Professor Calculus (Professeur Tournesol)

Professor Cuthbert Calculus (Professeur Tryphon Tournesol, literally Professor Tryphonius Sunflower) is a fictional character in the series The Adventures of Tintin. He's a distracted, hard-of-hearing professor, who invented many objects used in the series, such as a one-person shark-shaped submarine, the Moon rocket and an ultrasound weapon. Calculus seeks to benefit mankind by inventions such as a pill that cures alcoholism by making alcohol taste horrible to the patient. These inventions are usually disliked by Captain Haddock, although Calculus usually interprets this the other way round: his deafness often prevents him from hearing Haddock's real opinion. But if he ever hears the Captain (or anyone else) call him a "goat", he flies into a rage: "Goat, am I?" Professor Cuthbert Calculus, detail of a panel from the book Red Rackhams Treasure by Hergé, 1944 Fair use under US law. ... Professor Cuthbert Calculus, detail of a panel from the book Red Rackhams Treasure by Hergé, 1944 Fair use under US law. ... A fictional character is any person who appears in a work of fiction. ... The main cast of the series. ... Orders Carcharhiniformes Heterodontiformes Hexanchiformes Lamniformes Orectolobiformes Pristiophoriformes Squaliformes Squatiniformes Symmoriida(extinct) Sharks (superorder Selachimorpha) are fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton[1] and a streamlined body. ... German UC-1 class World War I submarine A model of Günther Priens Unterseeboot 47 (U-47), German WWII Type VII diesel-electric hunter Typhoon class nuclear ballistic missile submarine USS Virginia, a Virginia-class nuclear attack (SSN) submarine A submarine is a specialized watercraft that can operate... Apparent magnitude: up to -12. ... A Soyuz rocket, at Baikanur launch pad. ... A fetus in its mothers womb, viewed in a sonogram (brightness scan) A fetus, aged 29 weeks, in a 3D ultrasound Ultrasound is sound with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing, this limit being approximately 20 kilohertz (20,000 hertz). ... Look up Mankind in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Alcoholism is the consumption of, or preoccupation with, alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the drinkers normal personal, family, social, or work life, and may lead to physical or mental harm. ... Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol, is a flammable, colorless, slightly toxic chemical compound with a distinctive perfume-like odor, and is the alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. ... Captain Haddock (Capitaine Haddock) Captain Archibald Haddock (Capitaine Archibald Haddock) is a character in the comic book series The Adventures of Tintin. ... Species See Species and subspecies The goat is a mammal in the genus Capra, which consists of nine species: the Ibex, the West Caucasian Tur, the East Caucasian Tur, the Markhor, and the Wild Goat. ...

Calculus's deafness is a frequent source of humour, as he repeats back what he thinks he has heard, usually in the most unlikely words possible: "attachez votre ceinture" (fasten your belt) is repeated as "une tache de peinture?" (a paint stain). He does not admit to being near-deaf and insists on having poor hearing in only one ear. Notably in the "Moon" books, Calculus has a hearing aid inserted, and for the duration of the album has near-perfect hearing: this made him a more serious character (that is, as long as the word "goat" is not uttered in his presence). However, in later adventures Calculus once again lost his hearing aid, and went back to his old deaf self. Calculus is a fervent believer in dowsing, and carries a pendulum for that purpose. Calculus occasionally comments that he was a great sportsman in his youth, with a very athletic lifestyle. He is a former practitioner of the French martial art savate, although a demonstration in Flight 714 shows him to be a bit rusty. he fell down when he went like "hi-ya!" and fell. International deaf accessibility symbol The word deaf is used differently by different groups, and there is some controversy over its meaning and implications. ... A belt is a flexible band, typically made of leather or heavy cloth, and worn around the waist. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... A stain is a discoloration that distinguishes itself from the material on which it is found. ... Behind the ear aid A hearing aid is a device used to help hard-of-hearing people hear sounds better. ... A dowser, from an 18th century French book about superstitions. ... Simple gravity pendulum assumes no air resistance and no friction of/at the nail/screw. ... Athletics, also known as track and field or track and field athletics, is a collection of sport events. ... Savate (pronounced ), also known as boxe française (French boxing), French Kickboxing or French Footfighting, is a French martial art which uses both the hands and feet as weapons and contains elements of western boxing, grappling and graceful kicking techniques (only foot kicks are allowed, unlike some systems such as... Flight 714 (Vol 714 pour Sydney), first published in 1968, is the twenty-second of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ...

Calculus first appeared in Red Rackham's Treasure, and was the end result of Hergé's long quest to find the archetypal mad scientist or absent-minded professor: for instance, Dr. Sarcophagus in Cigars of the Pharaoh, and Prof. Alembick in King Ottokar's Sceptre. Red Rackhams Treasure (Le Trésor de Rackham le Rouge) is one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... Caucasian, male, aging, crooked teeth, messy hair, lab coat, spectacles/goggles, dramatic posing — one popular stereotype of a mad scientist. ... The absent-minded professor is a stock character of popular fiction usually portrayed as an academic with important information, but whose focus on their learning leads them to ignore their surroundings. ... Cigars of the Pharaoh (Les Cigares du Pharaon) is a one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... King Ottokars Sceptre (in the French-language original Le Sceptre dOttokar) is a one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ...

In the 1970s he appeared in series of television commercials for Fruit d'or.

Auguste Piccard

In The Castafiore Emerald, Bianca Castafiore perhaps mistakes Calculus for Auguste Piccard (1884 - 1962) in claiming that Calculus is "famous for his balloon ascensions". This conection was confirmed by Hergé in a 1948 interview with Numa Sadoul "Calculus is a reduced scale Piccard, as the real chap was very tall. He had an interminable neck that sprouted from a collar that was much too large... I made Calculas a mini-Pickard, otherwise I would have had to enlarge the frames of the cartoon strip." ^[1] The Swiss physics professor held a teaching appointment in Brussels where Hergé spotted his unmistakeable figure in the street. The Castafiore Emerald (Les Bijoux de la Castafiore) is one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... Auguste Piccard (1927) Auguste Antoine Piccard (January 28, 1884 – March 24, 1962) was a Swiss physicist, inventor and explorer. ...

References

1. ^ Horeau , Yves The Adventures of Tintin at Sea 1999, English translation 2004 for the National Maritime Museum, Published by John Maurray , ISBN 0719561191 . Chapter on Outside characters drawn into the Adventures.