Animal Quiz & Trivia
By Linda | May 11, 2008
1. In South Africa they race me instead of horses or dogs. I like to swallow shiny things - in fact, one of my species was found to have swallowed 53 diamonds! I am used to heard sheep in South Africa. What animal am I?
2. There are prehistoric animals that have survived to the present day while remaining relatively unchanged. Which of the following animals fits this description? a. crocodile b. platypus c. turtle
3. Although I have not been observed in my natural habitat, I am a species that is living today. I possess the largest eyes in the animal kingdom - they are the size of hubcaps! My mouth is a powerful parrot-like beak and my tongue has teeth on it. I may grow to over 75 feet in length and weigh several tons. What am I?
4. For 40 years, Pelorous Jack guided hundreds of ships through a dangerous pass in New Zealand. What sort of animal was Pelorous Jack?
**For quiz answers see bottom of post
Here are some fascinating bits of trivia about the animal kingdom:
- When a ship sank 600 miles south of the Philippines, a woman was kept afloat for two days by a sea turtle until she was rescued.
- Emperor penguins have been known to incubate stones because their parental instincts are so strong.
- Snakes sometimes travel down an incline by leaping vertically all the way to the bottom.
- Pigeons are so clever that some have been trained to inspect parts in factories and remove the defective pieces.
- In Scotland, a sheep survived 50 days buried in a snowdrift, chewing on its own wool for protein.
- A cat fell from the 20th floor of a building and lived. Its only injury was a pelvic fracture.
- The monitor lizard can be a rock climber’s friend. With a rope tied around it, the lizard can scale a wall, find a crack and crawl in. It so tightly wedges itself that that the rock climber can use the attached rope to scale the wall.
- A Black Minorca chicken laid the world’s largest chicken egg - 12 1/2 inches long.
- Swordfish have been known to ram their swords into small boats, sinking them.
- Fish, some as large as 9 inches long, fell from the skies in Marsville, Louisiana. They were probably drawn into the clouds by a powerful updraft or tornado.
Topics: Animal Kingdom | No Comments »
The “Shoppie Awards”
By Linda | May 10, 2008
Our email in-boxes have all been touched by them. Some are so blatently obvious that we must wonder at the gullability of the ones who earnestly forwarded them to us. Sporting subject titles such as “Really Amazing Pictures” and “Winner of the National Geographic Picture of the Year Award”, these images have long circulated in cyberspace without receiving their just dues as “Amazing Images” in their own right.
Now Science Junkies celebrates these audacious fakes with the first ever “Shoppie Award”. Here are my picks for the most obviously “Photo Shopped” images ever to invade our in-boxes while daring to call themselves genuine.
Big Kitty
Look Out!
White Shark takes on the Military
Teddy Bear in the Sky
Triple Water Spout
Indonesian Tsunami
World Trade Center Tourist
Hogzilla
Desert “Camel” Spiders
Fishing in the Crescent City after Hurricane Katrina
A Big Dog named Hercules
World Trade Center “Demon Cloud”
Like a good fake? Read Science and the Urban Legend and Science and the Urban Legend Part II
The “Shoppies” celebrate fakes - The “Iggies” honor very real, albeit silly science. To learn more about the IgNobel Awards CLICK HERE
Topics: In the News, Jokes, Humor & Poetry, Movies & TV, Nature, Technology, The Petri Dish | No Comments »
The Sci-Fi Movie Plotinator
By Linda | May 9, 2008
Mad Libs meets the Sci Fi Movie Channel.
As I first mentioned in my post titled Sci-Fi Movie Survival Tips, My 10-year-old Science Junkie and I are huge science fiction movie fans. We love to make a game of figuring out which characters will die first and which will survive until the end. The Sci Fi Channel movies are so formulaic that I thought that they could perhaps save some money by firing their entire writing staff and using my patented Sci-Fi movie Plotinator instead.
To write your own science fiction movie plot just pick one item from each of the pick lists below and discover your inner science fiction movie writer.
