science
08/20/2007
Hurricane Dean Seen From Space: "Holy Smokes!"
There is something about the way astronauts talk. From Neil Armstrong’s unexpectedly calm “one small step for man” speech on the lunar surface, to Apollo 13's casual, meiotic “Houston, we have a problem” when all hell was breaking loose, astronauts’ words always seem to possess an understated gravity -- maybe it’s the perspective of being high 200 miles above the earth, or maybe it’s simply being high in a capsule filled with oxygen. So when an astronaut exclaims “holy smokes,” you know something big is happening.
Such was the case with crew members aboard the International Space Station as they passed over Hurricane Dean, a potential Cat 5 storm passing by the island Hispanola on its way towards the Gulf of Mexico. External cameras captured footage of the hurricane from an altitude of 214 statute miles. Our astronaut summed up the storm's massive size with this litotic comment: “Yeah. Can’t miss that.”
08/13/2007
Perseid Meteor Shower
Every year, around this time, the Earth passes through a cloud of dust left behind by the comet Swift/Tuttle. Many of these tiny dust particles burn up in our atmosphere, creating the spectacular display known as the Perseid Meteor Shower. Last night (August 12, 2007) was the peak night for the annual shower, and if you were far enough away from the lights of civilization, and blessed with a cloudless sky, this is a small example of what you would have seen.
Having gone out to see the showers last night, I will say that this video fails to capture the fleeting, fragile beauty of this event. It also utterly fails to capture the sensation of sitting on top of a cold, dark mountain for five hours, the sound of the two hippies doing it on the car hood next to me, or the spectacular display of fire ants who were none-too-pleased at having my ass on top of their colony. Still, it looks pretty cool.
06/25/2007
Kids Craft A Rollar Coaster of... Train?
This very short viral video uses an amateur shaky-cam asthetic to throw you off guard, crafting an twist is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Produced for the engineering firm Hydro to encourage the notion that "engineering is anything but boring," the kids may be speaking Norwegian -- but this video has a universal appeal.
06/12/2007
Mr. Wizard/Don Herbert (1917-2007)
We children of the 80s -- at least, those children of the 80s who weren't hiding from bullies and the blinding sun -- undoubtedly fondly remember watching Mr. Wizard's World on Nickelodeon. We were luckier than the outdoor kids, because we grew up learning about the possibilities provided by science, and the magic of the natural world. Which is way better than physical activity, anyway.
So it's a sad day for all us former indoor kids, because today Don Herbert, the titular Mr. Wizard, passed away at the age of 89 after a long battle with cancer. We may ask the Internet our questions about science now. But Mr. Wizard, you'll still be missed.
01/08/2007
Spiders on Drugs
Our love of great comedy is intense, to be sure, but intense enough to overcome our profound terror of spiders? Turns out the answer is yes.
This "scientific inquiry" into the effects of various drugs on the web-building abilities of wood spiders is perhaps lacking in vigorous adherence to the scientific method. It also takes a little long to get to its point. But while crack cocaine jokes are easy (and just a little bit racist), they're also, sadly, pretty damn funny. Well-played, Mr. Crack Spider. Well-played, indeed.
