The Noble Gas Voice Perhaps the most ubiquitous chemistry trick is helium in a party balloon. Suck in the gas, get a funny voice. Many people have tried it, most people have witnessed it. Here is unparalleled acting genius Vin Deisel demonstrating the effect of helium on a human voice: Why does helium have this […]
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Equine on I-Six-Nine What’s in a name? that which we call Bold and BossyBy any other name would bolt as sweetly. — Bill Shakespeare, Boldeo and Bossiet We attempt to imbue much with the names we give our offspring and our critter companions. Horse trainers have a long history of apt, clever,
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The Social Giraffe Network Apparently, for many moons, in the scientific realm, zoologists have considered giraffes to be solitary and aloof. A 1991 publication on the behavior of African mammals described giraffes as “forming no lasting bonds with its fellows and associating in the most casual way.” Unlike elephants and apes, which display broad social constructs,
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Sprites, Elves, Trolls, Pixies, Ghosts, Gnomes, and Blue Jets No, we’re not traveling today to Middle-earth or into the belly of a dungeon crawler. Instead, we’ll take to the skies. All the fantastical characters of today’s title are real phenomena in the upper atmosphere! Lightning strikes – photo by Mircea Madau Most of us
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The Yellowstone Supervolcano Some National Parks prominently feature or owe their existence to volcanoes. Mount Rainier is a stratovolcano. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park certainly contains fiery mountains. Crater Lake National Park is the remnant of an extinct volcano. Less prominent parks, including Lassen Volcanic in California and Katmai in Alaska, highlight combustible histories. But, the largest
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Yellowstone In 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant, the great Civil War general from Ohio, signed The Act of Dedication. His penstroke created the country’s and world’s first National Park. The preserved land sat mostly in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with parts sneaking into Montana and Idaho. Today, the park we know as Yellowstone continues to
Mount Fuji One of the world’s most recognizable mountains, Mount Fuji is nearly synonymous with Japan. Rising 12,389 feet above sea level, Fuji is also the High Point of the nation. Situated on the island of Honshu, the peak is a mere 62 miles southwest of Tokyo. On clear days, the mountain starkly dominates the capital and largest
National Parks vs. National Monuments I think the question I’ve been asked the most when discussing National Parks in the United States relates to today’s article title. What’s the difference between a National Park and a National Monument? The National Parks Service – the agency that oversees the National Parks System – doesn’t exactly make it easy on us (although, it’s also
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The Bluetooth Bombshell Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler dropped into being on 9 November 1914 in Vienna, Austria. If you’re a fan of classic cinema, you might know Kiesler by her stage name, Hedy Lamarr. Billed by Louis B. Mayer, the head of MGM, as “the world’s most beautiful woman,” Lamarr found widespread fame during the Golden Age
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You Shall Pass Most of us are well familiar with overpasses, those three-dimensional intersections of highways and byways. These structures allow roads to cross safely without those pesky traffic lights, stop signs, or roundabouts. An overpass on the New York Thruway – image by Jojalozzo Utilizing vertical space for road travel is good for both