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Conceived as a large and dusty tome,
with an obscure title, such as
"The
Forgotten Contemplations of The
Tractate
Middoth", the Lung Book sits amongst
the stillness of a library quietly
breathing.
It breathes because concealed within its
covers are a set of tiny bellows, powered
by
long life batteries. These cause it to
expand and contract, by a few
millimetres
on each "breath" and make a very quiet
rhythmic sighing, as the air is expelled,
along with a tiny cloud of dust, only
visible
in a stream of bright sunlight.
Place it amidst your other books, switch
it
on, and let it push them apart slightly as
it
takes its first breath.
The Tractate Middoth
http://arthurwendov...orror/tracta10.html
a gothic tale by M.R. James [xenzag, Sep 01 2006]
Book lung
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_lung
[normzone, Sep 01 2006]
The Tell Tale Heart
http://en.wikipedia...The_Tell-Tale_Heart
Edgar Allen Poe [xenzag, Sep 02 2006]
Is there a name for the phenomena?
Maizechinegun
[normzone, Sep 02 2006]
[link]
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I like the imagery - I don't see any purpose or application (air freshener perhaps?) but at the same time, I'm not sure I want to. |
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of course tome - typed in a hurry - thanks |
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Be sure to place in a spot on the shelf that recieves those rays of dustmote enhancing sunshine and you could put solar panels on the binding to augment the batteries. |
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I was going to suggest adding all sorts of foot fall or small coughing noises but I think I like the simplicity of this one. + |
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+ somewhat like my Edgar Allan Poe book, with it's heart beating beneath the floor boards. |
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Why? Why? Why? Oh, what the hell, it's the halfbakery. + |
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Play on words, [phundug] - see link. |
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[normzone] This is NOT a "play on
words" - I never
heard of a "Book Lung" before. This
type of comment makes me very
frustrated with bakery, and the
link creates a false impression. |
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Every idea on
this site is a construction of words.
That's what language is. If I make the
same idea totally visual, with no words
used at all, what will it be called then? |
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I'm sorry you don't understand the idea,
( [xandram] gets it though). |
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Those who have said "why" etc: Not
everything has the same linear meaning
to all who come to it. For me there is as
much value in mystery, as there is in
explanations. |
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Librarian: "Sssssh! The book's asleep!" |
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[xenzag] I do understand the idea - love the idea - you build it, and I will join the Lung Book of the Month Club, and you will be rich (slightly). |
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But when I saw it, my twisted mind leapt to the conclusion that you had started out with one idea and arrived at the other. |
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My mind processed your data in that manner. You expended energy on becoming frustrated. The laws of thermodynamics were observed. I am even more pleased to be mistaken, and yet able to provide a link that deepens the mystery, and will give scholars food for debate for years to come. |
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I'm thinking it's more inspired by the many living books of film and story. If I wanted one at all, it would be like the one in Harry Potter that chases him around the room |
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As an example of the type of process [xenzag] details above, I just posted an idea [link] that works as a play on words. |
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However, as [xenzag], I had the idea first. While searching for an appropriate title I stumbled over the play on words. |
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As Unky Wight used to say, "Pour in the Hell quoi?!" |
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BTW, a book lung is an oxygen transfer organ encountered on the largest varieties of spiders. They're too massive for the insects' simpler solution. |
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This is a fantastic idea, very atmospheric. + I want one on my bookshelf. |
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It also reminds me of the magical books in the Discworld's Unseen University library, which were so dangerously alive they had to be chained down. Perhaps a chain around your Lung Book would add to the effect, and also stop people from opening it to find out how it works? |
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An actively respirating book lung would be less efficient but, it seems to me, much more robust. I nominate them for artificial organs. |
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Love this. More kidos if it could occasionally vibrate
a little. |
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