Congratulations are in order for hitting the 60-million mark in page-views. As you can see from the Alexa traffic rank, WUWT has remained steadfastly popular since that pesky ClimateGate story a year ago. Way to go Anthony!
The traffic rank starts with Google at #1, Facebook at #2, YouTube at #3, Yahoo at #4…on down to WUWT which is at #15,974.
From four years ago,
Welcome to: Watts Up With That?
Posted on November 17, 2006 by Anthony Watts
As a frequent contributor to other blogs, I’ve found it to be a fun way of sharing ideas and discussions. I’d been toying with the idea of doing one of my own for awhile, and now that elections are over I felt the time was right as it appears I’ll have more time on my hands 😉
The idea here on this blog is somewhat “gee-whiz” in nature. I’ve always been fascinated by useful trivia, i.e. things that make you think rather than pointless things like Britney’s and KFed’s latest celebrity gossip.
If you’ve ever wondered about something puzzling, anything, or how things work, or why certain things are the way they are instead of some other way that might appear to make more sense, this is the place to pose the question. Hopefully I and others can supply an answer. Nothing is off-limits except crude language or personal attacks.
For example: Have you ever wondered “why the sky is blue during the day and black at night”? Or “why does your urine smell funny after eating Asparagus”? How about “why do cats appear aloof to their owners and dogs don’t”? “Does Disc Golf cause cancer”? (with apologies to Lon) These are the kinds of Q&A tidbits I’ll address here, plus occasionally some commentary on recent events.
Like Alan Chamberlain on “Dog’s Breakfast”, I prefer posts from people whom identify themselves. Handles are OK as long as I know who they belong to. But if there is a good reason that you want to make an anonymous post, I’ll consider it. There’s a moniker used on the popular tech discussion board Slashdot for such posts called “anonymous coward”, which may be a good way to describe “Tell it to the ER”. But hey, if you have something to say jump in, just be civil.
So does anybody have any gee-whiz questions?
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no mention of climate on that first post!
Congratulations, but people really do go too much on numbers (60 million) and appearances (with looks like mine and A. Watts). Ah there is still so much to be done!
For example, I am tired of maintaining the pretense that there is any such thing as “climate.” Climate is a way of gathering and processing global data, and that is all. Climate is not weather. They are only related in an acausal way which is determined at the time within certain contexts by experts and the media.
It is now time to understand the weather, and forget this mass hypnosis regarding “climate.”
Start here
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/08nov_iswi/
http://www.physorg.com/news3959.html
As a high school science teacher, I come here for the latest so I can confidently tell my students that CAGW is bunk…so a fair number of those hits are just me. 🙂
Cheers!
Great site and very clean. This hurts Joe ROMM and I am sure he will react with a rapid response. His boss Soros is getting coverage on Glenn Beck tomorrow. This site has the courage to cover difficult news.
mod: Joe Romm’s site viewership has really circled the drain lately. Just like the Chicago Exchange, I’d expect more of these Soros funded outfits to fold up.
Congratulations, Anthony and mods and guest posters!
I don’t know how you do it day, after day, after day … but I’m awfully glad you do 😉
That was no spam, that was my post.
Soon it’ll be like McDonalds.
1,287,349,000 SERVED
So we see a Super El Nino spike then a flattening since then. 😉
http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/7038/trafficf.png
Congratulations and thanks, Anthony and moderators. I can rarely go for more than a day without one or several ‘hits’ of WUWT, and I especially appreciate the humour – nay, the razor wits – of all participants. I am in awe of most of you. Thanks for many laughs!
Gee whiz questions regarding old —and modern— world thermometers:
[1] How many were/are delineated in tenths of a degree?
[2] How many were/are actually calibrated to a traceable source?
[3] How often was/is that calibration conducted, and by whom?
[4] Where are the records of such calibration to be found for EACH AND EVERY DEVICE used?
[5] If old world devices weren’t accurate to tenths of a degree, then how is anyone able to describe changes in that small of a measurement delineation using old records?
For the purposes of definition: Old World = Any thermometric device manufactured prior to the year 1930 which has been used to record ‘official’ thermometric data.
I am a latecomer to your excellent site Anthony, but not too late to realise the ramifications of (especially) AGW and the sinister goings-on behind the scenes, both at the ‘scientific’ level, and in the shady area of high politics. It is thanks to you that my eyes have been fully opened , and I am so grateful to you for so doing, both here and for providing links elsewhere.
I must admit though, to Mrs Eng becoming rather jaded when I tell her about the latest of your posts; indeed, her eyebrows are now fairly close to her hairline. Her respite is when I return to work (on a ship), but thanks to modern technology I can still usually get my twice daily WUWT.
My profound thanks, and congratulations to you and your loyal team.
Chris Aviss
Congratulations to Anthony & Team.
My climate science education started here in early 2009.
John
Question: since the center of the earth is solid iron (due to pressure) surrounded by molten iron, does the center rotate as it orbits the sun differently than the crust? If so, would this be part of the generator system for our magnetic field?
