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Stardate Friday 14th December 2007 Issue 261
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Behold! ‘Tis the last newsletter of 2007. Marvel at its splendour. And thank your lucky stars you’re not a turkey. Talking of traditions at this time of year – in Spain you could jump over a bonfire, in Mexico you could macerate a piñata, in Germany… listen to this. The tradition is called "Christbaumloben" (meaning "Christmas tree running") and consists of ringing people's doorbells, going into their homes and loudly proclaiming "What a beautiful tree!" In exchange, the owner of said tree offers the admirer a shot of something strong, and maybe a cookie. Perhaps the idea of basking on Bondi Beach in a red swimsuit is more your scene. Oh well – what ever you like to get up to this festive holiday – make sure you enjoy yourselves. And talking of which – look what Planet Science has got for you...
The line-up this week:
- Winter Winnersland
- SciCast tip of the year!
- Noticeboard: FYI
- Recommended websites of the week
- The Winners’ Enclosure
- Joke of the Week
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2.  SciCast Tip of the Year!
Our desks at SciCast HQ are heaving under the weight of submitted films. OK, they're flimsy Ikea desks, but we do have a sudden rush of DVDs, miniDV tapes, VHS cassettes, and ... is that a flick-book?
You've only a few days of term left to add yours to the growing pile and be eligible for the 2007/8 SciCast Awards - but that's ample time to muck about with a video camera and turn in a potentially winning performance.
The entry deadline for the 2007/8 Award is 4th January, so there's just about time to do something turkey or cracker-inspired too. Anything that misses the deadline will, of course, be eligible for the 2008/9 awards, but why wait that long?
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Making a Mint
Image from making a Mint
Don’t forget to register for the Making a Mint Challenge 2008! You’ve got all Christmas hols to think about all the luvverley lolly you can make out of this unassuming little herb. Who can pass up the chance to win £1000, yes we said £1000-worth of Amazon or Garden Vouchers?
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Sleeping & Dreaming – until 9 March 2008
Pop along to the Wellcome Collection to see their temporary exhibition, Sleeping & Dreaming, and explore this fascinating theme through the eyes of artists, scientists, film-makers and historians.
Why are scientists still perplexed by sleep? What do the insights that our dreams bring us mean? And is a life without sleep conceivable? Sleeping and dreaming is a nightly (or daily) occurrence for us all, yet we still know relatively little about this elusive phenomenon. Yeeeeaaawwwwwn! Oh – sorry – what were you saying? Must have dozed off there.
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The Five Kingdoms of Life
Brrr!!! Winter is here, and Planet Science has got some frosty new creature masks from the five kingdoms of life: there's an arctic bacteria, a friendly yeast (like the ones we make wine, bread, beer and port from), and a Christmassy spruce tree. There're even some diatom baubles and flatworm paper chains to liven up your house this holiday season. We've also cunningly hidden a bonus mask somewhere among the kingdoms, can you find it?
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RI Christmas Lectures
If you’re a fan of the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (and let’s face it, who isn’t?) then you’ll be please to know that they are airing on Channel 5 at 7.15pm from 24th-28th Dec.
This year the theme is ‘Back from the brink: the science of survival’
Who lives, who dies and why? The capacity of the body to recover from the most devastating trauma is impressive and the power of the survival instinct never ceases to surprise. But are we all survivors? Or are they special? And, if so, are they born or made?
Hugh Montgomery – a diver, skydiver, high-altitude mountaineer, intensive care doctor, genetics researcher and director of the UCL Institute for Human Health and Performance, finds the answers.
Plus we have it on very good authority (taps side of nose with finger) that there'll also be a DVD available from sometime in the New Year. So, watch out for more info coming soon...
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4. Recommended website of the week
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 Who could resist the dulcet tones of children singing the The Twelve… Bugs of Christmas. Hang on. That’s not quite right is it? Oh yes it is. Buglife, has teamed up with the children of St Augustine’s Junior School, Peterborough, to record a new version of a traditional Christmas song. They hope to spread the word that without bugs, much of our festive fare would not exist. Through pollination, bugs help ensure that we have a wide variety of traditional Christmas foods, including brazil nuts, almonds and figs. Bugs help to provide us with fresh coffee on Christmas morning, cranberries and of course, chocolate! Bugs are also a vital source of food for many other animals and birds. Our most popular British bird, the Robin - a symbol of Christmas itself - wouldn't survive without grubs and caterpillars to feed to its young.
Lastly, have a look at ARKive’s festive creature features.
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Remember last week when we were offering you ten copies of the December Flipside magazine? The lucky winners are David France of Welshpool, Cath Pountney of Colchester, Jane Griffin of Salisbury, Ryan Bradley-Evans of Brecon, Thomas Vipond of Pensford, Alex Prichard of Leeds, Kasia Bielska of Slough, Georgina Trelford of Liverpool, Jenny Price of Scunthorpe and Carolina Johnson of Didcot.
The 5 people who twigged all the right answers of the November Sticky Quiz are Oel Jackson, Katrina Leigh, Wayne Shelton, Steve Oliver & Joseph Krogulec.
Stick with doing the quizzes & your name could be on that list one day too.
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6. Joke of the week
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Reindeer Games
It was the final answer on the game show and the contestant was one question away from the 1 million pound prize.
"To be today's champion," the show's smiling host intoned, "name two of Santa's reindeer."
The contestant gave a sigh of relief, gratified that she had drawn such an easy question.
"Rudolph!" she said confidently, "...and Olive!"
The studio audience started to applaud (as the little sign above their heads said to do), but the clapping quickly faded into mumbling, and the confused host replied, "Yes, we'll accept Rudolph, but could you please explain 'Olive'?"
"You know," the contestant began to sing, "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer – had a very shiny nose. And if you ever saw it, you would even say it glowed. Olive, the other reindeer... "
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Fancy a quiz/offering/competition with a difference? Welcome to Planet Science’s festive treat – we give you 
