Glib Globe – an Atlasphere globe will audibly identify countries at the touch of a pen – Brief Article

Globes afford a god’s-eye view of the world, its oceans, and exotic lands. But until this year they never talked. Now, with the touch of a special pen, the Atlasphere tells you the name of the country you’re pointing to, its population, rainfall, and other statistics. It even plays slightly tinny versions of ethnic music and national anthems. You can spell out a country’s name on a keypad on the Indian Ocean, and the globe will tell you where to find it. Other features instantly calculate time differences, distances, and! flight times between any two points. How does all this happen? Four metal contacts in each hemisphere of the globe send radio signals that the pen picks up and uses to angulate its position. The pen relays the coordinates to a computer in the base, which determines the pen’s location. The Atlasphere comes loaded with a variety of games to test your knowledge of geography.

COPYRIGHT 1999 Discover

COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group

You May Also Like

Eat dirt: in the competition between parrots and fruit trees, it’s the winners who bite the dust

Eat dirt: in the competition between parrots and fruit trees, it’s the winners who bite the dust Jared Diamond Being the father of …

Our backs against the bomb, our eyes on the stars

Our backs against the bomb, our eyes on the stars Rusty Schweickart OUR BACKS AGAINST THE BOMB, OUR EYES ON THE STARS An astr…

Pop, Crackle, Snap – carbonated beverages may cause bone loss in athletic teenage girls

Pop, Crackle, Snap – carbonated beverages may cause bone loss in athletic teenage girls – Brief Article Jocelyn Selim Any way you l…

We’ll always have parrots – popular remedies to release creativity – Light Elements

We’ll always have parrots – popular remedies to release creativity – Light Elements – special issue: The Science of Creativity Polly Shulm…