Looking for a new house?

While in Michigan we visited the Henry Ford Museum, which is a place where you can look at all sorts of inventions from the past and laugh at them, because even though at the time they were invented they were cool, this only lasted about 8 nanoseconds until the next cool thing was invented. But the objects on display invite contemplation about things that have preceded us, mainly "What IS this thing??"

Luckily there are all sorts of little plaques and signs explaining what things are and why they are significant, much to the dismay of people like Joe, whose spouses spend their entire visit to the museum reading every word of these plaques, and sometimes forgetting to look at the object the plaque is describing:

Plaque reader: "Hey, did you know this is the actual bus Rosa Parks was riding when she was arrested?"

Visitor who actually looks at the exhibits: "Yeah, isn't it cool inside?"

Plaque reader: (pause) "There's an inside?"

One of the more unique inventions at the Henry Ford -- besides the Wienermobile, which is the coolest -- is the Dymaxion House. It is a geodesic dome built in 1946 and made from aluminum, resembling a squashed silo, only people were expected to live in it. It was built to withstand a Kansas tornado, although to someone who doesn't live in Kansas it looks more like something that blew in on a tornado.

The house has many interesting features, including the fact that you have to walk through every room to get to every other room, which is a better layout than you think, because if you forget what you're searching for, eventually after walking in circles you are going to find it.

The bathroom was originally designed to have a waterless toilet, in which plastic shrinkwrap would neatly and hygienically wrap up any deposits, leaving them available to be composted later, or made into unique museum exhibits.

In past years at the museum the house was fully furnished, and a bunch of visitors would crowd in -- I'll give the house this much, you could have a lot of guests in it at one time, as long as no one wanted to move around -- and the house would rotate as the museum guide explained the house and how things worked and answered questions, such as "Where do you go to the bathroom?" (Answer: If you know what's good for you, at your neighbor's.)

I noticed this time the house didn't go around, and the furnishings have mostly been removed, probably because some kid with a queasy stomach threw up as it was going around, and the ventilation system took it and spread it around the entire house, completely destroying all the contents.

But the best museum exhibits make you think, and this one is no exception. After you come out of the house, there is a large, thought-provoking sign that says WHY DON'T WE LIVE IN DYMAXION HOUSES? There is a lengthy video explaining the answer, which can pretty much be summed up in these words: It is ugly.

Oh, there are lots of other, official reasons, including that the inventor wasn't satisfied with the design and kept tinkering with it, investors pulled out when they found out there was no plastic that would neatly wrap up people's deposits in the bathroom, etc. But pretty much it boils down to the fact that no one would want to live in this metal dome, except possibly Joe, whose dream is to someday live in a yurt, which is pretty much the same as the Dymaxion except it is covered with animal skins and has no bathroom. Details ARE rather annoying to people with a vision.

Especially if those details are on a plaque.