Cool Stuff & Other Oddities

One thing you can always say about Nature… She’s never lacks for curveballs. Here’s a fresh handful of mystery (one of my favorite things) to keep our sense of wonder alive as we say so long to summer.

First up, the wake-up call of all time. I simply cannot fathom the size of the mug of coffee I’d need if this were me.

Question: if you did snooze that long, would you have nightmares like this this?

Finally, there’s nothing like a big scary space hole to get one’s holiday weekend off to a rip roaring start.

Happy Labor Day, kids…

It's Friday.

What more reason do we need to take a break and dig some amazing trees?

Dear Scienceman,

Where do bubbles come from?

-- C.L., Foam, MT

Dear Cheryl:

To make a bubble you need a material that, when spread in a thin film, won't pull itself into a tiny drop (like water pulling itself into a bead on a waxed surface). This tendency to pull into a drop is called surface tension, and water has a high surface tension.

Adding a surfactant (SURFaceACTive AgeNT) to water reduces the surface tension so a bubble can form without collapsing itself into a drop. Reducing the surface tension of water also allows the water to mix with oil and grease, which is why surfactants are used for cleaning!

I hope this answer was helpful!

--Scienceman

Okay, all's quiet on the Inspired front so I'll slip this in since it's Friday and we could all use a little fun at week's end...

I stumbled across this utterly totally fascinating captivating web site the other day in my travels through the digital ether. Behold, my friends, the African savannah! Yes, that's real live video from a water hole somewhere deep in the heart of the South African Wilderness. Watch wildebeast frolic. Monkeys play. Birds gather. Gazelles graze. Yesterday, I caught a pack of hyenas romping in the grass. The other night, a wicked thunderstorm. It's raw, uncut, unfiltered and completely live as it happens. The audio alone is worth the price of admission. (What in the wide wonderful world was that weird scary howling sound?) You never know what you'll see (or hear), but you're watching water in a place where there's precious little so whatever wildlife is around will eventually wander into view. It's a slice of life on Planet Earth beamed half around the globe in what can only be called a feat of sheer magic. Just amazing to sit in the Vermont woods and be able to see Africa from here.

Disclaimer: The Africam is highly addictive. The Inspired Protagonist is not responsible for losses in productivity you and your loved ones may experience as a result of explosure to its signal.