Headbanz

A couple of weekends ago we had a soccer game scheduled for a Sunday afternoon, but alas the weather was poor and the game was canceled.  We filled the time playing a few board games together as a family.  One of the games we played was Headbanz, a family game in which you wear a headband, attach a card to it, and have to guess what is on the card by asking the other players yes or no questions.

Playing Headbanz

The game comes with a couple of cards of sample questions to ask, so my 7 year old starts reading down the list of questions.  I can't remember what her card was, but the questions went like this.

Her:  Is it an animal?

Me:  Yes

Her:  Is it a pet?

Me:  No

Her:  Is it big?

Me:  No

Her:  Does it have hair?

Me:  No

Her:  Is it a vegetable?

Me:  ....

LOL!  Critical thinking gone out the window in favor of reading off the card in order.  We had a good laugh over the possible vegetable animal on her card.  :-)  We played for a few rounds and it killed some time on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Sci-gasm Podcast

I came across a new science themed podcast a few months ago and its another pretty good podcast that focuses on science.  It's called the Sci-gasm Podcast.

It's a great science podcast that discusses current events in science and science misconceptions in an exciting, humor-filled way.  This is not, however, a podcast for young kids.  Adult language is used and you should know this before playing it in front of your kids.  

Shrinking Ozone Hole

There is more and more evidence the hole in the ozone layer is shrinking, detailed in the Washington Post article below.

The Earth’s ozone hole is shrinking and is the smallest it has been since 1988

This is a good thing!  The hole in the ozone layer does NOT cause global warming, as is often stated.  Global warming and climate change are the result of increased greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere that absorb infrared radiation and warm Earth's surface.  Ozone is located in the stratosphere of Earth's atmosphere.  This is a the layer above the troposphere (where we live and where climate change takes place).  It was discovered in 1984 (article mistakenly states 1987) that the ozone layer was weakening, with a hole forming over Antarctica. 

A weakening ozone is a bad thing as the ozone absorbs UV radiation from the Sun.  This extra radiation reaching Earth's surface results in more sun burns and skin cancers.  Chemical compounds containing chlorine and bromine can break apart the ozone molecule and weaken this UV protecting layer of our atmosphere.  Fortunately governments across the world recognized the problem, believed the scientists researching this, and made efforts to limit the amount of chlorine and bromine molecules released into the atmosphere.  This started with the Montreal Protocol in 1987 that drastically limited the release of these ozone harmful chemicals.  We've seen a strengthening of the ozone layer for several years now and if the trend continues, the ozone layer will return to its normal levels a few decades from now, later this century.

So what does this all mean?  It means that we have the ability to fix an environment we've altered, but it takes some political willpower.  This happened in 1987, a mere 3 years after the ozone hole was discovered.  If the ozone hole was discovered today, in today's political climate, would anything have been done?  It's hard to say, but it seems unlikely.  Given the constant climate change denial by today's Republican party, I can only assume they'd deny a hole in the ozone.

The fact we did something about the ozone hole gives me some hope, that soon, and hopefully before it's too late, we'll have the political willpower to address climate change.  For now though, I'll have to accept the good news of a shrinking ozone hole.  

Importance of Vaccinating Your Pet

I've written many times on this blog about the importance of vaccinating yourself and your children.  But what about your pets?  Should you vaccinate your pets, and if so, why?  The answer is a definite yes.  It is just as important to vaccinate your pet as it is you and your children.  Vaccinations for pets are readily available and can often be found at low cost, especially if you adopt a pet from an animal shelter.  When we adopted our cat, Newton, from the animal shelter, all vaccinations were covered as part of the very low adoption fee.  A win-win situation.  So why vaccinate?

For starters, vaccinating your pet drastically increases the chance your pet will lead a long, healthy life.  For cats, the main vaccines given are for feline distemper, feline herpes, and rabies.  These are major diseases that could lead to the early death of your cat.  Are there side effects of vaccinations?  Sure, just as there are for human vaccinations, but these side effects are almost always minor in nature and short term.  The most common side effect is soreness at the injection site.  That's a small price to pay to provide protection against serious complications or death.

The rabies vaccine is quite possibly the most important vaccine and some states require this vaccination by law.  Rabies is a deadly disease that can be passed to humans through the saliva of an infected animal.  Rabies is almost always deadly.  Fortunately, due to high vaccination rates in pets, humans rarely contract rabies, but it does happen.  There are typically 1 to 3 cases of rabies in humans per year.  This is very low, but it is very, very rare that anyone who contracts rabies survives.  There is no cure once symptoms prevent themselves.  If you have any suspicion you've been bitten by a rabid animal, head to the doctor ASAP!  There is a vaccine you can receive that can prevent the disease.  In some cases, individuals have woken up to a bat in their room or a bat in their child's room.  Even if you are not sure you've been bitten and can't find bite marks, go get the rabies vaccine immediately.  It's not worth the risk of certain death.

