Newsgroups: sci.physics
From: hoey@ai.etl.army.mil (Dan Hoey)
Date: 5 Sep 90 18:44:33 GMT
Subject: Re: Beer Can Physics

>/ hplred:sci.physics / m...@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson) /
>3:16 pm Sep 3, 1990 / I've noticed that when I open a can of beer
>within about 4 to 5 feet of my TV, I get a glitch on the picture.
>This isn't totally repeatable, it only works about 25% of the time.
>Clapping my hands or stamping my foot doesn't do it, so I don't
>believe the effect is acoustic....

Old remote controls used sound pitched higher than human hearing,
and some old TVs out there still respond to noises at just the right
frequency (even if the remote control has been lost).  Probably the
beer is pitched just right, while your hands and feet aren't.  Cecil
Adams recently ran a column about a TV that would change channels when
you play with a Slinky (metal coil toy) nearby.

Dan