Another Christmas Eve, another lonely rooftop vigil for aerotarandusdynamicists around the– What’s an “aerotarandusdynamicist”? Perhaps a recap is in order. I have written before about the under-funded field of aerotarandusdynamics. The word, like all good scientific words, is a Latin amalgam: “aero” (air), “tarandus” (part of the scientific name for reindeer, “rangifer tarandus”) and “dynamics” …
Tag: science
Christmas shopping
“A scientific Christmas is a memorable Christmas,” I wrote last week in my column on scientific gifts. But it occurred to me, post-column, that shopping for Christmas gifts involves science even if all you’re buying is a tie for Dad. Consider, for example, the music playing in the store. The best known source for store …
Science gifts for Christmas: 1994
As a kid, I only wanted “fun” gifts for Christmas. I didn’t want anything “practical,” like (horrors!) underwear. And “educational” was way down my list, too. Yet my favorite gifts of all were actually very educational: I just didn’t notice, because I was having so much fun with them. These were the gifts that involved …
Curling
I’ve written about the science of skating, and before that about the science of tobogganing. Now let’s look at a third winter sport, the one that’s hardest to explain to your relatives in Texas: curling. Curling apparently originated in Scotland, probably starting with people tossing small rocks at targets on frozen lakes and rivers, like …
Cattle
My niece collects cows. Well, images of cows, anyway. And she’s not the only one. Apparently, cows are hot right now. Personally, I’ve never been all that enamored of them. My encounters with cows have generally been unrewarding, from the time I tried to milk one (an experience neither of us enjoyed) to the time …
Ice ages
I like ice. When I order a drink at the movie theatre, I always ask for “more ice than you think anyone can possibly want.” At home, I drink iced tea. When I finish my drink, I eat the ice. But I prefer that ice keep to its proper place–which is not on the roads, …
Water treatment
As a kid, I always loved field trips. You not only got to leave school and take a bus ride, you also got to visit exotic places like dairy farms, museums and newspapers. One field trip that seemed to be repeated at regular intervals during my school years was to the local water treatment facility. …
Canning
This week I’d like to write about canning. No, no, no, this isn’t a column about corporal punishment in Singapore. “Canning,” not “caning,” as in, “Open up another can of beans, Ma, company’s coming up the walk.” Canning is a form of food preservation, something humans have been interested in ever since some early hominid …
Hallowe’en: vampires, werewolves, and fear
It’s All Hallow’s Eve, or Halloween, the night when the spirits of the dead are free to walk the Earth, a night of frightening sounds, horrible sights, terrible deeds…not to mention a night when forty-seven iterations of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers will appear at your door begging for candy. Of all our holidays, Halloween is surely the …
Werewolves and vampires
A few months ago, people crowded theatres to see Jack Nicholson as a werewolf. In a few days, they’ll flock to see Tom Cruise as a vampire. It might seem odd, in this supposedly scientific age, that such ancient cannibalistic terrors as werewolves and vampires should still hold such fascination for us…but actually there are …
Books
There are few things I esteem more highly than books, and I’m not just saying that because I was honorary patron of Saskatchewan Library Week (October 15 to 22–and if you missed it, don’t worry; your local library will welcome you any week). Books have been my friends, companions and teachers since I learned to …
Diamonds (1994)
Once in a while, a columnist has to tackle a particularly hard topic. This week, I tackle the hardest topic of all: diamonds. Diamonds have been much on my mind recently for a variety of reasons, not least because of watching a spate of romantic movies. It is perhaps a sad commentary on the way …
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