As we were discussing her day at school and the portfolio she brought home for our one-day perusal, Hannah let me know this: "I love math."
Recently Quinn has acquired a statement he enjoys repeating, and I smile at his Yoda-like syntax. When asked a question that he doesn't know the answer to, he consistently answers with "I not know."
Tonight at bedtime I read from the book Why is Snot Green?: And Other Extremely Important Questions and Answers by Glenn Murphy, a fine piece of non-fiction that tackles such important questions as "What is a black hole, and what would happen if you fell into one?," "Where does the wind come from, and where is it going?," "What do people taste like to sharks and tigers?," and "If Earth spins around once a day, what started it spinning?"
The questions and answers in the chapters are a blend of science and humor, sometimes low-brow humor as you'll see. Here are two examples from the answers to the follow-up question of "Why do you do more burps when you drink soda and more farts when you drink beans?" in the "If you swallow a burp, does it turn into a fart?" chapter:
- "Drink them [pop/soda] down fast and the gases build up in your stomach until they blast their way back up your esophagus (or food-tube), out of your mouth, and in the face of a disapproving aunt" (150)
- "In doing so, they [beans] produce extra carbon dioxide. This time it goes down instead of up, builds up at the rectum (or bum passage) and finally rattles out at an impressive speed into the waiting world" (150).
We're learning about science and laughing.
The final highlight is that thirteen years ago today Mrs. Nasty and I went on our first date.
4 comments:
"What is a black hole, and what would happen if you fell into one?,"
What did they say was the answer to the second part? I've heard several different answers to that one.
Oh, the book is 233 pages long, so I just read the "Why is snot green?" chapter, and we only got through part of the "If you swallow a burp, does is turn into a fart?" chapter because we both got to laughing too much.
But after doing some research, Murphy contends that "you'd be ripped apart, fried, or trapped forever. Possibly all three" (39), and he further explains why by stating, "you'd be ripped apart by tidal forces caused by its super-strong gravity. Basically, if you jumped in feet first, your feet and legs would be sucked in faster than your head and upper body (or vice versa if you dove in head first). [I think this is kind of obvious, even for kids.] So your body would be stretched out lengthwise until you snapped like a rubber band" (41). No explanation on the frying though.
I love the fact Hannah likes Math. I am worried about you though since math and science are not your strong subjects....
Man, I give out some positive energy, and I get this?
HARUMPH.
However, Math could be a slight issue, but I'm more knowledgeable about scientific matters (well, I'm strong on environmental affairs/ecology) than you might imagine.
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