Thomas Weibel

Thomas Weibel

Thomas Weibel is a journalist and Professor of Media Engineering at the Fachhochschule Graubünden and the Hochschule der Künste in Berne.

Putting the bins out – the Ochsner way

Thomas Weibel 11.04.2024 For generations, the clanking sound of bins being emptied was an everyday morning sound in Switzerland. The noise came from the hot-dip galvanised steel rubbish bins designed by resourceful Zurich entrepreneur Jakob Ochsner.
Ochsner bin in the city of Basel, 1930s.

Only count your sunny hours …

Thomas Weibel 19.03.2024 "Let others tell of storms and showers, I’ll only count your sunny hours" is a phrase that has graced countless poetry albums. Researchers from the University of Basel have now found out that the sundial has been in use for at least 3,200 years.
The sundial from the Valley of the Kings (front facing).

An ancient Greek computer

Thomas Weibel 02.11.2023 After decades of research, a seemingly innocuous find retrieved from a Roman shipwreck was revealed as a sensational scientific discovery, proving that the ancient Greeks were capable of making mechanical models of the cosmos with hitherto unimagined precision. The ‘Antikythera Mechanism’ is an analogue ‘calendar computer’.
The ‘Antikythera Mechanism’ can now be admired in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

Watchtowers, the alarm system of the Old Swiss Confederacy

Thomas Weibel 28.07.2023 Whereas sirens sound the alarm nowadays, hundreds of years ago it used to be watchtowers. Beacons could mobilise troops within a few hours, from the Rhine to Lake Geneva.
Beacon in the film 'Return of the King', the third instalment of the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy.

The darkest day in the history of the Swiss Guard

Thomas Weibel 04.05.2023 The Sack of Rome, or ‘Sacco di Roma’, by the leaderless troops of Charles V on 6 May 1527 ended in a bloodbath that also cost the lives of 147 Swiss guards. Traces of that dark day are still being discovered.
During the Sack of Rome of 1527, Pope Clement VII was protected by Swiss Guards as he fled the Vatican. Illustration by Marco Heer

‘Black Maria’ – the world’s first parking meter

Thomas Weibel 25.04.2023 The parking meter is the scourge of the hurried motorist, demanding coins they don’t have on them. It was originally designed less as a way to generate revenue and more to ease parking congestion in cities. The first parking meter in Europe was installed in Basel in 1952.
A traffic policeman explains a parking meter to two pedestrians, Lausanne, 1959.

24 calories for Cinderella

Thomas Weibel 23.12.2022 "Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel": in the 1973 Czech-German fantasy film, three enchanted hazelnuts make all the heroine’s dreams come true. But even without any magic, the hazelnut is a remarkable fruit.
Libuše Šafránková in “Drei Nüsse für Aschenbrödel”, 1973.

The crossbow: A weapon for assassins and freedom fighters

Thomas Weibel 08.11.2022 Wilhelm Tell’s crossbow is, so to speak, the national weapon of Switzerland. In actual fact the weapon has its origins in ancient China, and although superior to the bow the crossbow didn’t have the best reputation.
Crossbowmen at the Battle of Crécy (1346), illustration from the “chroniques” of Jean Froissart (1337–1405).