An ACME Klein bottle was my first purchase of a physical object from the internet, more than 20 years ago.
I was a teen, then, and my father was going to buy it for my birthday. At the time, it seemed wickedly crazy that you could just make a few mouse clicks on a computer and have a physical object delivered to your home. If I recall correctly, we had to send a credit card number by fax! We were really scared that something bad would happen.
A few weeks later we received the package with the Klein bottle in it, but unfortunately it was broken. It was just a small crack on one side, but thick enough that it leaked water when it was "filled". I remember being very excited and very disappointed at the same time. Then, I sent a mail to Cliff explaining that my bottle arrived a bit broken, but I could not really prove it (there were no ubiquitous digital cameras back then), just to inform him to try to make the packaging safer. He replied immediately something like "Oh, sorry about that! No big deal, I'm sending you a new one." And indeed he did. I was in awe!
To this day, both klein bottles are proudly displayed at my home, and I count them among my most prized possessions, together with a few old editions of math books. The chipped one is actually more visible since I am less afraid that it breaks! The good one, is reserved for running water experiments on special days.
An ACME Klein bottle was my first purchase of a physical object from the internet, more than 20 years ago.
I was a teen, then, and my father was going to buy it for my birthday. At the time, it seemed wickedly crazy that you could just make a few mouse clicks on a computer and have a physical object delivered to your home. If I recall correctly, we had to send a credit card number by fax! We were really scared that something bad would happen.
A few weeks later we received the package with the Klein bottle in it, but unfortunately it was broken. It was just a small crack on one side, but thick enough that it leaked water when it was "filled". I remember being very excited and very disappointed at the same time. Then, I sent a mail to Cliff explaining that my bottle arrived a bit broken, but I could not really prove it (there were no ubiquitous digital cameras back then), just to inform him to try to make the packaging safer. He replied immediately something like "Oh, sorry about that! No big deal, I'm sending you a new one." And indeed he did. I was in awe!
To this day, both klein bottles are proudly displayed at my home, and I count them among my most prized possessions, together with a few old editions of math books. The chipped one is actually more visible since I am less afraid that it breaks! The good one, is reserved for running water experiments on special days.
Thank you Cliff, we love your glasswork!