Kickstart: An ‘eclipse doubleheader'

It's time to get your order in for solar eclipse glasses.

In 2017 — the last time a total eclipse was visible in the U.S. — eclipse glasses maker American Paper Optics of Bartlett, Tenn., was getting up to 3,000 orders a day and had to limit buyers to 50 glasses per order.

With what NASA terms an "eclipse doubleheader" coming to the U.S. — an annular solar eclipse on Oct. 14, 2023, and a total eclipse on April 8, 2024 — expect the demand to be even higher this time. (In an annular eclipse, the moon doesn't quite cover the sun, resulting in a "ring of fire" or partial covering, depending on where you're at when you view it.)

The annular eclipse this year will be most visible along a band stretching from the Gulf Coast of Texas to Oregon. The total eclipse will be visible from the Pacific Coast of central Mexico through the Midwest and a highly populated path including Dallas; Indianapolis; Cleveland; Buffalo, N.Y.; Toronto; and Montreal before passing over Maine and Canada's Maritime Provinces.

And yes, that means a small area in Texas near San Antonio will be in a prime site for both eclipses.

American Paper Optics can create custom messages on eclipse glasses to promote companies or organizations. The film in the glasses tends to be a closely guarded secret, but Ralph Chou, an expert in eye protection, told former PN correspondent Mike Lauzon in 2017 that they typically consist of carbon black within the film that is metallized with a thin aluminum layer.

Carbon-fiber wheels are helping Dodge's new speed Demon.

Lacks Enterprises Inc. is producing carbon-fiber wheels for the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170. The wheels improve on a standard aluminum wheel for the performance car from the carmaker owned by Stellantis NV.

"When you're looking for every thousandth of a second, rotating mass is critical for acceleration. But we also needed a wheel that could handle 18,000 pounds of tractive force and be street legal," Tim Kuniskis, Dodge Brand CEO, said in a news release. "Lacks Enterprises developed a wheel specifically for the Demon 170 that exceeded all our expectations and … looks cool as hell."

Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Lacks says its carbon-fiber wheels are 25 percent lighter than aluminum, on average.

With the opening day of the 2023 Major League Baseball season starting Thursday, let's take a moment to appreciate the use of plastics in the game.

Not the wooden Louisville Slugger bats, but protective helmets for players and netting for fans, tarps to cover the infield, plastic cups and utensils at foodservice stands and — occasionally — the baseballs.

While MLB teams stick to leather-wrapped traditional balls for games and practice, the ball you use to play catch with your kids may use a hardier polyurethane cover.

It's even termed a "vegan" baseball for those looking to buy an animal-friendly one, while vegan baseball players can also opt for a PU-based glove. More typically marketed as a "synthetic leather," the gloves also have the benefit of not requiring the long break-in process of a leather glove, making them friendlier to use out of the box.