Have science, will travel
Home to the finest science shows this side of the Big Bang performed by the two best science guys in this (or any other) universe. Have science, will travel.
Back from hiatus! "Hiatus" is Latin for "Being busy and lazy," right? Cause that's where Aaron and I have been. I mean, I have work, and shows, and I'm making 4 different costumes for Gen Con and trying to play I Am Setsuna...Lots of stuff to do.
Ahem. Anyway.
I done made a video! It's about evolution! I hope you like it! Click through to watch it!
Read MoreLast week, just as I was drifting off to sleep, my dog Rowdy made a weird noise. He was almost barking, but not quite. It startled me awake and, adrenaline slightly pumping, I was more alert when he then did it a second time. It was a weird noise, something like "berf." Like he was trying to bark without opening his mouth. I realized that he wasn't dying, nor had he heard an intruder downstairs. He was barking in his sleep.
Any of you who have pets, dogs especially, have probably noticed something like this. Dogs pretty regularly start twitching their legs while they sleep, or even moving them as if they're running. Our reaction is always "Aww, he's dreaming!" Well, that was my reaction the night of the berfs. But it got me wondering: do we really know if dogs dream? And how much do we know about it if they do?
Read MoreI was prepping for a birthday show over the weekend (remember, in addition to the awesome giant two-man shows we'll do on any stage you want, we also do smaller shows for our local markets in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest) and I decided to get some of it on video. What you're about to see is a hydrogen balloon test, almost from front to back.
Remember, folks, don't try this at home! I am a trained professional with years of experience doing this kind of stuff. Also, aren't I handsome in my Vault 111 hoodie?
Anyway, click through to see something explode!
Read MoreAaron's back with another episode of Constant Science! Today he explains just how and why flames can come in different colors and he uses an old friend of ours: the Fire Tornado.
With his help you will be forever safe from The Goblin King. Click through to watch!
Read MoreI get asked a lot of questions. “What does Don smell like? Did you mean to set that on fire? Why are the townsfolk outside with pitchforks and torches AGAIN?” For legal and moral reasons I can’t always answer those questions, but sometimes the fates are kind and I am happy to share my wisdom with Explosions Inc.’s loyal fans. This week I’ll open up the mailbag and serve up some hot steamy knowledge in our first installment of:
with Aaron
Read MoreEvery era has its diseases. The medieval world was hit by wave after wave of bubonic plague, the most famous of which killed half or more of the entire population of Europe. During the American colonial period, the Native Americans were ravaged by smallpox, transmitted to them (sometimes purposefully) by a bunch of filthy, dirty Europeans. The first half of the 20th century was scourged by polio, killing and crippling children by the thousands before Jonas Salk finished development on his killed-virus polio vaccine in 1955.
Read MoreLast week, researchers from Caltech announced they had found evidence suggesting an as-yet undiscovered ninth planet may be lurking in the hinterlands of our solar system. We at Explosions Inc. have taken it upon ourselves to answer some of the most common questions that have arisen in the wake of this announcement. You can add your voice to the chorus of confusion below in the comments.
Read MoreThere are lots of members of class Aves out there. Birds range in size from the tiniest of hummingbirds to those big, mean, dumb ostriches. They come in all of the colors of the rainbow, sometimes at the same time. They can be as dumb as an emu or as smart as an African Gray. Their songs run the gamut from simple tweets and chirps to complex, multi-part songs to the near-perfect mimicry of the lyrebird.
Side note: I've always wanted to sneak up on a male lyrebird during mating season and play some Metallica just to see what it would sound like coming back out of the bird. Anyway.
Birds are fascinating, but, when I think of them, I keep coming back, time and again, to one singular bird mystery, one unique feathered conundrum that nobody else ever seems to ask, much less answer.
Why does Big Bird have hands?
Read MoreAaron is back! This week on Constant Science, Aaron demonstrates one of the more creative ways to break a bottle: with the powerful physics of cavitation.
Read MoreWoo Hoo! Some of you may have seen it on our Instagram, our Twitter, or our Facebook page, but for anyone who missed it, some friends helped me build a pair of beds of nails over the weekend for an upcoming physics show. Let me tell you: that is some tedious work. I need to make friends with someone with a drill press.
To celebrate this momentous achievement (and the fact that I'm super busy this week) I've decided to share our Bed of Nails episode of Constant Science again, one of our very first videos. If you're wondering why a bed of nails is a useful tool for the popularization of science, look no further. The video is a segment from a show, but I give a brief intro at the top. Enjoy!
