dirt don't hurt

Like a good child of the early 80’s, about once a week my mom loaded up her woody station wagon with baby oil and Kool-Aid and all the neighborhood kids and drove us to the local public pool.   We got there early and set up our blanket and cooler and my mom talked with her friend for hours while we swam happily in what I have recently learned is a vat of toxic fumes. I feel lucky to be alive even reminisce the days of when we found a candy bar floating in the shallow end and went and told the lifeguard to fish it out with that super long scoping net because when it came right down to it, we weren’t 100% sure it was a candy bar at all. Public pools have been around for a long time, and I fully trust the years of science that have gone into keeping the yucky germs at bay.  I trust the strength of the chemicals in a well-maintained pool to kill the bad things without burning my skin. We don't care if it's pee-free or not!  (??) I don’t, however, trust the other patro...

Even in the aftermath of Halloween, when a few soggy decorations linger and pumpkins begin to rot, I can’t help but think about bats.  And thinking about bats takes me back in time to the most stressful interview of my life. At first I was not asked about myself at all.  I was asked about our flying mammalian friend. There I was, a high school student still trying to learn to like the taste of coffee and trying not to look like a dork, and I sit down to my first interview for a college scholarship, and she asks me about bats. Nothing specific, just something like, “tell me about bats.” Truthfully, I don’t remember how I answered the question.  I was so nervous that probably all that came out were a bunch of “uh’s” and “um’s” and a trickle of drool down my quivering chin.  I think I spent a lot of time questioning in my head what she wanted to hear, if she wanted to hear about bats as they are in the movies, or bats as they are in real life. I could have tol...

Call it an impulse purchase, but a few months ago I couldn't pass up " The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science ." It was calling my name. Literally. Although all of the experiments haven't worked perfectly for me ( c'mon , I burned through about 2 dozen tea bags and nearly set off the smoke alarm for trying to make the hot air balloon) but one experiment was way too fun. So if you're home on this Martin Luther King Day with kids driving you batty, here's a disgustingly fun way to amuse yourselves and pass the time. Turning milk to stone. (I would post a photo, but my camera is having some charge issues.) YOU NEED: 1 1/2 cups skim milk microwave safe mixing bowl 4 teaspoons vinegar microwave strainer YOU DO: 1. Mix milk and vinegar in bowl. 2. Microwave on high for 60 seconds. 3. You'll notice that the liquids and the solids have separated. Pour through the strainer. 4. Let the solids cool just a little until you can touch them, and then mold...