Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Science Geeks Rule!

Linus Pauling at age 17.  Pic from the Linus Pauling Centenary at OSU

Alternate post title: "Possibly the coolest thing this engraver has ever worked on"

So a guy is cleaning out some space in a building at OSU.  He stumbles across a handwritten letter that reads:

Corvallis - Saturday 16 Jan. 1982

The old Chem. B'ld'g was unlocked.  I sat and stood for half an hour in the room on the second floor where I first saw my sweet love, 60 years ago today, less two days.  I stood at the front of the room and repeated my first words: "Will you please tell me what you know about ammonium hydroxide, Miss..." (I then looked at my class book and selected one of the 25 names at random) "...Miller?"  Ava Helen Miller made a good answer.  This chance meeting has determined the nature of my life.

Linus Pauling



Pretty cool, eh?  I'm in the middle of turning that note into a permanent plaque that'll be displayed somewhere on campus.  Pauling may have had some lefty tendencies, but none can argue his genius.  And this is a pretty slick way for a geek to break the ice with the ladies!

8 comments:

  1. Inno:

    Cool beans. Never knew ol' Linus went to one of my alma maters. Got an MBA from OSU in 1993. Go Beavers.

    (unrelated note: I also got an undergrad degree from the other college in Eugene whose name we shant mention here, hope that doesn't irk you too much)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fredd - Small world. I was at OSU from '87 - '90 and one of my best friends got his MBA there about the same time you did. Not irked. Might have been irked, though, if you'd gone to OSU first and then to That Place in Eugene We Don't Speak Of.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well that's a hell of a lot better than my line:

    "Will you tell me what you know about autoerotic asphyxiation?"

    ReplyDelete
  4. Not a bad pick up line but still pretty square.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dead Red ConservativeNovember 10, 2011 at 6:12 PM

    Will you please tell me what you know about ammonium hydroxide. Or what are you doing tonight. or wanna go out for pizza. OR, or, or. I bet he relived that moment for the rest of his life. So did Miss Miller/Pauling
    P.S.
    I don't even wanna know what autereotic asphyxation.

    ReplyDelete

Family-friendly phrasing heartily encouraged.

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