16 August 26

My tie today honors the recent birthday of Charles Hutton (1737-1823), a British mathematician who invented contour mapping in 1774. He was working to calculate the volume of Schiehallion, a mountain in Scotland, as part of an experiment to determine the average density of the earth. His maps showing the relative ground elevations formed the basis for topographical maps like the one featured on my tie -- surveying the Camel Hump Knob region in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, near Sevierville, TN.

Today is also the birthday of our son-by-inclusion David Haskins, and it's National Tell A Joke Day. The National Day Calendar offers no rationale for this celebration, but gives this sample: What happened to the comedian on August 16 during National Tell A Joke Day? Everyone stole his punchlines!

2 May 25

For no particular reason I'm wearing my tie featuring a topographical map of Camel Hump Knob in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It pleased my geologist friends at this morning's donuts meeting!

I tracked the image to Camel Hump Knob by matching labels on the streams and roads to official trail maps. The boldest lines follow Yellow Creek and Big Creek.

27 January 22

Beth Kleppinger asked me to wear this tie today to help celebrate her BIRTHDAY! We have never visited Camel Hump Knob in the Great Smoky Mountains, but its topology certainly provides a very interesting design. The Knob is on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, just south of Sevierville, TN. It was an interesting challenge for me to match up the details on the tie with official trail maps! The green-colored map shows the contours where Yellow Creek and Big Creek join, which are the boldest lines on my tie.

14 August 20

The earliest known contour map was created in 1774 by Charles Hutton (1737-1823), surveying a Scottish peak called Schiehallion. Today is Charles Hutton's birthday, and so I'm wearing my tie featuring a topographic map of a portion of "Camel Hump Knob" in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, just south of Sevierville, TN. It was an interesting challenge for me to match up the details on the tie with official trail maps! The green-colored map shows the contours where Yellow Creek and Big Creek join, which are the boldest lines on my tie. I also found an image of the landscape in this area.

12 January 20

With no special occasion for today, I'm choosing to wear a new tie that Beth said I simply must have! (It was on a special sale from Ties.com.) It's a topographic map of a portion of "Camel Hump Knob" in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, just south of Sevierville, TN. It was an interesting challenge for me to match up the details on the tie with official trail maps! The green-colored map shows the contours where Yellow Creek and Big Creek join, which are the boldest lines on my tie. Trivium for today: The earliest known contour map was created in 1774 by Charles Hutton (1737-1823), surveying a Scottish peak called Schiehallion.