To conclude, if you have a pet and have not yet vaccinated your pet, please do so.  Give you and your pet the protection needed to prevent very preventable diseases.  This will improve the quality of life for both you and your pet.  Besides, who could NOT want to make sure this cute little guy below lives a long healthy life???

This Blog's History: We Got a Cat!!!

In case you missed the pictures of our very cute cat, I'm pointing you back to them for This Friday in This Blog's History.

We named him 'Newton' and he's super cute!

We Got a Cat!!!

Misconceptions that Kill #3: Seat Belts Make Vehicle Evacuation More Difficult

Today's misconception is the third in an on-going series on misconceptions that kill.  For most people, it seems obvious that seat belts in vehicles drastically decrease the chance of dying or being seriously injured in a car accident.  I have, however, heard from more than one person that wearing a seat belt can cause serious injury or even result in your death.  Those I've heard this from do not wear seat belts for this various reason.  So let's take a look at this argument. 

The CDC has a great site presenting the data that makes it clear seat belts save lives.  Wearing your seat belt does not mean you can't be killed by driving, but it drastically reduces the odds of dying or being seriously injured in an accident.

Policy Impact: Seat Belts

In 2009, 33,000 people were killed in vehicle accidents in the U.S.  Half of those were not wearing a seat belt.  Given far more than half of drivers wear a seat belt, this statistic shows you are far more likely to die while driving when not wearing a seat belt compared to wearing a seat belt.  

Let's get back to the evacuation argument.  It's possible that a driver needs to evacuate the vehicle as soon as possible.  Maybe the car is on fire or the car is sinking in a body of water.  Evacuating quickly could mean the difference between life and death.  Taking off your seat belt is an extra step, but does this extra step increase your odds of dying?  Snopes.com takes a look at this and says no.

Do seatbelts cause more deaths than they save lives?

Does taking your seat belt off increase the evacuation time?  Yes, that part is probably true, but the time is very short, and there's no evidence a seat belt has prevented someone from escaping a deadly fire or sinking vehicle.  There's anecdotal evidence, but that's not real evidence.  Was it really the seat belt or something else?  Was the person injured and immobile?  Was the dash or steering wheel crushed/moved to trap the body?  

But let's say that there was a documented case of a seat belt preventing someone from escaping.  Does that mean we shouldn't wear seat belts?  No!  Even if there is a death or two from wearing a seat belt, seat belts prevent far, far more deaths than cause them.  Not wearing a seat belt is a death wish.  The misconception that seat belts can prevent you from escaping a burning or sinking vehicle is one that can literally kill if you believe in it.  If you don't wear your seat belt for fear of being trapped in a burning car, you open yourself up to the far more likely event of dying in a blunt force car collision.  

Important!  When wearing your seat belt, be sure to wear it properly.  Never have the belt cut across your neck and always wear the shoulder harness.  Wearing a seat belt incorrectly can lead to one's death.  For more information on correctly wearing your seat belt, go here:

How to Properly Wear A Seat Belt

Citizen Science Projects

Yesterday I talked about how my 10 year old is getting ready to start her project for this coming year's science fair at her school.  I encourage all students to participate in a science fair, even if they are not quite sure what to do or have little to no science knowledge.  Participating and getting your hands dirty, so to speak, is the best way to get involved in science.  If your school is not participating in a science fair, or if it's the wrong time of the year but you still want to do a science project, the good news is there are many citizen science projects out there to get involved in.

Citizen science projects are science projects setup by professional scientists who have done the leg work of setting up the experiment and often acquiring the data.  In many cases, the data set is so large that it's impossible for one scientist, or even a team of scientists to analyze the data in any reasonable amount of time.  Therefore thousands of citizen scientists are needed to help analyze the data.  This is where you, the non-scientist and possibly aspiring scientist, comes in.  The professional scientists setup an online platform to deliver the data to you and ask you to analyze the data.  This may seem impossible, but it's actually quite easy.  The citizen science projects I've worked on, mostly through Galaxy Zoo, provide the necessary training for you to accurately analyze the data.

Citizen science projects used to be few and far between and the ones that existed often required you to have a significant knowledge base to get started.  That's not true anymore which means more people can get involved in real scientific research!  I came across this list of citizen science projects at National Geographic.

