.

I'll also be talking to Sir John Pendry, the researcher behind the move to make tanks invisible. I posted on the topic back in March, and I'm very curious as to what the potential commercial spinoffs of this technology could be. If there's one thing I've learned in my research, it's that scientists usually have a commercial spinoff in mind when they're working on stuff. I hope it's more interesting than a Harry Potter-esque invisibility cloak.

Other than that, I'm going to visit Scotland for the first time and do some Munro-bagging, plus drink some whiskey and perhaps take in a caber toss or two. See you all soon, and don't forgot, the Cliff Clavin Cavalcade begins tomorrow.