Antoinette Powell

Author: Antoinette Powell

O Mole Mio

moleNational Mole Day is today. Please choose from the following the type of mole that is being recognized:

1) the kind that lives in the ground

2) the kind that lives on your skin

3) the kind who infiltrates an organization

4) a spicy sauce made with chilies and usually chocolate

5) a mass (in grams) whose number is equal to the atomic mass of the molecule

If you said #5 you would probably fall down laughing at this joke that passes for humor in chemistry circles:

Q: What did Avogadro teach his students in math class?

A: Moletiplication

Curl up by the fire with a book on molecular theory.

Archery, Schmarchery

mcdonalds signThe Eau Claire, WI city fathers have spoken: archery is no longer permitted in Archery park. The park on the Eau Claire river is decked out with an archery tower and is set among wooded hillsides to keep those pointy little suckers contained within the park grounds. However, several have escaped into the neighboring yards over the years, hence the kibosh. We see an opportunity for a major fast food emporium to move in and take over the grounds.

Pennies: What Are They Good For?

toad tapeThat well-respected bastion of urban legend de-bunk-ation, snopes.com, has a surprising number of reports of the magic power of pennies. Can rubbing a penny on a bee sting ease the pain? (No.) Can a penny remove a wart? (No.) Will sucking on a penny defeat a breathalyzer test? (No and this is just crazy.) However, one folk cure was proven here a couple of years ago in a now-famous un-blind experiment. One of our own librarians was relieved of her warts by the constant and rigorous application of duct tape to the afflicted areas. We were convinced, and should any others at the Mudd ever develop warts, we’ll jump onto the duct tape bandwagon, which would be an excellent name for a rock group. Our new motto: The Mudd – Now Wart Free.

There Is No “I” In Mudd

library bossIt’s National Boss Day! Unfortunately, the boss here at the Mudd is not at work today. But if he’s reading this, we’re starting out the day with calisthenics, then a quick shelf reading of the entire collection, followed by a rousing version of LU’s alma mater. Then lunch. This afternoon we’re re-arranging the reference books according to height and popularity, fixing the leak up on the 3rd floor and adding a coffee shop. If you don’t notice these changes when you get back, it’s because you were, uh, dropped into a parallel universe. Yeah, that’s it.

Nietzsche is Pietzsche

carmenToday marks the 163th anniversary of the birth of Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher extraordinaire and (who knew?) opera buff. He had definite opinions: Bizet, good; Wagner, bad. Of course, being a philosopher, he was a little more wordy than that. As quoted in his entry in Grove, the music in Carmen “is wicked, cunning, fatalistic: it remains at the same time popular … It is rich. It is precise. It constructs, organizes, finishes.” On the other hand, “Wagner’s art is sick.” Yikes.

If you’ve a hankering for the wicked and cunning, here’s Callas as Carmen. Sick art more your thing? How about a little Walküre with Kirsten Flagstad? Or read something by the man himself.

SCOWA-bunga!

camera bearNext week an important conference is taking place for people who stick cameras on wild animals. We think it’s called SCOWA. Scientists currently have a mania for seeing what wild animals REALLY do when we’re not looking: crows using tools, coyotes playing poker, that sort of thing. National Geographic has gotten into it with its Crittercam. NPR has a feature on the crows who, honest to gosh, use tools. As cameras get smaller, look for The Secret Life of Bacteria.