That almost made it as a headline in Dutch newspapers, I’m sure. Instead, here’s just another example of a funny anecdote which was made possible by discovering a Voorwerp…
A reporter from Radio Nederland Wereldomroep contacted me to record an interview and she had planned to do that at Science Centre eXplorion in Heerlen. She asked them and they got in touch with me to tell me they’d be closed that particular Monday. However, they’d leave the key at their neighbours’ restaurant for me and make sure the alarm was off.
I’m sure you can guess the next line. I got the key, opened the door, walked in and heard a hushed beep. In the next few seconds my thoughts went from ‘they wouldn’t forget to turn the alarm off, right’ to ‘oh no, this is the same system my school has and I can’t stop this without a code’. Next we heard a deafening siren, which forced us to run out of the building again. I kept running to the restaurant and asked them about the code and I was promised they’d try and call someone who knew. I thanked them and ran back, a little worried that the police might show up not-amused (but admittedly, I also thought it was kind of funny).
Back at the front door of eXplorion, the reporter asked if I had turned the alarm off, as apparently it had stopped. I heard the phone ring and followed the sound back inside again – it was security, to whom I explained the situation, while at the same time the rescuing neighbour typed in the code. So thanks, nice people from eXplorion, for trusting me with the key. I tested your alarm and I can tell you it is working as it should! (If I’d post smilies in my blogs, I’d post one here now).
Then we recorded the interview, which was mainly about the comic, and took a few pictures. She asked me what song I’d pick, if I had to chose one that fitted the Voorwerp best. I chose ’39 from Queen (obviously) and I’m very pleased about the result – a much nicer headline than the one that crossed my mind that day…
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Picture: Willemien Groot.
2 Comments
The article – as far as Google Translate understood it
– says that Hubble will investigate the Voorwerp later this year, but you mentioned in a tweet last month that there is already a draft paper. And page 30 of the comic even seems to discuss details of unpublished HST results. Huh?
Well, the investigations already took place, but the outcome will be published later this year. (I wished my students paid this much attention – well spotted!)
Thanks for your comment Daniel!
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Hanny van Arkel, Willemien Groot. Willemien Groot said: Nice blog entry by @hannyvanarkel We were arrested for burglary while doing an interview. Almost.
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