Friday Hodgepodge
Friday, March 13, 2020
Four Things
Let's take a short break from that damned virus today, shall we?
 |
| In the process of answering a question about weather vanes, I stumbled across this gorgous picture of one. (Image by SmithVane, via Wikimedia Commons, license.) |
The experimental vaccine now awaits a phase 3 trial that will test how well it actually protects against the seasonal flu, said lead researcher Olga Pleguezuelos, chief scientific officer at SEEKacure, a London-based pharmaceutical development firm.It is worth noting that, if this approach works, it will be tried against several other similarly challenging viral pathogens.
FLU-v works by targeting parts of the influenza virus that have been shown to evolve the least over time, Pleguezuelos said.
2. Having read in Socialism Sucks about the great strides towards freedom by the nation of Georgia, I indulged my curiosity a bit. One of my rewards was finding a "playful" list of commonalities between the US state and the nation that share the name Georgia:
2) They're both famous for their beverages.A traveller familiar with both compiled this list, which offers four other interesting comparisons.
State: Atlanta is internationally famous as the home of Coca Cola.
Country: It has one of the oldest wine regions in the world and the wines, while part of the national fabric for thousands of years, are just now gaining international acclaim. A visit inevitably results in copious amounts of delicious local varieties -- such as Kakheti's Saperavi reds -- being "forced" upon you. [format edits]
3. In case you've ever wondered, "What does outer space smell like?" Popular Science has you covered:
Though a pure, unadulterated whiff of outer space is impossible for humans (it's a vacuum after all; we would die if we tried), when astronauts are outside the ISS, space-borne compounds adhere to their suits and hitch a ride back into the station. Astronauts have reported smelling "burned" or "fried" steak after a space walk, and they aren't just dreaming of a home-cooked meal.I'm not sure which makes me smile more: The child-like question, or the fact that it has an answer that makes sense.
The smell of space is so distinct that, three years ago, NASA reached out to Steven Pearce of the fragrance maker Omega Ingredients to re-create the odor for its training simulations. "Recently we did the smell of the moon," Pearce says. "Astronauts compared it to spent gunpowder."
4. Via Let Grow comes word of a hilarious Instagram account by an artist who appears to have found her niche. It features poster art inspired by one-star reviews of national parks -- like, "There are bugs, and they will bite you on your face." The artist, a military brat who grew up enjoying many of these places, also offers amusing comebacks, such as, "Bugs? Outside? In nature? No thank you."
-- CAV
4 comments:
NASA loves childlike questions. They've got a series of videos where astronauts on the ISS take questions from school kids and show the answers. To give one example, the commander of the ISS showed how to wring out a towel in zero-G, which was strangely beautiful; the water clings to the edges, and to his hands. Look up Chris Hadfield on YouTube to see some of these. My kids are a bit young for this, but yours may be old enough to appreciate them.
The reason for taking this time (which is at a premium on the ISS) is that sometimes among the silly questions you get genuine scientific revolutions. A kid once asked what happens if you shake up salt in space. The folks at the ISS put salt in a plastic bag and shook it. Rather than spreading out like it does on Earth, the salt clumped together--answering a question about planetary accretion that had gone unanswered since we realized planets weren't eternal. This may sound small, but consider how fundamental this is. Dust is one of the most common things in space, and we never knew, until this child asked a silly question, how dust clouds work. This is one of those experiments that gets burned into your memory (if you're a geologist) and gives you chills years later when you look back on it!
This is why I love answering my kids' questions. Even if they're silly, they force you to question your assumptions and do the experiment. It's almost always fun, always a good intellectual exercise, and sometimes you make genuine discoveries.
Dinwar,
Thanks for posting this! I did not know about the videos or the scientific fertility of such questions.
But the latter stands to reason: Kids want to know about the world, and are the least encumbered among us with assumptions about it.
Gus
Yo, Gus, you quote: [Georgia] has one of the oldest wine regions in the world and the wines, while part of the national fabric for thousands of years, are just now gaining international acclaim.
True. We've had several good ones; our current favorite is probably Kindzmarauli, particularly this. Seriously, it's good.
Also, here's two funny songs for you. First, sorry about the post-traumatic flashbacks to grad school this song might trigger. I promise you they're worth the entertainment.
Second, a wry and clever bluegrass song about modern music of the more acerbic kind.
Snedcat,
(I nearly called you "Snedgrass!")
You have managed to catch me at a busy time two weeks in a row. I do look forward to the bluegrass song later on. I grew up hating country music, largely due to boyhood familiarity with trailer trash and the vicious dogs they owned and let wander around. And yet bluegrass is different enough that I have no problems enjoying it.
(And you just caused me to miss Houston's Hickory Hollow restaurant, with its excellent food and live bluegrass. It's right up there with Ninfa's and Khyber Pass as a place I'd love to revisit should I get to spend time there in the future. The last two seem to have vacated the locations we used to visit.)
Gus
Post a Comment