Video Series That'll Learn You Something
I've been meaning to post this for several days. I guess Friday afternoon is good enough time as any.
♠ In a news story, a man claims that he opened a can of Mountain Dew, took a swig, then became violently ill. Emptying the contents revealed there to be a mouse inside. Pepsi Co. is denying that his story is plausible because, they claim, a mouse trapped inside a can of Mountain Dew would have dissolved due to the acidity of the beverage. Which raises two concerns: 1) if Mountain Dew is such a potent liquid that it can accelerate biological decomposition, what they hell does it do to a person? 2) How many mice fall into cans of Mountain Dew and dissolve into goo and consequently get consumed? Ew.
Enter Christina, who decided to make a scientific experiment out of this news story. It isn't a perfect experiment because there are a lot of variables that just aren't possible to control in a makeshift kitchen experiment. Part 1 is about seven-and-a-half minutes, explaining her purpose for the experiment and how she set it up. Yes, she bought dead mice, so there's your squick warning.
Part 2 was just posted today and is a short 4-minute checkin on how the experiment is going after just one week.
As she states in the video, she'll keep an eye on their progress and if anything happens she'll make another video. Otherwise, there may be an update only once per month. Science can be slow, but is very interesting!
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♠ I really enjoy the explanatory videos by C.G.P. Grey. They are especially good at making all that boring politics mumbo jumbo actually interesting. Or at least presenting it in an interesting way that is easy to understand. Check out How the Electoral College Works, The Trouble with the Electoral College, and his newest one, relevant to current events, Primary Elections Explained.
Another fascinating look into politics is his Politics in the Animal Kingdom, which basically explains democratic voting practices, the different methods and their pros and cons. The series starts with "First Past the Post Voting", used here in the States. Then explains "The Alternative Vote", which is used in Australia and looks very appealing to me. Then a summary on "Gerrymandering", a process that feels wrong but may be impossible to eliminate. And then "Mixed-Member Proportional Representation". That method seems best suited for electing Senators and Representatives. I wonder if we could set up a system that combines MMPR and Alternative Voting. Probably not. No Congress Critter would vote in favor of a system that could endanger their own political career.
♠ In a news story, a man claims that he opened a can of Mountain Dew, took a swig, then became violently ill. Emptying the contents revealed there to be a mouse inside. Pepsi Co. is denying that his story is plausible because, they claim, a mouse trapped inside a can of Mountain Dew would have dissolved due to the acidity of the beverage. Which raises two concerns: 1) if Mountain Dew is such a potent liquid that it can accelerate biological decomposition, what they hell does it do to a person? 2) How many mice fall into cans of Mountain Dew and dissolve into goo and consequently get consumed? Ew.
Enter Christina, who decided to make a scientific experiment out of this news story. It isn't a perfect experiment because there are a lot of variables that just aren't possible to control in a makeshift kitchen experiment. Part 1 is about seven-and-a-half minutes, explaining her purpose for the experiment and how she set it up. Yes, she bought dead mice, so there's your squick warning.
Click to viewPart 2 was just posted today and is a short 4-minute checkin on how the experiment is going after just one week.
As she states in the video, she'll keep an eye on their progress and if anything happens she'll make another video. Otherwise, there may be an update only once per month. Science can be slow, but is very interesting!
***
♠ I really enjoy the explanatory videos by C.G.P. Grey. They are especially good at making all that boring politics mumbo jumbo actually interesting. Or at least presenting it in an interesting way that is easy to understand. Check out How the Electoral College Works, The Trouble with the Electoral College, and his newest one, relevant to current events, Primary Elections Explained.
Another fascinating look into politics is his Politics in the Animal Kingdom, which basically explains democratic voting practices, the different methods and their pros and cons. The series starts with "First Past the Post Voting", used here in the States. Then explains "The Alternative Vote", which is used in Australia and looks very appealing to me. Then a summary on "Gerrymandering", a process that feels wrong but may be impossible to eliminate. And then "Mixed-Member Proportional Representation". That method seems best suited for electing Senators and Representatives. I wonder if we could set up a system that combines MMPR and Alternative Voting. Probably not. No Congress Critter would vote in favor of a system that could endanger their own political career.