Emuers,
Here's the first Emu of 2006 and finally, an Emu Episode # to match my age...28! Since I am in the field of science teaching and I teach my students that we all do science everyday in almost every situation, I figured I would let you know where I have found science in my daily life. First...why the title of my email? Well, that's actually my new favorite experiment. I have tried it on over 30 people...most who have ended the night in the hospital. Turns out that if you rotate the bed mattress in our house between the months of November and March, you can get a bolt of electricity very similar to if you grabbed downed power lines! This is apparently due to our lack of moisture or heat in our house. I didn't believe it myself until I helped Reagan rotate the mattress. Later, when I came to, I realized that I would never clip my index fingernail or big toenail again! Normally, I am not a swearing man (minus Bug Bee Hive incident that some of you remember), but I said some words when I got zapped that rivaled my Dad's Wood-Cutting outbursts. Actually, the whole event gave me new respect for Dad who we once laughed at as he got attached by electricity to our washer/dryer set for over 9 seconds! Dad....thanks! Now, what are some other experiments? Here is a list of them and my conclusions:
1) Baby Food Multiplier: I conclude that a baby can eat 4 oz. of food and quickly throw up a 1/2 gallon of fluid with pinpoint accuracy towards a father holding only a plastic spoon for defense. And then in mid-scream, can liquify another 1 gallon of substance and explode it instantaneously from a region unknown until it covers every fabric of clothing on the baby itself. As for undressing this mess, I have yet to have that experiment work.
2) Adult variable: Yes...if you change one variable, you can learn alot. I have added a student teacher to my room this spring and I conclude kids will test anyone and yes, I now not only have screwed up another 150 kids this year, but also have destroyed the life of a promising teacher. Somehow she still seems to enjoy teaching even though I greet her every morning with "Why are you here? I'm only here for the fast Internet and the fact that they pay me!". Anyway, despite me, she will do well.
3) Care for yourself: Babies can care for themselves before they are 9 months old. This experiment should only be tried if absolutely necessary. But since it was Christmas break and I got my yearly near-death sickness and Reagan got it at thes ame time, Jack was left to fend for himself for 2 days. I lost 9 pounds over night and Reagan did not eat for 3 days. At one point, I could not get off the floor due to deydration, but Reagan could not drive me to the hospital because she was too sick. Jack had his 2 best days ever actually.
4) Can't dribble...you can still win! I conclude that it is possible to win basketball games with kids who can't dribble. In fact, my team went 5-5 this year and won 3 games by over 20 points! How we did this I still do not know but good scientists should always take notes, and I did not. All I know is that when the 8th grade "B" team accomplished 5 wins in one season, they accomplished much more: over half learned to dribble, most made baskets on our end, we played with 5 guys most of the time, and everyone scored at least one basket. That last accomplishment took 3 special plays and 2 games to get our last guy to score, but someday he will look back on his 1 for 19 2005-2006 shooting stats and say "I know the play called for a layup and I had a wide open lane to dribble, but it was much more fun to bank in a 23-footer!". His coach will say "God...thank you for another miracle."
Anyway, that is it for now. Basketball is done and baseball has started. My student teacher is teaching 3 of my classes full-time for the next six weeks. And finally, more experiments will be performed in about 2 weeks when Reagan and I and another couple travel to Puerto Vallerta for 4 nights/5 days to an all-inclusive resort. We haven't travelled since our Honeymoon so we figured we would bring another couple, because if memories serve me correct, we don't always agree when we are on vacation. Should be an Emu-worthy trip that I will be sure to update you on. Until then, enjoy the change over to Spring!!!
Love&Prayers,
Ben
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