The older we become the more amazing things we get to see. We’ve stood in awe of waterfalls, mountains, and canyons. We’ve trembled before tornados, tsunamis, and volcanoes. With the accessibility of social media, it can feel like we’ve pretty much seen it all, and then God shows us something new and incredible. The rare…
As a kid, I remember partial solar eclipses. My mom would bring me out to the backyard, warn me not to look at the sun, and we would use a pinhole projector to “watch” the solar eclipse safely. As a kid, this was only mildly interesting. I didn’t really appreciate what was happening. As an…
On August 15, 1934, Otis Barton and William Beebe set the record for descending to the ocean depth of 3,028 feet. They did this with a spherical deep-sea submersible called a bathysphere. This submersible was made with very thick cast steel to handle the remarkable pressure at such depths. At this depth, the bathysphere would…
While on a recent trip, my family visited the aquarium in Chattanooga, TN. Throughout the day they had several live demonstrations. The one that caught our attention the most was an animal the kids would be able to see up close and touch. We were ushered into a staging room, sat on the front row,…
Have you ever stepped on a Lego? It feels like being stabbed with a knife soaked in scorpion venom. It feels like an army of miniature soldiers putting forth a full assault upon your foot. It feels like a swarm of fire ants expressing their full wrath. If the floor happens to be riddled with…
Some time ago I read an article entitled, “Maybe an Asteroid Didn’t Kill the Dinosaurs” by Jeffrey Kluger. Here is a little excerpt: “When a scientific principle is common knowledge even in grammar school, you know it has long since crossed the line from theory to established fact. That’s the case with dinosaur extinction. Some…
Simple, yet ridiculously intricate. Snowflakes are easy to overlook. As a kid, I use to watch the snowflakes land on my glove as I looked with fascination at their complexity. As an adult, I’m baffled as to why water would take such an extraordinary shape. A snowflake is formed when water vapor freezes. But still,…
Today is April Fools’ Day! Much to the chagrin and paranoia of innocent bystanders, today will be filled with jokes and pranks by scheming children, and possibly even a few adults. My pranks were never too elaborate as a kid, but I may or may not have been responsible for putting a rubber band around…
Recently we took a look at the animal with one of the most incredible strikes in nature, the mantis shrimp. As it so happens, this little aquatic creature is also home to the most complicated eye in the animal kingdom (Kilday). It’s incredible. Let’s take a look. The Structure. The mantis shrimp’s eyes are mounted…
It only weighs about two pounds, but when its eyes lock on its prey, it can slice through the air at 242 miles per hour (Harpole). Being the fastest animal on the planet, the peregrine falcon is without a doubt one of the most awesome creatures. In order to achieve such speeds, it has to…
It all started when Coby Burren, a young ninth grade student, sent his mom a picture of the textbook his class was studying. The photo showed a map of a part of the United States. A box off to the side of this map about the Atlantic Slave Trade labeled the Africans who came over…
For thousands of years people have been charmed by the beauty and elegance of the butterfly. Even more so, cultures have been inspired by its incredible metamorphosis. There are about 20,000 different species of butterfly in the world ranging in size and color. One of the most famous is the monarch butterfly. While most butterflies…
Some of the coolest bugs are the masters of disguise, the ones with awesome camouflage. One of the best is the katydid bug. We could walk right by these bugs and never actually find them. The katydid bug’s camouflage is extremely detailed. They don’t just have the shape and color of leaves though; they grow…
If you listed off your top three favorite animals, chances are pretty good the duckbilled platypus wouldn’t make the cut. In fact, it might not even make the top fifty. Despite its lack of popularity, the duckbilled platypus is a pretty incredible animal. Here’s why: How It Eats. A duckbilled platypus enjoys tasty meals like…
The woodpecker is the perfect wood drilling machine. In the previous article, we detailed out all the parts needed to allow the woodpecker to drill holes and also to keep it from going blind and killing itself with the 1000g of force it sustains when pecking. This just touched the surface of the problems the…
BP's Fuel For Thought 