Richard Montesanti SM '87, PhD '05
Flash Gordon Zips Past the Stata Center
Queen Azura's palace from Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars.
Richard Montesanti SM '87, PhD '05 made an interesting discovery while watching the classic 1938 movie Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars. When a deadly ray strikes Earth, Flash and his friends return to space to battle Ming the Merciless and his ally, Azura, the queen of Mars. During one scene, Flash and Dr. Zarkov fly past Queen Azura's palace which appears on the screen for just an instant. Despite its brief appearance, Montesanti noticed an uncanny resemblance between Azura's palace and a now-famous building on the MIT campus.
Model of the Stata Center.
Montesanti slowed the film down to single frame speed to capture the top image. (See the resemblance?) The second image to the right is a model of the Stata Center. Montesanti also points out that during this part of the movie Flash and Dr. Zarkov are, ironically, traveling in a "Strata Sled." It's a small universe after all.
On an even less serious note, The Onion posted this picture on their site October 9, 2002. The artful collection of sandwiches and a glass of milk was accompanied by the headline "Frank Gehry No Longer Allowed to Make Sandwiches for Grandkids."
Published 2004