Citizen Science Projects

The projects on this site range from astronomy to biology to environmental science, and more!  So check out the link, find a project you find interesting, and get started!  It's that easy! 

Science Fair Project Season

We are nearing the end of 2017, which means we've now entered the start of science fair season in many areas.  My daughter's science fair is typically in late January or early February so she's started thinking about what to do.  This will be her third year doing a science fair project.  The first year she tested plant growth from different liquids.  Last year she swabbed various objects in the house and tested for bacterial growth.  This was a very interesting project, allowing her to see which swabbed objects resulted in greater bacteria growth. 

She hasn't quite decided what to do this year, but she's gathering ideas from various websites, including this one: 

Middle School Science Fair Project Ideas

As my daughter grows older, science fair projects move from simpler science demos to actual experiments.  The goal of a science fair project is to setup an experiment to acquire data.  Science demos are cool, but not the goal of a science fair project.  Students are expected to design an experiment, collect data, and then analyze that data to arrive at a conclusion.  Analyzing the data is probably the tougher part of a project for kids at this age.  But science fairs are a fantastic opportunity for kids to get involved in the scienctific process!!! 

If you're a parent and your kid brings home science fair information, please consider participating.  Even if you don't know what you're doing, science fairs are a great way to get involved in science!  Some of the best science is done when you don't know what you're doing at the start.  That's when the investigation begins and the learning proceeds!

Misconceptions that Kill #2: Vaccines Cause Autism

I've written several times in past years on the importance of vaccinating yourself and your kids from very deadly diseases.  Unfortunately there is a very deadly misconception that vaccines cause autism.  The science is very clear on this.  Vaccines do NOT cause autism.  Why does this misconception exist?  There are a couple of reasons.

For starters, in 1998 Andrew Wakefield, a British medical researcher, published a study linking the MMR vaccine to autism in kids.  Long story short, the article was retracted when the study could not be reproduced and Wakefield was later found guilty of intentional fraud with the goal of financial gain.  In other words, he cherry picked his data to produce the result he wanted for his own financial gain.

Further studies have found no connection at all between vaccines and autism.  But the damage is done.  There is a significant portion of the population that is fearful of vaccines and much of this fear comes from Wakefield's 'study'.  The result is the return of diseases that were nearly eradicated.  Measles is making a comeback, particularly so in certain regions of the U.S. where there are a larger number of vaccinated children.

Another reason leading to this misconception is the timing in which autism is often diagnosed in children.  Autism is typically diagnosed right around the time kids are receiving vaccines.  But this does not imply causation.  Many studies have analyzed the MMR vaccine and there is no evidence whatsoever this leads to autism in children.

Measles is a disease that kills.  Across the world in 2015, over 134,000 people died of measles, mostly in African countries where the rate of vaccination is very low.  Prior to the introduction of the measles vaccine in the U.S. in the 1960s, several million people were diagnosed with measles and deaths numbered in the hundreds every year.  A simple, extremely safe, vaccine basically dropped those numbers down to zero.  In recent years the U.S. has seen an increases in measles diagnoses.  Numbers are still low, but it's scary to think we have the ability to completely eradicate this disease but people have the misconception the measles vaccine (and others) cause autism in children.

Therefore the 'vaccines cause autism' misconception is one that literally kills.

This Blog's History: The Europa Clipper Mission

For This Friday in This Blog's History I point you back to the post I wrote on the very cool Europa Clipper Mission.  Although still in the very early stages, there is a lot of excitement for this mission.  For more details, check out the original post below. 

Europa Clipper Mission

Skeptic Magazine - Zombies

I've previously mentioned, a couple of years ago, that Skeptic Magazine is a great source for skepticism and great for early Sunday morning ready with a coffee when the rest of the house is still groggy!  I particularly enjoy the Junior Skeptic section at the end of each issue that has several pages devoted to a myth of some kind.  The myth in the latest issue is zombies.

First page of the zombie article in Skeptic Magazine.

Of course zombies are not real, but the article focuses on the history of zombies.  How did the idea of a zombie come to be?  Where did it originate?  How did zombies become popular today?  When did zombies first start appearing in print and films?  It's a very interesting and informative article on zombies and a great way to start off a Sunday!  I highly encourage anyone looking for great skeptic reading to check out Skeptic Magazine.  It is well worth the subscription cost!!!

Family Movie Night - The Sandlot

Recently, for family movie night, we checked out The Sandlot from the local library.  My wife and I have both watched this movie several times.  It came out in the early 1990s when we were both kids approaching teenagers.  It's been awhile since I've watched this movie in full, but it is AMAZING!  Such a great movie!

The Sandlot kids.

