Science and the Urban Legend - Part II
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008For your entertainment and edification, here are five more persistent yet patently false urban legends…
The Great Wall of China as seen from space by the ESA Proba Satellite
The Legend - The Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from the moon.
The Truth - From a low Earth orbit (160 to 350 miles [...]
Science and the Urban Legend
Thursday, March 20th, 2008The following are actual science related urban legends that have been circulated as truth - some of them for decades. All have been busted by various sources but as urban legends are wont to do, stubbornly persist to this day. Here are five particularly long-lived legends and the reasons they are BUSTED!
The Legend [...]
Totally One-sided
Saturday, March 15th, 2008Here’s a quick trick to play on your friends and some pretty cool science to know. Cut a 2″ wide strip off the side of a standard letter size sheet of paper so that you have a strip of paper that is 2″ wide and 11″ long. Now ask someone if they can draw a continuous [...]
Lessons in Leverage
Sunday, March 9th, 2008A “simple machine” is a device for overcoming resistance at one point by applying force at some other point. Simple machines are generally classified into six basic categories:
Levers
Wheel and Axle
Pulleys (Block and Tackle)
Inclined Planes
Wedges
Screws
One or more simple machines are usually found at the heart of all modern machinery.
The following illustration demonstrates one of several ways that a lever can be used to effectively reduce [...]
A Shrewdness of Apes?
Thursday, March 6th, 2008Did you know that a baby alpaca is called a “cria” or that a group of cheetahs is known as a “coalition”? Me neither!
EnchantedLearning has compiled a comprehensive list of animals with the correct nomenclature for the male, female and young of each species. This site also provides the terminology to describe a plurality of each animal so that if [...]
Celestial Phenomena
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008Have you ever seen an isolated little patch of rainbow just floating in the middle of an otherwise bright and sunny sky? It’s called a sun dog and although I’ve seen this remarkable sight on several occasions, I never thought to find out what caused it or if it had a name. Never that is, [...]
You’ll catch your Death!
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008Being that it’s cold and flu season, I thought it a timely opportunity to spread something other than germs - some knowledge!
A Cold Virus
Here are some common questions and answers about colds and flu (influenza):
What’s the difference between a cold and the flu?
A. Although both illnesses are caused by viruses, their symptoms and severity differ [...]
Orange you a little yellow?
Monday, March 3rd, 2008I knew a girl once who’s skin turned an orangey-yellow color because she had eaten so many carrots. I kid you not! This relatively benign condition is called Carotenemia. My friend’s yellow-orange skin hue was a tell-tale sign of a beta carotene overdose resulting from her over-zealous carrot consumption. Beta carotene, along with other plant pigments generally called [...]
Quit Cloning Around
Thursday, February 28th, 2008Another great poem; this one about cloning….And of course, some facts!
I Cloned Myself on Friday Night
A Poem by Kenn Nesbitt
I cloned myself on Friday night.
By Saturday at three
my clone had made another clone.
They both looked just like me.
They walked like me and talked like me.
They acted like me too.
They wore my clothes and used [...]
Cosmic Projectiles
Sunday, February 24th, 2008Last week, Astronauts took a space walk outside the International Space Station. Among other maintenance tasks, they were there to investigate damage to an external handrail of the ISS that may have been caused by a micrometeoroid.
Many people get confused between the various types of space debris. This week’s “Science Word of the Week” actually includes several definitions that should clear [...]
