Zen and the art of Microwave maintenance

I'm obsessed with diet cokes. Obsessed is an understatement.I can't keep them at home because I have no self control will drink them all which will in turn cause my teeth to rot and my bones to crumble to dust (or whatever happens when you binge drink sodas).

Anyways, I got a diet coke at work the other day and the vending machine happens to be situated right next to the microwave. This got me wondering. What would happen, if one were to microwave a can of soda?

(Side note: let's all pretend that these are normal questions that non-prepubescent boys ask, shall we?)

Since I clearly wasn't about to microwave my soda at work...I tried to imagine what it would be like.The scene in my head played out as follows (fyi- it's semi-spoilery).

Scene in head

Now that my interest was really piqued, I did the next best thing. I looked for YouTube videos of prepubescent boys actually microwaving soda cans. (FYI- I didn't add an age restriction to my search- that would've just been creepy).

This is what came up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExSKW1bwBq8

(Not sure why they titled it "is it a good idea to microwave a can of soda". Sweethearts, answer is no. Always, no.)

"Action" starts at around the 2.30 mark. Huh.

So basically, all you end up with is a ruined microwave and some hot bubbly soda. Oh, and apparently it smells really bad. Interesting.

How much do I love the internet for providing me with answers to my boneheaded questions so I don't have to do any of the actual damage myself! Yay! 


PS: Much love to my friend Jeannie for teaching me how to make her amazing PowerPoint presentations, and helping fix my abysmal attempt. For more PowerPoint magic, be sure to check out her blog @ booba-bubeleh.blogspot.com/ 

Planet Pluto

If you grew up in the 80's or earlier, and had to learn the mnemonic "my very educated mother just showed us nine planets", you were probably disconcerted to hear that in 2006, Pluto got demoted from planet status.

When Pluto was first discovered in 1930, it was thought to be larger than Mercury (the smallest planet in our solar system). In 1978, however, the discovery of Pluto's moon Charon enabled astronomers to accurately calculate Pluto's mass for the first time. They found Pluto's mass to be less than one twenty fifth that of  Mercury's making it even smaller than the earth's moon.

Then, in the 1990's, astronomers began finding objects known as Kuiper Belt objects many of which shared Pluto's key orbital characteristics and began to be called Plutinos. At this point, Pluto came to be seen as the largest member of a new class of celestial bodies.

Starting in 2000, with the discovery of at Quaoar, Sedna and Eris, all comparable to Pluto in terms of size and orbit, it became clear that either all three would have to be named as planets, or Pluto would have to be reclassified. Astronomers were concerned about the large number of celestial objects that would be discovered in the future increasing the number of "planets" in our planetary system.

Therefore, in 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) defined what it meant to be a "planet" in the solar system. Per the IAU, a planet is a celestial body that:

1. is in orbit around the sun,
2. has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium (a nearly round shape), and
3. has "cleared the neighbourhood" around its orbit. (is gravitationally dominant, and has no other objects other than its own satellites in its orbital zone)

A "dwarf planet" is a non-satellite celestial body that fulfills criteria #1 and #2. A "small solar system body" is a non-satellite celestial body that only fulfills criteria#1 of the IAU's definition of a planet.

The reason Pluto doesn't satisfy criteria # 3 is because it shares its orbit with the plutinos.

I sincerely hope this helps answer any questions you had as to why the mnemonic you had to learn growing up now has changed to "My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nachos".


What mnemonics did you learn growing up?

Green pints and ham

Did you think:

Are you wondering why your pint is tinted green? Why your favorite local watering hole is suddenly charging you cover? Why you are suddenly overcome with the urge to consume large amounts green beer and spontaneously break into an Irish jig?

While there are several possible reasons, I'm going to say the most likely one is because today, March 17th is celebrated the world over as St. Patrick's day.

Now, if you thought St. Patrick was the patron saint of binge drinking, you would be wrong.

St. Patrick was born in Roman Britain during the fifth century and was brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland as an evangelist, spreading Christianity to its people. As folklore has it, St. Patrick explained the concept of the Holy Trinity using the three leaves of the Irish Clover. His death is widely believed to have been on March 17, 461 and is celebrated in Ireland as an official feast day with the lifting of Lenten restrictions on eating meat and drinking alcohol.

Which explains the traditions followed by our fellow revelers the world over of wearing the shamrock and drinking green beer.

How do you celebrate St. Patrick's day?

(P.S: If you were wondering what made your beer green like I was, it's just a drop of food coloring)