The World According to Beakman

It's been a while since I've seen it, but I caught the last few minutes of a (supposedly) kid's show called Beakman's World that I wasn't even sure was still on the air. If you've never seen it, it's a show intended to teach kids lots of cool science stuff. Your main cast of characters are Beakman (of course) the show's oddly-coiffed namesake & resident science sage, Josie (his lab assistant...well, his first lab assistant...he has had a couple more assistants since Josie) & a big, fat, totally unkempt rat named Lester (I'm not kidding). I wish I had had the opportunity to see a show like this when I was a kid. I wouldn't be the Science Stooge I am today!

Anyway, one of the fun facts I learned on the show today was one I hadn't thought about before that I thought I would share now. Don't cheat! Try to guess without cruising the internets!! It's funner trying to think of the answer!

Here goes:

Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.

(Check for the answer at the end of the post of March 29:
http://undoingthedamagemrcswildride.blogspot.com/2008/03/yes-they-can.html)

Take a gander at the show's website at http://www.beakmansworldtv.com/.

Happy National Surf & Turf Day (a.k.a. Leap Day)

Did you know that Julius Caesar proclaimed the first Leap Day in 46 B.C.?? I didn't!

I also didn't realize that Leap Years were so complicated! Through the magic of the internets, though, I found out that there are THREE criteria which determine which years are leap years! To wit:

1. Every year that is divisible by four is a leap year;
2. Of those years, if it can be divided by 100, it is NOT a leap year, unless
3. The year is divisible by 400. Then it is a leap year.

You may be asking yourself why we even bother with Leap Years.

Good question!

Well, the simple truth is that it takes planet Earth approximately 365.2422 days to circle the sun, so every 365-day year we observe leaves a little less than 6 hours unaccounted for. By adding the extra 24-hour day (almost) every four years, we make up for the almost quarter of a day we are off each year. So, per the math:

4 x 0.2422 = 0.9688 or very nearly 1 day

Thus, the need for a nearly-quadrennial adjustment known as a Leap Day!

Besides holding the honor of being National Surf and Turf Day, other notable Leap Day events include...

On Feb. 29, 1692, the Salem Witch Trials began when Tituba, the female slave of the Reverend Samuel Parris, Sarah Goode, and Sarah Osborne were all arrested and accused of witchcraft.

On Feb. 29, 1916, Dinah Shore, singer/ actress was born.

On Feb. 29, 1940, Gone with the Wind won 8 Oscars, one of which went to Hattie McDaniel, who was the first African American to win an Oscar. Also on this day, Mario Andretti, Italian racing driver, was born.

On Feb. 29, 1960, Anthony Robbins (who made an appearance in the movie, Shallow Hal), motivational speaker, was born.

On Feb. 29, 1972, Hank Aaron was the first Major League Baseball player to sign a contract for $200,000 a season (he was signed for 3 seasons).

On Feb. 29, 1976, Ja Rule, rapper and actor, was born.

So Saith The Snapple Lid

Following, in no particular order, are tidbits of knowledge you probably never knew and/or don’t need to know even now, brought to you by your friends at Snapple! While I personally have no choice but to believe what the Snapple lid tells me (the lid has never lied to me before--that I know of), I can understand any reluctance on your part if you are dubious and/or if you need verification of these supposed facts. Unfortunately, I am unable to provide any confirmation for any of the statements that follow, therefore, if you choose to proceed, please do so with caution!

Also, this is my first blog post here using rainbow-y font colors!

Snapple Real Fact #163: The first penny had the motto “Mind your own business.”

SRF #50: Mosquitoes have 47 teeth.

SRF #10: Mosquitoes are attracted to people who have recently eaten bananas.

SRF #207: Before 1687 clocks were only made with an hour hand.

SRF #28: Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.

SRF #68: The longest one-syllable word is “screeched.”

SRF #53: The average woman consumes 6 pounds of lipstick in her lifetime.

