400 years ago lead was harnessed to wood and thus pencils were born! Today, most pencils are made of graphite surrounded by a wooden shell. The average pencil can draw a line for about 35 miles! If you're not drawing 35 mile long lines you could be writing words, about 45,000 words is the average life span of a graphite pencil.
The Human Heart is pretty amazing! It's the power house of our circulatory system. One muscle with four chambers that pumps about 1900 gallons of blood every single day! That's pretty impressive considering that this vital organ only weighs about 10 ounces. Don't let size fool you though, the heart's work goes a long way, literally! The average adult human circulatory system can actually reach about 60,000 miles.
Painter, inventor, scientist, and all around smart guy, Leonardo Da Vinci, once said: "The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art."
Now is a great time for science. New inventions, discoveries, and groundbreaking research are constantly improving the quality of our lives. Women scientists have contributed greatly to our understanding of the world. Marie Curie helped us understand the very nature of the atom and radioactivity. Grace Hopper helped unlock the power of computers. Sally Ride and Mae Jemison helped us to understand the cosmos.
This Earth Day, I could pass along “green” tips on how to save energy and reduce your carbon footprint, but I will save that for another time. Instead, let me make a suggestion: go OUTSIDE this weekend! Take your dog for a walk, plant a vegetable garden, play outdoor games with your children, visit a local park, take a hike and look for wildlife, or just sit in the sun and appreciate its warmth (with appropriate sunscreen, of course).
Gas prices are on the rise again... The world's supply of fossil fuel is limited and will eventually be exhausted. Production is becoming more difficult and more expensive. Many Americans are turning to renewable energy. What exactly is renewable energy? Can you name 5 renewable energy sources?
The word "nerd" is a fairly recent addition to the English language and is now quite common in everyday speech.
When and where was the first recorded usage of the word?
(Hint: Today is Dr. Seuss's birthday...)
Answer: Dr. Seuss holds the honor of first printed usage of the word "nerd." It appeared in the book If I Ran the Zoo, written in 1950.
From the collection of the Virginia Aviation Museum (a division of the Science Museum of Virginia) are two World War II era morale boosters for troops. These booklets provided entertainment for those serving overseas during the war. The “Army Song Book” was published in 1941 by the Library of Congress and contains well-known songs such as “America the Beautiful” and the “Star Spangled Banner”. It also includes the official song of the U.S. Army Air Corps. Here is an excerpt:
As gas approaches $4 per gallon, we are all looking for ways to save. Lots of advice is circulating around, but which tips will actually save fuel? Let’s separate fact from fiction:
Fact: Slow down.
