Sound Mirrors

"Pioneered by the obsessive Dr W.S. Tucker of the Royal Engineers, the concrete sound mirrors were intended to provide early warning of incoming enemy aeroplanes and airships about to attack coastal towns.

But with the development of faster aircraft and the increasing racket from the holiday resort down the road, the effectiveness of the mirrors twindled as an aircraft would be within sight by the time it had been located. The last nail was finally driven into the coffin of this uniquely English folly by the evolution of radar systems, so by 1934 they had tragically became obsolete."

 http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/sound-mirrors.php

Does physical warmth engender psychological warmth?

"... people are more likely to judge others as combative and argumentative after they have assembled a jigsaw puzzle whose pieces have a sandpapery texture."

"We found that the participants who had recently held the warm coffee cup rated the person as being warmer, more generous, more sociable and more caring, compared to people who'd held the ice coffee."

http://whyfiles.org/shorties/271warm_hand/