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Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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... ever built an exhibit that demonstrates the Buffon* Needle Problem? 
It would be relatively easy to make, and has a very interesting result. 
It also would be highly interactive, because it requires throwing a 
needle onto something like a checkerboard. Of course, this could be 
simulated on a computer, but it wouldn't be nearly as much fun. In fact, 
one could collect lots of data over days, weeks, and months to see how 
close one gets to the "number".

I'm being a little coy about what all this does, but if anyone who reads 
this wants to know, I'll happily provide the answer. Anyone familiar 
with the problem would certainly know what the problem provides as an 
answer, and why one even throws a needle in such a fashion.

* There's a subtle and ironic bit of "statistical" association to 
Buffon. He was a genius; however, one of his offspring was far from it. 
It's an apt example, I suppose, of regression--an often used concept in 
statistics. The height and intelligence of offspring tends toward the 
average.

-- 

           Wayne Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)

             (121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
              Obz Site:  39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet
            
                 "Science is what we do, when we don't know 
                  what we are doing" -- Alvaro de Rujula
            
                    Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>

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