Read MoreLeprosy has been in the news a lot lately, like this CNN article titled "Armadillos cause spike in leprosy cases in Florida" (of course it's Florida). Most people have heard of leprosy. For one thing, it comes up in both the Old and New Testaments all the time. It's been with humanity for millennia and most cultures have some sort of relationship with the disease. But what is Leprosy, really? And what's going on in Florida? And what to armadillos have to do with anything? In this week's Constant Science I answer those questions and more. As we'll discover, the news media--once again--isn't giving you the whole story when it comes to an outbreak of a disease. Click on through for the video!
Read MoreThis new website of ours is pretty sweet, but it took a while to get it all put together. During that time, Aaron and I missed a bunch of important science stories, stuff we might have talked about on Constant Science. Well, this week I aim to rectify that by talking briefly about a handful of scientific goings-on that we didn't have a chance to cover when it actually happened. Astronomy, paleontology, sociology, entymology...It's all there, folks, just click down below for the video!
Read MoreThis week I once again take to the internet to talk science. Specifically, I talk about the science of cuteness with the help of a handful of cute little animals! Check it out below!
Read MoreThanks to the hurly-burly of modern life, we seem to spend every moment of every day under constant pressure. School, jobs, relationships, the constant threat of velociraptor attack, the list seems endless. Among this litany of pressures, however, is one that we cannot do without. I'm talking about air pressure. This week I want to show you a neat demo you can try at home that takes advantage of a quirk of air pressure. So sit back, relax, and make sure to keep your velociraptor spray handy.
Read MoreI was staring resolutely into the middle distance, practicing my world-weary, erudite look, when a few feral thoughts scampered nimbly through the wastes of my wide-open mind: What exactly is an explosion? Shorn of all the fire, debris, shockwaves, and cool protagonists walking away without looking back, what is the essence of an explosion, the thread that binds all explosions together? Is there a singular definition that encompasses them all? Give yourselves a second to think about that. I'll wait........(Warning. Some gross images ahead)
Read MoreIn the woolly wilds of Oregon, Spring has sprung! The sun is shining, bees are buzzing, and if your covered wagon turns over while fording the river, you might not die of hypothermia. (That was an Oregon Trail joke.) What better way to usher in the season and enjoy the outdoors than building your own stomp-bottle rocket launcher? Safe and easy, you can welcome back the songbirds with a barrage of air-propelled science! (Explosions Inc. does not condone firing rockets at living creatures. Not even birds. Not even if they totally pooped on you and your fancy new pants completely on purpose while you were minding your own business. Stupid birds.)
Read MoreIsaac Newton is, quite justifiably, one of the most famous scientists in history. He was a scientist before scientists were even scientists, back when they were called “natural philosophers” and you pretty much had to be a rich white male to even think about joining their ranks. Back before regular experimental protocols had been developed. The Enlightenment was a turbulent time for our understanding of the universe, and Newton was one of the people sitting right in the center of it.
And Isaac Newton was really kind of weird.
But let’s start with the science.
Read MoreThe final episode of my epic Chemical Reaction Trilogy! Perhaps it's not quite Peter Jacksonesque in scope (maybe more Terry Gilliamesque) but it's a good primer. This time I discuss where the energy that is released in a chemical reaction ends up and this video is in no way yet another excuse for me to set myself on fire. Nope, not at all. Not one little bit. Nuh-uh...Really.
Read MoreI did not set out to make a post with a rhyming title but it looks like I ended up there anyway. We do a lot of media here at Explosions, Inc., but it's mostly of the video variety. Today I've put together some pictures packed full of sweet, sweet science tidbits that are perfect for posting to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Imgur, what have you. They're all here in this post and I'll be tossing them out one at a time on our own Twitter and Instagram feeds over the course of the next week or two. If you don't follow us on any social media, what the heck are you waiting for?
Is this a common thing to do these days? Yes. Are we sell-outs for hopping on the train? Maybe, but that train is going places, baby! Share the crap out of these, if you would. Aaron and I really tried to make these serious and seriously interesting instead of fluff pieces and we think people will dig them. We want to see these all over social media! Click through for the pictures!
Read MoreAn ode to element number 8. Without it my job would be so much more difficult. Come to think of it, my entire life, and yours as well would be devoid of, well, pretty much everything, including life. Good thing it's the third most abundant element in this little universe we like to call home. So come along as I sing the praises of your friend and mine, the shining star of the chalcogen family
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