The plot of the movie is basically just a group of kids playing baseball one summer and figuring out how to get a ball out of someone's yard.  That's it!  But it is so well done!  I don't even know how to explain it!  Just watch it.  It is that good!  Kids loved it!  I think they were a bit weirded out by how excited my wife and I were to watch it again.  LOL!

I also learned there are two sequels to this movie with a whole set of new kids.  Haven't watched them and have no plans to watch them.  They receive far, far lower ratings than the original.  So next time you are having a family movie night, check out The Sandlot.  A great movie that all in your family will enjoy!

Misconceptions that Kill #1: The Flu Vaccine is Ineffective

Today's post is a first in a new series titled "Misconceptions that Kill".  I'm starting with the misconception the flu vaccine is ineffective (or not necessary).  I typically publish a post on the flu vaccine each year in the fall since this is the typical flu vaccine season.  I admit that I never received a flu vaccine as a child and didn't take the flu seriously until my first daughter was born.  Each year, for the last ten years, I make the effort to vaccinate myself and my kids against flu.

Too often people don't get the flu vaccine, using the excuse of lack of time.  Many others avoid the flu vaccine with the misconception it is not very effective.  It is definitely true that the effectiveness of the flu vaccine varies from year to year and it is never 100% effective.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the flu vaccine typically reduces your chances of contracting the flu by 40-60%.  This does not mean you have a 50/50 chance of getting the flu.  It means your odds of getting the flu are about half what they would be if you didn't get the flu.  Even during a year in which the effectiveness is lower, you are still reducing your chance of contracting the flu.

Why is getting the flu vaccine important?  According to the CDC, anywhere from 3,000 to 50,000 people in the U.S. die each year due to the flu.  That's a lot!  Many are the elderly and very young with weaker immune systems, but some are healthy adults.  Does a flu vaccine prevent all deaths?  No, even with a flu vaccine, some may die, but the numbers are drastically reduced.

To conclude, the ineffectiveness of the flu vaccine is a nasty misconception that literally kills.  Go out and get your flu vaccine.  Even if it is late in the flu season, still go and get the vaccine as some protection is ALWAYS better than none.

For more information on the effectiveness of the flu vaccine, go to the vaccine effectiveness information site at the CDC.

Vaccine Effectiveness - How Well Does the Flu Vaccine Work?

Solar System Project

My 10 year old recently had an assignment to build a model of the solar system for her 5th grade class.  Here's what she put together, mostly on her own.

My 10 yr old's Solar System model.

She did an excellent job!.  Her and mom went to the craft store to look for supplies.  They went the easy approach and just purchased a Solar System model kit that already had the spherical foam balls cut to various sizes.  Hey, don't knock us!  There's only so much time in the life of two working parents with two kids doing 18,000 things at once!  :-)  Cutting foam spheres out of a block did not fit in the schedule!  My 10 year old looked up the colors of the planets and did all of the painting. 

At first I was all about helping her figure out how to make the planet sizes and distances to scale.  That quickly ended when I realized how impossible that would be on a board this size.  The inner planets would be very squished together and the outer planets spread very far apart.  Even sizes would be difficult, if not impossible, as 1,300 Earths fit inside Jupiter.  That would require a HUGE ball for Jupiter or a really, really tiny ball for Earth (and the other terrestrial planets. 

One note in the image above.  It looks like the last planet is labeled as Pluto.  The bottom part of the image is cut off.  There's a tag for Neptune (not shown) and a small sphere for Pluto (not shown; dwarf planet). 

In the end my 10 year old had a lot of fun with this project.  She looked up and picked out a fact for each of the planets and had a blast constructing it.

This Blog's History: Unicorn Poop Slime

In case you missed it last time, for This Friday in This Blog's History, I point you back to the post I wrote on the unicorn poop slime my daughters made while I was out of town.  The post even includes a video of me playing with the slime.  :-)

Unicorn Poop Slime

Kitty Named Newton

Just posting a few pictures of our kitty, Newton.  :-)

Newton exploring on his first day at our house.

Demon cat or cat moving head to fast for camera?  Hmmm....time will tell.  :-)

More exploring.

Even more exploring.

Newton taking a rest after hours of exploring his new home!

How cute is that?  Paws up on food bowl!

If you can't tell, we love our new kitty, Newton!

Evolution Misconception #8: Evolution Always Increases Survival

Today's post is the eight in an on-going series of posts on common evolution misconceptions.  Most people have likely heard the phrase "survival of the fittest" and then incorrectly make the assumption evolution always promotes the advancement of the fittest and the survival of a species.  Although this may be true in many cases, evolution does not always result the survival of the fittest.  There are several examples of this in various species.  One of the best examples of this is selfish DNA. 