SRF #109: Smelling apples and/or bananas can help you lose weight.

SRF #60: The tongue is the fastest healing part of a human body.

SRF #105: You will burn about 7% more calories walking on hard dirt than pavement.

SRF #143: “Q” is the only letter in the alphabet not appearing in the name of any U.S. state.

SRF #69: No word in the English language rhymes with "month".*

SRF #66: Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.

SRF #22: Alaska has the highest percentage of people who walk to work.

SRF #144: Texas is the only state that permits residents to vote from space.

SRF #44: The bullfrog is the only animal that never sleeps.

SRF #32: There are one million ants for every human in the world.

SRF #193: The year that read the same upside down was 1961. That won’t happen again until 6009.

SRF #214: Giraffes can lick their own eyes.

SRF #40: It is possible to lead a cow up stairs but not down stairs.

SRF #34: Oysters can change from one gender to another and back again.

SRF #82: August has the highest percentage of births.

SRF #130: Koalas and humans are the only animals with unique fingerprints.

SRF #25: The only food that doesn’t spoil is honey.

SRF #31: The average human eats 8 spiders in his/her lifetime while sleeping.

*Just adding my own two cents here, but another word for which there is no rhyming word (in the English language) is "orange". Just another piece of completely useless info that is rolling around in my so-called brain

She-e-e-e-e-ery Baby?!?!?

Talking about going from (as near to) sublime (as I get) with my last post to the ridiculous (we were talking about that, right?!?!), I found a website called Pop Culture Madness (http://www.popculturemadness.com/), which allows you to find your date of birth & then see what the #1 song in the U.S. was at that time, according to Billboard Magazine. Since it's a "pop culture" website, I am assuming it's the #1 Pop song when you were born.*

To find the info for date you were born, when you go to the website, scroll about halfway down the page & on the far left, simply click on the link that reads, "[the decade you were born] Billboard #1 Hits," and then on that decade's page, choose the year & then the time frame you were born, and voilà!

Since I was born on October 17, 1962, I went to the "60s Billboard # 1 Hits," chose 1962 & then I found the timeframe where I was born (September 15 - October 19) and discovered that the #1 song at that time was "Sherry" by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.

I have to say that I was not exactly thrilled to find out this info! To me (and since this is my blog, it really is all about me, right?!?!) "Sherry" is simply a stupid song. It's basically mindless palaver consisting of the words "Sherry, Sherry, baby, can you come out tonight?" repeated ad nauseum until you can't take it anymore & you are forced to switch off the Hi-Fi if you haven't broken your hand after putting your fist through the wall!

I guess, for trivia purposes, it's good to know, but I am MUCH more impressed with the #1 song from the time frame just after I was born, October 20 - November 2, 1962: "Monster Mash" by Bobby, Boris, Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers! Now that's what the kids call a hella-cool song!

Anyway, if you get a chance to read this post & you find the #1 song in the U.S. of A. when you were born, please share with the class!

Hope your song is a little more substantial and interesting than mine was! :-/

*The writer of this post can make no claims, in any way, shape or form, as to the accuracy of the information, claims and/or statements found on the Pop Culture Madness website and/or on any websites linked to said website which reader may subsequently explore. Writer is absolved of any liability which may ensue by any information appearing in aforementioned website(s). Void where prohibited, taxed or otherwise restricted by law. No cash value.

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

Before today, I thought that "antidisestablishmentarianism" was the longest word in the English language, tipping the scales at 28 letters.

Today, I found out the word that that "honor" goes to a 45-letter word describing, "an obscure term ostensibly referring to a lung disease caused by silica dust, sometimes cited as one of the longest words in the English language." So saith Dictionary.com.

So just like in elementary school, let's all practice spelling it 10 times in a row:

1. pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
2. pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
3. pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
4. pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
5. pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
6. pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
7. pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
8. pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
9. pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
10. pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

There will be a test on this, so study hard!