[AStonesThrow]

Ah, pendulums. They had some cool ones in the museums we used to visit. One was 2+ stories high and it would knock down dominoes to reckon the time of day as the Earth perturbed its motions.

Another much smaller pendulum in the hands-on science exhibits, you scooped sand into it and then set it swinging freely across a square black surface. It would trace out amazing patterns as it spilled sand hourglass-style.

So then some bully would rock up next to me and smack the pendulum, stop it from swinging, and spill a big blob on the formerly-geometric pattern. And they invariably said "just to see what would happen". AStonesThrow would have a small meltdown or become rather indigant. I suppose their empirical science is just as valid as kicking down sandcastles on the beach.

And that's how I came to prefer single-player games...

[AStonesThrow]

Today I learned a new definition: Lissajous

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lissajous_curve

The sand pendulum drew lissajous curves as it swung. [I learned it today because they called the ESA Gaia probe's orbit "Lissajous" around the Lagrange point.]

https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/Farewell_Gai...