Moebius Strips in DC
You can make a mobius loop by giving a strip of paper a half twist and then gluing the ends together. The result is a one-sided continuous surface--a topographical anomaly that has profound implications for the structure of the extra-dimensional universe, higher order mathematics, and advanced theoretical physics. Wow! After all that, paper seems a little too cheap and flimsy to represent such a wonderful toy. If you want to see some more permanent mobius strips, you're in luck, because the DC area has a few to offer. Each of these is pretty impressive, but as Clifford Pickover notes in his book "The Mobius Strip", "...many of these are thickened variants in which the "strip's cross section is essentially an equilateral triangle that is rotated 120 degrees along the strip." Check out Pickover's book for more information about the history, implications, and cultural impact of the mobius strip. Meanwhile, you can visit these sites:
1. "Infinity" sculpture by Jose de Rivera from 1967, a curiously curved chrome mobius strip located outside the National Museum of American History on the Mall side of the building.
2. "Continuum" sculpture by Charles O. Perry from 1976, a double mobius strip with complicated curvature, is located outside the National Air and Space Museum on the Independence Avenue side of the building.
3. In the plaza at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in Arlington, VA, there's a snazzy red mobius strip.