This is an unfortunate year for people who suffer from triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13). We have two Friday the 13ths this year. Recently I found an interesting book, An Uncommon History of Common Things. It claims up to $900 million is lost every Friday the 13th because of people who refuse to fly
I rarely do crossword puzzles myself, but I know they’re a very popular pastime. They were even the storyline of an episode on The Simpsons. I mention this to share one of the most diabolical crossword-puzzle clues I’ve ever found. I’m fond of using it in the classroom when I substitute teach and things get dull.
I’m not a big movie fan myself, but it’s almost impossible to tune out the Academy Awards this weekend. One of the most informative sources I’ve run across is American Public Media’s “Marketplace” radio business program. Last week they did a series of stories on the Oscars, focusing on the less glamourous aspects of movie-making,
Have you ever heard of the Darwin Awards? As the website www.darwinawards.com explains: “The Darwin Awards salute the improvement of the human genome by honoring those who accidentally remove themselves from it… For example, one of the 2014 awards was a double for two men who tried to take a selfie with a wild elephant
Have you ever felt you were being controlled by someone else? Be glad you’re not a ladybug. These little aphid predators can fall victim themselves to a parasitic wasp in a particularly gruesome way. These wasps sting ladybugs, leaving one egg inside. When the egg hatches, the larva eats its host from the inside out.
I’ll admit I’d never thought of this before. but the “Verbal Energy” column in the Feb. 9, 2015 issue of the Christian Science Monitor takes this on. It seems the word “ketchup” comes from Chinese, or more specifically Hokkien, which is the language of southern Fujian and Taiwan. Ke means “preserved fish” and tschup means
When I started teaching, I told the kids they had the hard part — I expected them to make me feel young(er). I got a good example today which serving as an aide in 8th grade science class. Have you ever heard of an Oobleck? It’s a non-Newtonian fluid that was the creation of Dr.
When I worked at Tomart Publications as a book and magazine editor, one of our specialties was radio-premium collectibles — those prizes people sent in for during the Golden Age of radio. For awhile, the Illustrated Radio Premium Catalog and Price Guide was one of our best-selling books. Many collectors fondly remembered special treasurers they had as
How good is your knowledge of chemistry? What if I were to tell you that there is a dangerous chemical throughout our environment? It is a major component of acid rain, contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape, accelerates corrosion of many metals, causes electrical failures, in its crystalline form has been implicated in
Basketball isn’t my favorite sport, but it does interest me. I played in high school, or rather I was on the team. My senior year was my only full year on the varsity, because there was nowhere else to go at that point. I never got into a game where the outcome was in doubt.