As far as where does the gopher would go, it would depend on how much postage you had put on it.
899 says:
November 8, 2010 at 10:29 pm
I think you are on the wrong thread here: but to answer your questions.
Mercury in glass thermometers are suprisingly stable with lifetimes of hundreds of years.
Precision of mercury in glass depends on the exact design but is normally calibrated for general use at one tenth of a degree F or roughly one twentieth of a degree K.
Up until the end of the nineteenth makers of mercury thermometers usually carried out their own calibration against a standard unit itself calibrated against a laboratory standard But by the early years of the twentieth century those intended for precision measurement were individually calibrated either by independent or state sponsered institutions, eg the NPL, usually to absolute values of of one part in two hundredths of a degree Kelvin and with linearity over the range from melting ice to boiling point better than one hundreth of a degree Kelvin.
Provided the thermometer has not been subjected to any abuse it should not shift by more than one tenth of one percent from these calibrated values in one hundred years. This figure is based on precision measurement of mercury glass thermometers dating from one hundred and fifty or more years ago.
So it is a great mistake to suppose our ancestors could not measure temperature accurately.
Why do you think Mr. Joule had a special ten foot thermometer built? because he wanted to find out the temperature change between the top and the bottom of a waterfall to find out the mechanical equivalent of heat. As I understand it this early attempt was not terribly successful probably because he was trying to work to one thousandth of a degree: he then turned to more precise experimental methods.
One tenth of a degree indeed.
Kindest Regards
Congratulations Anthony and team – well deserved for your unstinting services to the truth. I can’t remember when I first discovered WUWT, but I remember watching the single figure millions clocked up.
Exemplary dissemination of real science, thank you Mr Watts.
Question, Four bits like computer code make up the complexities of all DNA, thus the blue prints of all life. Physics has dozens of ever increasing particles, some imaginary and many with spin and charm. Sounds like a mixture of faith and politics. Ever increasing complexity for explanation is always the path to wrongness. Has science taken a wrong turn?
Congratulations on another milestone Anthony et al. I’ve been dropping in here since May or June of 2007 and can probably account for at least .01% of those 60 million hits and have found every one of them informative and entertaining. The overall effect has also been a life preserver for my personal sanity, because the continuing bombardment of alarmist propaganda in the larger world often left me wondering if I was losing my mind since everyone else was reportedly thoroughly convinced of what seemed to me to be patent nonsense. Many thanks for all you’ve done and are doing to offer a place where the truth can be pursued wherever it may lead.
Congratulations, Anthony!
Swedish National Television have a weekly standing program called “Vetenskapens Värld” (The World of Science, The Scientific World or… what ever).
Yesterday the reporter set out to debunk all these alleged data manipulation myths in ClimateGate by trying to find out who these climate sceptics really are. Phil Jones and Michael Mann had all swedish viewers undivided attention for one hour. Be it as it may with climategate, I don’t think it makes any difference what is truth or what is lies in this CG. Sceptics doesn’t found their critique on CG. Isn’t there so much other data and conclusions to be presented? It,s just ignored because it’s counterintelligence to the data that is being served to the political agendasetting World Climate Judiciary Court – IPCC.
To make a long story short, they came to the conclusion that AGW-sceptics today are the same kind of people like those who once tried to, desperately and futile, defend the tobacco companies in all its aspects.
So, now you know. Bad, bad, boy! 🙂
a jones : November 8, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Right on, a jones. I spent an hour looking up antique thermometers on 899’s comment and you said it all there. I also know in some respects their temperatures a century ago were BETTER than much we are doing now, not worse. Electronic thermometers are notorious for a float or skew on the absolute accuracy but are great on short-time repeatability. Sadly it’s the absolute accuracy that is important in long term temperature records and there is nothing like a good mercury thermometer and eyes that will stay constant over centuries, absolutely that is though repeatability may vary slightly but randomly.
Congratulations Anthony!
Ecotretas
Q: Why is there air? A(Cosby): How else would you blow up volleyballs”
Q: What is gravity? A (Confucius): No such thing as gravity- Earth sucks!
Many, many thanks Anthony and mods; a lodestar of rationality in insane times. L
Congrats to Anthony and mods. I always wondered what the technology singularity wave would look like and now I know it’s called WUWT. Hang ten and hang on!
Had a look at http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/realclimate.org# and read the blurb and it looks like most of those looking at it “don’t”. As they quickly flick through and leave. On the other hand I spend far longer on wwwt than I really should as its just so interesting and thought provoking.
Keep up the good work!
James
Could this be what they were referring to when they mentioned a death spiral?
Anthony & Team, I must add my congratulations on your wonderful work. I know it takes it’s toll on you and appreciate the fact that you carry on through adversity.
May the Force be with you for many more years to come, roll on 100,000,000.
Also a big thank you to all the commentors who make it so interesting, educating and fun.