Our story begins as
- A Big Oil Company
- A Big Pharmaceutical Company
- A Multinational Corporation
- The U.S. Defense Department
- An Eccentric and Egotistical Billionaire
In order to
- Increase profits
- Avoid environmental regulations
- Get an edge on the competition and/or enemy
- Cover up previous bad acts
- Take over the world
- For no discernible reason at all
Takes it upon themselves to
- Manipulate the natural structure (genetic or otherwise) of
- Irradiate
- Pour newly discovered untested chemicals on/in
- Hook up to a super computer
- Expose to a substance found on a meteor fragment
- A spider (or any insect of your choosing)
- An unsuspecting mentally challenged human subject
- A carnivorous plant
- A storm system
- a preexisting geological condition (ie a fissure opened up by an earthquake)
Causing the above to
- Grow to incredible size
- Become extremely aggressive
- Tear a whole in the time/space continuum
- Become self-aware
- Develop a taste for human flesh
Mayhem ensues culminating in a scene in which our monster/disaster destroys one of the following locations/landmarks in a spectacular fashion.
- New York - The Statue of Liberty
- St. Louis - The Arch
- San Francisco - The Golden Gate Bridge
- Chicago - The Sears Tower
- Seattle - The Space Needle
All seems lost until one or two of the following:
- The Police Chief’s spunky daughter
- The young environmentalist
- The gutsy single Mom who is also a scientist
- The handsome drifter
- The teen-aged nerd with a super-sized IQ
Comes up with a risky but brilliant plan that uses any combination of the following
- Explosives (nukes are best)
- Electricity
- Huge quantities of water
- A really positive attitude
- Fire extinguishers
- Amplified sound waves
Resulting in the vanquishment of the monster/disaster, but not before
- The evil CEO
- The evil General
- The evil Billionaire
- Any henchmen of the above 3
- Countless innocent civilians
- Anyone who was against or refused to help with the above risky but brilliant plan
- Crewman #7 (See Sci-Fi Movie Survival Tips)
Gets
- Eaten
- Crushed
- Decapitated
- Melted
- Impaled
- Burned
- Exploded
- Ejected into space without a spacesuit
The actors may be chosen from any of the following talents:
Topics: Jokes, Humor & Poetry, Movies & TV, The Petri Dish | No Comments »
Planet Pursuit
By Linda | May 7, 2008
Escape fast fireballs and answer space trivia to complete your mission in Planet Pursuit!
To begin your mission CLICK HERE
Topics: The Cosmos, Toys & Games | No Comments »
Ear Wax
By Linda | May 6, 2008
Although Bertie Bott’s obviously thought that ear wax would make a very tasty jelly bean flavor, mother nature had quite a different purpose in mind for this helpful substance…
What is Ear Wax?
The skin covering the outer part of the ear canal contains special glands that produce ear wax, a sticky, waxy substance also known as cerumen which is different from candle wax (paraffin). Our skin contains many tiny glands whose purpose is to secrete a variety of substances. Sebaceous glands, for example, secrete sebum (skin oil). Sweat is also produced by microscopic glands. Cerumen glands are found only in the skin of the ear canals. The purpose of this natural wax is to protect the ear from bacteria, foreign substances such as dust and insects as well as to serve as a temporary water repellent.
Cerumen may vary in form and appearance. It may be almost liquid, or firm and solid. The color of ear wax can also vary depending upon its composition. The primary component of ear wax is keratin (derived from dead skin). Glandular secretions, sweat, oil and bacteria from the surface of the ear canal may also be present in the ear wax you see on the end of your Q-Tip.
Topics: Health & the Human Body | No Comments »
It’s a Gas!
By Linda | May 5, 2008
Pooting, Tooting, Farting, Breaking Wind, Cutting the Cheese, whatever you want to call it, the average person produces about half a liter of intestinal gas per day which is expelled in the form of flatulence about 14 times daily.
The following web links get into the science behind this smelly but vital bodily function:
Kidzworld: The Science of Farting
Which Foods Make Us Fart Most?
Here is my all-time favorite fart joke….
What’s invisible and smells like carrots?
Bunny Farts!
Topics: Animal Kingdom, Food Science, Health & the Human Body, Jokes, Humor & Poetry, Nature, Science Factoids | No Comments »
Blue Food
By Linda | May 4, 2008
George Carlin had a comedy bit about blue food.
