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Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Importance of Vacuum in Life

I am travelling by train back to Hyderabad. The ambience is very dull and boring. I am not talking about the vacuum of someone in life or not even about missing someone. Could you just wait for couple of moments (or rather sentences) before you come to any conclusions. I am not talking of missing someone in my life or about knowing the importance of a person in his/her absence.


After having so many chegodis and samosas and chips (all oily stuff), I feel so thirsty. Yet no amount of water seems to quench the parched throat. How about a glass of buttermilk! The very thought of it makes me feel wanting it all the more! Just in time a vendor passes by our compartment. But before I can call out for him, he goes away, out of ear-shot. And I am left wondering how to call him. How about "Hey Bhaiyya!"? But there are lot more Bhaiyyas around and it is not so specific to him. "Hey Buttermilk!" sounds so weird... It is not the buttermilk carrying the Bhaiyya; it is the other way round! Ha ha ha...


While I am contemplating on how to call him, he turns around, and heads back towards us. I am overjoyed and immediately catch his eye by waving my hand... And then I wish he would not assume I am saying "Bye!" or gesturing him to go away... Ha ha ha

Needless to say, I buy a packet of buttermilk and am given a free straw in return. I pul at the edge of the packet to tear a hole and put the straw into the hole. And start sucking at the straw. And all that goes into my mouth is air! Gusts of air but no buttermilk to quench my thirst! Just imagine my plight!

I dont have to rack my brains for long to find out why I cannot get any liquid through the straw. You see... my basic foundations of science are really good! It is vacuum that enables us to suck stuff against gravity. In our case, we suck and create vacuum in the straw and then the buttermilk gushes up to fill in that vacuum... Now what stops me from creating the vacuum in the straw?

A tiny hole somewhere in the straw is stopping the whole packet of buttermilk to get in from the bottom... How to stop it? Oh no! I dont need any cello-tape or glue to cover the tiny hole. Instead do you know what I do? I snap the straw into two pieces and use the bit of straw without the hole to drink the buttermilk... Nice na?

I know all this may be a very stupid thing to write about. But I am just too excited to realize that I really put my theoritical science knowledge to use! :-)

4 comments:

Anand said...

That portrays your analyzing and application abilities [:D]

If I was in your position, I would have thrown the straw and sipped it [:P]

Arathi Prakash said...

ha ha ha :)

Madhavi Ev said...

Hahaha...good that you posted this. This is another way of reminding people 'how mechanical life has become' that a person doesn't even think about simple things...never bothers to apply simple logic in the day-to-day life.
He would simply discard the straw thinking "the straw is damaged and is useless!"
Acquiring knowledge is not everything, but applying it sensibly when required is called wisdom!
I have to say, my friend is as wise as me! ;)

Arathi Prakash said...

Sontha Dabba Kontha Maanuko! :P