BOOM – X is for X-ray

Only 0.02% of words start with X. So the scope on this selection was somewhat limited as the meaning of many of these words was unknown to me.

The one that came to mind first was Xylophone.

This is the first instrument most of us touch and is a staple of the nursery school. Maybe, like me, Santa even gave you one to torment people with!

Other options for today could have been Xenophile. With all our ethnicities this would have been a good choice for our household. We clearly love a bit of mixing of cultures! Nothing like a good curried egg foo yung with a dollop of HP sauce!

In the end though it had to be the X–Ray in honor of my bestie Phyllis who is a radiographer.

What a gift to the world the discover of Wilhelm Röntgen has been. We all know and appreciate the critical role X-Rays play in medical and dental diagnostics and of course in treatments too.

They are also used in many other industries. For example in detecting metallic contamination in food ingredients or testing the integrity of seals.

In years gone by we were less conscious of the need to treat X-Rays with respect.

Who remembers having the fit of their shoes tested in one of those goofy old machines?

In the early sixties my Dad took me to town every Saturday morning and almost every week I’d have him take me to Robb’s Department Store just to take a peak at my pinkies.

We’ve come a long way since then and with the likes of Chandra’s X-ray Observatory can now view the universe in almost as much detail as we can our tooth or toe.

All this because a very thoughtful man saw the potential in an accident that turned out to be the emission of a little ray by the tiniest of things, a free electron!

Blessing # 387 –  Brilliance