Etcetera

How things work
3D glasses

Here's how the colour filter glasses that ushers hand out at movie halls create the 3D illusion for you.

Binocular Vision
We use what's called 'binocular vision' to perceive depth and see the world in three dimensions, or 3D. That's possible because our eyes are spaced roughly three inches apart, which makes each eye see things just a bit differently. The brain mashes these two views together and computes depth.

Red and Blue
The glasses have a differently coloured filter for each eye. The colour differentiation allows only one of the images to enter each eye, and the brain does the rest.

The New Way
The IMAX 3D theatres hand out polarizing 3D glasses which have two lenses with their directions adjusted at 90 degrees apart. The polarized glasses create a three-dimensional illusion by narrowing the margin of light that enters the eye and projecting two images at the same time into the same area.

Just Wondering
Missing MROs

Back in the heady days of 2006-07, India was supposed to be not just the low cost aviation capital of the world, thanks to throwaway airfares being offered by the likes of Deccan Aviation, but also a promising maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) hub. With new players such as SpiceJet and Kingfisher stacking up orders for new aircraft, market watchers believed that MRO outfits would mushroom across the country.

After all, 15 per cent of an airline's operating cost goes towards maintenance. Both Airbus and Boeing had announced plans to set up MROs in the country. The recession that followed saw most airline companies cancelling orders or delaying taking deliveries. Last heard, the Boeing MRO won't be up and running before the end of the year and the Airbus MRO is still only on paper.

Quirky
Amma's Health Advice

Even for a state where political parties dole out bicycles, colour televisions and dirt cheap rice to curry favour with the voting public, the latest controversy in Tamil Nadu is likely to raise more than a few bushy eyebrows. Former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has alleged that at a medical camp held in her constituency, Andipatti, attendees were served hot cups of Horlicks, which had been stolen from a warehouse in Madurai.

And, not surprisingly, Amma, as Jayalalithaa is known in her state, pointed an unwavering finger at Union Minister M. Alagiri and his party, the DMK, for the pilferage. Wonder what the makers of Horlicks, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, which has been selling the drink in India for close to a century, have to say about the latest controversy. Any publicity is good publicity? Or, is it a case where they would rather do without Amma's touch?

Snoot Corner
A Costly Taste

If you thought Evian was synonymous with premium bottled water, it's time to exert your grey cells again. American luxury bottled water company Bling H20's produce costs upwards of $25 (Rs 1,150) a bottle. It promises 'more than a pretty taste' and is bottled from the natural springs of Dandridge, Tennessee. There are no additional nutrients or vitamins, but Bling H20 claims that its water has gone through a nine-step purification process.

And the bottle itself is studded with shimmering Swarovski crystals, which partly explains the hefty price tag. As if that was not enough, Bling H20 has introduced a limited edition series of bottled water called the 'Dubai collection' which has 10,000 hand-applied crystals on the surface of the bottle. The price tag: $2,600 (Rs 119,600) for a bottle of water. Exousia Luxury Water, another luxury bottled water brand, claims to sell water with anti-ageing, anti-stress properties, infused with 24- carat gold, for just $24,000 (Rs 1,104,000) a bottle.