A tourist trap in the Black Hills of South Dakota near Mount Rushmore where the laws of physics have supposedly gone topsy-turvy. Water seems to run up-hill and a person seems to become taller by standing in a different spot. Similar to the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, CA.

It has since been discovered that this is but one of many Tourist Traps with Weird Physics.

Transforms from spaceship to robot and back!

AUTOBOT: COSMOS

FUNCTION: RECONNAISSANCE & COMMUNICATIONS
"Reach for the stars, but never leave your friends."

Lonely in outer space...relieves boredom by scaring humans by hovering over their backyards at night or zig-zagging through meteor showers. Can achieve Earth orbit, even go to Moon and back with enough fuel. Acts as communications satellite...optical sensors can see bicycle at 600 miles. Has pinpoint accuracy, high-powered particle beam. Not well-suited to function on ground as robot.

  • Strength: 2
  • Intelligence: 8
  • Speed: 10
  • Endurance: 6
  • Rank: 6
  • Courage: 7
  • Firepower: 6
  • Skill: 9
Transformers Tech Specs


In toy and in the cartoon, Cosmos looked and sounded...well, pudgy. He was a super-thick flying saucer who transformed into a robot by pulling part of the saucer down to form feet, twist the sides down to form arms, and pull the head out of the top. But his middle was still tire-shaped, and it was hard to imagine him getting in a fight and winning against anybody. He got bonus points for novelty, though.

Cosmos

A hugely successful TV-series and then a book by Dr. Carl Sagan. Dr Sagan explores and explains the world around us, from the lives of cells to the life of the universe. He looks into our past and our future. He discusses distant civilizations and long dead worlds. Everything is done with a love to teach, which can be felt all the way to our livingrooms.

The series came in two versions; one made for PBS in 1980, and another in 1985, which is available on video and DVD. The book came in 1983. Cosmos was sold to over 60 countries and seen by more than half a billion people.

The series became famous not only for the pedagogical Carl Sagan, but also for the music in it. The score consists of classical music such as Beethoven and Bach, but also more modern music such as Vangelis and Boydstun specifically written for the series. The soundtrack is available on CD.

Episodes
There are 13 one-hour episodes in the series:

  1. "The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean" - The universe, quasars, nebulae and supernovas
  2. "One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue" - Origins of life on Earth and the cosmological timeframe
  3. "The Harmony of the Worlds" - Johannes Kepler, astronomy and the physics of the solar system
  4. "Heaven and Hell" - Venus and other planets and moons in our solar system
  5. "Blues for a Red Planet" - Mars, the Viking spacecraft on Mars
  6. "Traveller's Tales" - The exploration of Earth and of the solar system, the Voyager spacecraft
  7. "The Backbone of Night" - The Milky Way
  8. "Travels in Space and Time" - Distant planets, time travel and Albert Einstein
  9. "The Lives of the Stars" - The lives of stars, the end of our solar system
  10. "The Edge of Forever" - Cosmology, black holes and the Big Bang
  11. "The Persistence of Memory" - Intelligence, the human brain
  12. "Encyclopaedia Gallactica" - Aliens, other civilizations and UFOs
  13. "Who Speaks for Earth?" - The future of Earth, nuclear war and a brief recapitulation of the last 15 billion years

reference: carlsagan.com

The Cosmos was an unrealeased all in one video game system made by Atari back in 1981. The idea was to create a true "3-D" video game system using holograms. They began by purchasing the rights to as much holographic technology as possible, and they put this technology into a small table-top gaming system. The games were not actually 3-D, they were merely played out on a 6x7 LED grid, with a hologram background projected over it.

The Cosmos used the COPS411 processor, which was later used in the Entex Adventurevision console. The games came as cartridges, but that was rather misleading. As all eight supported games were already preprogammed into the unit. The cartridges merely contained the holographic plate for the game, a set of plastic keys would press a few buttons inside the unit, telling it which game to play. The games were set to be priced at $10=$12 (USD), despite the fact that they were an empty shell with a 3 cent hologram inside. All eight games were produced, but the only titles I was able to verify are Asteroids, Space Invaders, and Superman.