“Why is there no blue food? I can’t find blue food — I can’t find the flavor of blue! I mean, green is lime; yellow is lemon; orange is orange; red is cherry; what’s blue? There’s no blue! Oh, they say, “Blueberries!” Uh-uh; blue on the vine, purple on the plate. There’s no blue food! Where is the blue food? We want the blue food!”
Towards the end of the novel ”2001: A Space Odyssey”, Arthur C. Clarke describes the food that the aliens have engineered for astronaut Dave Bowman; a nutritionally complete, pleasant tasting nondescript substance. Packaged in familiar ceral boxes and cans, the contents of all the containers was the weight and texture of bread pudding and blue in color.
If the aliens in 2001 had done their research, they would have picked any color other than blue for their “human chow”.
The reason? Humans are hard wired to avoid eating things that are colored hues that do not naturally occur in edible substances. Blue food is a rare occurrence in nature. There are no leafy blue vegetables (blue lettuce?), no blue meats (blueburger, well-done please), and aside from blueberries and a few blue-purple potatoes from remote spots on the globe, blue just doesn’t exist in any significant quantity as a natural food color.
Studies have found that the color of a food can greatly affect how its taste is perceived. Brightly colored foods frequently seem to taste better than bland-looking foods, even when the flavor compounds are identical. Foods that somehow look off-color often seem to have off tastes. For thousands of years human beings have relied on visual cues to help determine what is edible. The color of fruit suggests whether it is ripe, the color of meat whether it is rancid.
During an experiment conducted in the 1970s, people were served an oddly tinted meal of steak and french fries that appeared normal beneath colored lights. Everyone thought the meal tasted fine until the lighting was changed. Once it became apparent that the steak was actually blue and the fries were green, some of the test subjects became physically ill.
Want to have some fun? - Only with the supervision of an adult, of course!
Cook up a batch of spaghetti noodles in boiling salted water to which you have added several drops of blue food coloring. Drain and serve as you normally would. See what observations you and your family have about the flavor of your blue meal.
Vision isn’t the only sense that can alter your perception of the flavor of foods. To learn more, CLICK HERE.
Topics: Health & the Human Body, Nature, Projects & Experiments | 1 Comment »
Legos in Space!
By Linda | May 2, 2008
Two things we love; Legos and Astronauts - what could be better?!
See “Adventures of Lego Spacemen” at Joe Braun Photography. Great Pictures!
Topics: Jokes, Humor & Poetry, Technology, The Petri Dish | No Comments »
BigDog
By Linda | May 1, 2008
He might not have Rosie the Robot’s charm and personality, but Boston Dynamics’ “packbot” BigDog is billed as the most advanced quadruped robot on earth.
BigDog is powered by a gasoline engine that drives a hydraulic actuation system. His legs are articulated like an animal’s, and have compliant elements that absorb shock and recycle energy from one step to the next. At about the size of a large dog (3 feet long, 2 feet tall and 165 lbs), BigDog runs at 4 mph, climbs slopes up to 35 degrees, walks across rubble, and carries a 340 lb load.
BigDog is being developed by Boston Dynamics with the goal of creating robots that have rough-terrain mobility that can take them anywhere on Earth that people and animals can go.
Check out the video below to see BigDog in action. BigDog illustrates the huge strides robotic technology has made in recent years. His ability to react and adjust to varying terrains and regain balance after being roughly knocked is amazing! Athough BigDog’s abilities obviously lend themselves to military applications, it’s my hope that these technologies can find their way into other pursuits such as space exploration.
Topics: In the News, Technology | No Comments »
They promised us flying cars!
By Linda | April 30, 2008
I really thought they’d be here by now but alas, flying cars are still a future dream.
Here are a few nifty examples of the flying car as it has been imagined by various different people…
See what Glen Hiemstra from futurist.com has to say about the current status of the flying car. If memory serves me correctly, my brother actually bought stock in the Moller SkyCar. It may yet pay dividends!
The sQuba doesn’t fly but it does swim! To take a look, CLICK HERE
Topics: Retro Science, Technology, The Petri Dish | No Comments »