Selfish DNA can spread through a genome but provides no positive benefit to the host and can often result in negative benefits to the host.  Hemophilia, a blood clotting disorder is caused by selfish DNA.  Thus this does not fit the "survival of the fittest" phrase.  A great article with far more detail on this is here:

Evolution myths: Evolution promotes the survival of species

One interesting item of note in this article is how selfish individuals can dominate a group and result in the harm of the group.  It's happened to all of us.  How many times have you been part of a group or collaborative project in which one individual dominates to the detriment of the group?  This is not all that different from selfish DNA. 

Although "survival of the fittest" plays a large role in evolution, it is not the end all be all. 

I Made Pacos!

Sometimes it's the small things in life that light up your day.  One day a few weeks about, that small thing in life for me was making pacos.  Yep, you read that right.  It is not a typo for 'taco'.  I made pacos! 

Mmmm....pacos!

That's breakfast taco filling with a taco shell replaced by a pancake!  Delicious!  Don't knock it until you've tried it!  Kids loved them, so my advice for all parents out there is to be creative and make pacos for dinner one night!  Your kids will love you forever for it!  Let your kids help you.  

If I remember correctly my wife had the kids at soccer practice, so I was in charge of having dinner ready to go when they got home.  If you lived in our house you'd know how important it is to have dinner ready to go on the table when soccer is over.  Those at practice have the hangries, including me when I have soccer duty!  Pacos satisfied those hangries on this day.

Septoberfest

Last month while traveling during our fall break at school, we had the opportunity to visit Wabasha, Minnesota and take part in their Septoberfest activities.  The coolest part was checking out the amazingly large pumpkins and pumpkin carvings.  Pumpkins can grow quite large in the right conditions.  The world record for pumpkin weight is over 2600 pounds!  Holy cow!  The pumpkins at the festival we visited didn't come close to that, but there was one that weighed in at 818 pounds.

The 818 pound pumpkin!

A few pumpkins were carved and the best were these:

Spooky!

Yep, that's my shadow.

My pumpkin carving sucks.  Just ask my kids.  LOL!  These were amazing!  A few days prior to visiting Wabasha, MN, I read a really interesting article in the Smithsonian magazine, which is available to read here:

Why Is America Losing Ground in the Contest to Grow the World’s Biggest Pumpkin?

The article provides a very good look at pumpkin growing.

This Blog's History: Inveraray Castle

In case you missed it last month, for This Friday in This Blog's History I point you back to the post I wrote detailing our trip to Inveraray Castle in Scotland.  Enjoy!

Scotland - Inveraray Castle

We Got a Cat!!!

The kids have been talking about getting a pet for some time now and we recently started seriously discussing the possibility of getting one.  We finally pulled the trigger last month and went to the local animal shelter and adopted a 3 month old kitten picked up as a stray.  Kids are in love and so am I!  He's such a cute little guy and purrs like a motorcycle!

Newton, tired from running around!

Newton just chilling!

Look at that guy!  How can you not want to snuggle with him???  As the captions above state, his name is Newton.  We made a list of names that included several science names, Lord of the Ring names, and other random names.  Eventually the kids decided on Newton, after Isaac Newton.  Love it!  He follows us around the house and loves to purr and play.  Definitely brings a new dimension to the household!

The Myth of Poisoned Halloween Candy

If you're like many Americans with kids, you woke up this morning to a huge pile of Halloween candy your kids collected last night.  The same was true for my parents in the 1980s and early 1990s.  Every Halloween my parents would look through the candy to make sure nothing was tampered with.  It was an attempt to make sure the candy wasn't poisoned.  I remember this every year and remember reading newspaper articles and watching TV news reports providing tips on how to best search Halloween candy.  When my kids first started trick or treating I did the same thing.  But is poisoned Halloween candy a worthwhile worry of parents?

The answer is no.  There are several reports over the years of a child getting sick or even dying of poisoned Halloween candy, but the truth of the matter is there are NO documented cases of a child getting sick or dying of poisoned candy.  The cases in which this was suspected turned out to be a different cause.  Snopes.com has done a wonderful job discussing this on their website.  You can read the article here:

Halloween Non-Poisonings

This is not to say you shouldn't check over your kid's candy just to check for anything obvious.  A more justifiable reason for checking candy is just to make sure a wrapper hasn't come open, in which case the candy may have hit the ground or some other contaminated source.  If candy really is poisoned, the odds are you would never know from a cursory check.  The good news is there's no reason to worry about poisoned candy.  It's one of those urban myths that has run rampant over the years.