The Cosmos was designed by Allan Alcorn, Harry Jenkins and Roger Hector. They showed off the first prototype at the New York Toy Fair of 1981. Many people showed interest, and 8000 pre-orders were taken at the show. However, some people were very critical of the fact that the holograms were merely a background, and the games themselves had little substance.

Atari pulled the plug on the program in 1981, even though the system was almost ready to ship at this point. This prompted Al Alcorn to leave the company, and Atari never mentioned the Cosmos, or Alcorn ever again. It appears that 250 working units were produced, and that the parts for nearly 1000 of them were made. Atari pretty much abandoned their HOLOPTICS technology, using it merely to make little hologram stickers on their cartridges to cut down on piracy.

There are currently five existing copies of this system. Three of them are only non-functioning display units. While the other two are fully working units (one is held by the Atari Historical Society, while the other is still in the hands of an old Atari employee. The games are a little easier to come by, the Atari Historical Society has all eight, and many individual collectors have one or two of them.


I typed the following information out from a scan of some Cosmos promotional material.
COSMOS
Programmable Game System

ATARI is proud to introduce a true technological breakthrough into the world of electronic games - the COSMOS Programmable Game System, featuring HOLOPTICS. HOLOPTICS is ATARI's exclusive holographic technique for creating dazzling three-dimensional light images of incredible detail and realism.

COSMOS is the first consumer product ever to use this technology. Specific features of the system include:

  • Dual Image Three-Dimensional HOLOPTICS Display
  • Programmable LED Skill Games with a Variety of Game Cartridges
  • Innovative Games Sounds
  • AC Power Adapter Included (No Batteries Required)
  • One or Two Players
  • Tabletop Game for Convenient Access

The consumer has never seen anything like this before: Ultra-high technology - laser - generated HOLOPTICS combined with the exciting interactive games for which ATARI is famous.

The system uses a partially transparent HOLOPTIC plate in front of an array of LED's (light emitting diodes). The player sees a 3-D image superimposed over red game figures (cars, missiles, gunfighters) illuminated by the LED's. During game play, the red figures move about the illuminated HOLOPTIC stage under computer and player control. At certain moments during a game, the 3-D image magically changes to indicate an outcome or some new aspect of game play.

The HOLOPTIC plate comes in a cartridge which fits into the base unit. Each cartridge -eight initially- provides a new 3-D image and game play.

COSMOS is a completely new, totally exclusively game system. The consumer is about to be dazzled with the most startling advance in electronic game technology.

A Warner Communications Company

Cosmos Pizza and Grill, at 143 Marshall Street, Syracuse, New York, offers a full menu of breakfast, lunch, and dinner items, table or counter service, pick-up or delivery. It is exactly what one wants from a diner in a college town. Opening at 7:AM and closing at 2:AM, Cosmos is one of the few places where Syracuse University students and townies comfortably rub elbows.

The menu is extensive, ranging from diner staples to unique offerings like the Cosmos Special pizza - sausage, mushroom, green pepper, and onion or the Cosmos Corned Beef Reuben - corned beef and bacon with Russian dressing and cole slaw. There are a number of items for vegetarians as well, though nothing particularly outstanding. All of the food is priced for the student on a budget.

Cosmos also serves as an alternative to the local coffee shop, with free refills on the 70 cent cup of coffee. Most of the restaurant accomodates cigarette smoking, and the waitstaff are happy to leave customers to their own thoughts. There's even a stack of newspapers by the front door if you forgot your book.

Cos"mos (koz"mos), n. [NL., fr. Gr. ko`smos order, harmony, the world (from its perfect order and arrangement); akin to Skr. çad to distinguish one's self.]

1.

The universe or universality of created things; -- so called from the order and harmony displayed in it.

2.

The theory or description of the universe, as a system displaying order and harmony. Humboldt.

 

© Webster 1913


Cos"mos (?), n. (Bot.)

A genus of composite plants closely related to Bidens, usually with very showy flowers, some with yellow, others with red, scarlet, purple, white, or lilac rays. They are natives of the warmer parts of America, and many species are cultivated. Cosmos bipinnatus and C. diversifolius are among the best-known species; C. caudatus, of the West Indies, is widely naturalized.

 

© Webster 1913

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