Take Notes, There Will Be A Quiz

If you’re into Trivial Pursuit, this is the entry for you. Lord knows I collect random knowledge.

The FBI estimates that six percent of government workers are foreign spies.

Eight percent of road work done in metropolitan cities is unnecessary to the actual road, but is assigned anyway in order to fulfill government contracts.

The Estonian language has 32 different words for “hat.”

The plural of “Kleenex” is “Kleenices.”

The U.S. government purchases 2.2 billion paperclips every year, 11 percent of the total number of paperclips bought annually in the U.S..

Right-handed people wear out their left shoe before their right shoe.

The U.S. Postal System conducted a study that found it could save $18.6 million every year if the standard paper size was reduced by one inch in each dimension.

Over the filibuster’s 200 year history, all 18 attempts to reform its application have been filibustered.

A cat’s purr is typically between 25-28 Hertz.

24 hours of sleep deprivation is an acceptable legal defense in 31 American states.

In 2005, April Fool’s day pranks caused $43 million worth of damage.

For a short period of time, Kraft Foods offered turkey flavored Jello brand gelatin.

Mountain goats can hum.

The winter of 1918 was the only year cold enough that all of Niagara Falls froze.

26 percent of iPod Minis distributed are acquired for free through internet banner and pop up advertisements.

There are 10 human body parts that are only 3 letters long (eye, hip, arm, leg, ear, toe, rib, jaw, lip, gum).

The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.

The word “lethologica” describes the state of not being able to remember the word you want. (GINNY – This made me think of you!)

Operators for Disneyland’s “It’s a Small World” ride have a higher suicide rate than any other profession.

Hell and Chemistry

This made me smile. I appreciate people thinking outside of the box in unique, cheeky ways.

HELL EXPLAINED BY A CHEMISTRY STUDENT

The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term. The answer by one student was so profound that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is of course why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well :

-Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle’s Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let’s look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle’s Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, “It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,” and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct……leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting “Oh my G**.”

This student received the only “A”.

Now That's My Kind Of "To-Do" List

I’ve decided to keep a running list of some of the things I’d like to get accomplished in the next few years, a sort of “bucket list”. I’m a list keeper by nature, and these vary from the crucial, life-changing and immediate to the more frivolous in nature that don’t have as urgent a time table attached to them. Keep in mind that my interests are teasingly diverse and I believe that broadening ones horizons and taking risks keeps you an interesting person.

Sigh. Here goes:

• I would like to move away. Once I’m officially done with school I want to try my hand at living alone. As in actually alone, not having mom and dad an hour’s drive away. I’m by nature a homebody but I think it would be an amazing growing experience to move out of easy driving distance. I think maybe Florida. I’ve always wanted to live there and they have enough performing arts complexes for me to market for, I’d have a lot to choose from. At least I’ve always enjoyed making new friends.

• Have a pen pal. The art of the written word is a dying art and communication is becoming increasingly chilly in nature. There are few things like the simple joy of receiving an actual letter in the mail, and it’s something I view as important. Maybe when I move to Florida. Who wants to be pen pals?

• I want to cage dive with sharks. This is a part of a separate list entirely of ways to experience adventure and to learn to pull strength and perspective from fear. I include in this bullet point skydiving (not bungee jumping, I’m not crazy after all!), learning to fly, and maybe a safari among other things.

• This one is multiple goals clumped together. I want to make a hope chest for when I get married and have kids. I’m into dying arts (read: pen pals) and this is an important, sort of romantic notion. I want to learn to knit, embroider, and crochet and then fill my hope chest with baby clothes, embroidered dining napkins, quilts, and anything else that seems appropriate. It was something that all women did up until a few generations ago and, at least as far as I’m concerned, it won’t die.

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• Within 2 years I want to run a marathon. Actually run not run/walk. I’ve got disastrously low blood pressure among some other issues that make it almost impossible for me to really do cardio. Thank god for a fast metabolism, right? It would be a huge accomplishment as far as my fitness goals go.

• Drive a yellow car. Don’t ask, it’s been on my list for awhile. I would prefer and Xterra so I can throw my dog in the back and go camping but I’d drive just about anything for awhile providing it is the right color. I feel like it would provide something I’ve been missing, don’t you agree? It would suit my personality quite nicely.

• I’ve had a goal for a long time of becoming fluent in Danish. It’’s vitally important for me to be able to speak Danish to my kids. There exists no inherent sense of respect for ancestry and heritage in today’s day and age and I will be damned if I forget where I am from and why I am who I am. My dad used to speak a little German and Danish to my brother and I when we were kids and it was something special that we shared. I took French in high school so I still can’t speak German with my dad but I still understand things like “Hurry up!” and “Mom, where are you?”.

• Have a house or apartment that looks like it’s straight from the pages of “Better Homes and Gardens”. I really enjoy the idea of having a beautiful and cozy home in which to relax or entertain. This may be one that not many people can understand but it’s something I’ve always dreamed of having.
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• I’d really like to learn to juggle. I know so many people who can and it’s not really something that’s applicable in any way to my life but I feel as though it would be a good skill to have. How impressive!

• I would like to learn (well, not just passably) how to golf, ski, and play tennis. I have a natural inclination to all of these, aside from my poor balance making skiing a constant adventure.

This list is constantly changing but those are some choice goals for the moment. Wish me luck!

Hello world!

So I finally caved and decided to start join the world of blogging. Life this autumn should be busy and full of adventures and I can't think of a better way to document them. Just sticking to Facebook albums doesn't cut it anymore, adventures necessitate full commentary!

I am currently trying to find my camera cord (I can't seem to keep track of them for the life of me, right Ginny?) so that I can post the few pictures Kristy and I got on our abbreviated road trip to Pennsylvania. I sadly ended up having to cut the drive short and bail out via bus in Kansas City and head back to Denver but we sure took Kansas by storm. I'll post them as soon as I track down that wily cord....

Cheers!