SCIENCE YEAR NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 48 Week ending Friday, 21st December 2001 And as night drew her cloak of velvety darkness across towns, fields and forests throughout the land ... the lights were put out one by one in the Science Year offices in Glasgow, Belfast, Cardiff and London, and the final newsletter of 2001 was sent out into the world. Festive music could be heard from afar - listen, you can hear it, if you hurry to www.ylw.mmtr.or.jp/~johnkoji/hymn/xmas/ 'Midi Files of Christmas Carols'. The joy of internet technology was savoured widely... and families reminisced about when Rolf Harris used to appear on the telly and advertise plastic musical instruments ... Sigh. All we need now is some festive science news... Oh OK then! And there’s a whole sackful... 1. Win some HOT STUFF with our new FOOD QUIZ 2. Open up the MAGIC BOX and amaze your friends 3. Leap into 2002 with those GIANT JUMP CERTIFICATES 4. WHAT A LAUGH - first results from humour experiment 5. ANTARCTIC freebies 6. Communicate physics and GET FUNDING FOR IT 7. The ROYAL INSTITUTION LECTURES 8. Even more science TV if you’re in CAMBRIDGE 9. THANK YOU REVIEWERS 10. MNEMONICS - and a warning for grandmothers 11. January's GUEST WRITERS 12. Getting HANDY with the BRANDY 13. Recommended website of the week 14. Jokes 15. Bye bye till 2002! IT'S FESTIVE, IT'S DIGESTIVE ... AND IT'S ONLINE NOW Breaking news from the Science Year website - the Music Maestro Sonic Superquiz is now closed, and the three first-prize MP3 players are in the post to the winners at this very moment... Those winners are: Tomos Mills (aged 11) from Swansea, Chris Harkness (aged 14) from Halifax, and Mary Sangster (aged 21) from Swallowfield. Guys, you rock! But if you didn't see your name in that list, don't worry, we have a new challenge for you to chomp on over the Christmas break: click here of our new food & drink science quiz. And we have some very cool prizes this time... or should we say some very HOT prizes? They are: ten 'self-heating meals' - and if that's not a triumph of technology, what is?! In the real world, these meal packs are used by the emergency services, fishermen, climbers and even film crews on location in hostile environments. But you can obviously also enjoy a self-heating meal in front of the TV any time you've used up all the clean saucepans. There are several dishes on the self-heated menu, such as Pork Sausages and Beans in Tomato Sauce and Lancashire Hot Pot. There are even a couple of vegetarian options. So, get clicking! MAGIC TRICKS The truth, they say, is stranger than fiction. And real science can similarly be more cor-blimey than 'magic'. On that basis, we have put together a Magic Box of eight tricks you can do at home, to entertain your loved ones and startle the neighbours. With science on your side, you'll be able to produce spooky writing, make balls levitate, instantaneously change the colour of liquid, cause cards to stick to the ceiling and ... well, have a look for yourself. All the instructions can be found if you click here. ust add thespian banter and magical catchphrases to the mix for a magic show they’ll never forget... Incidentally, in the Magic Box, you'll also find an explanation of that old Victorian theatre effect, 'Pepper's Ghost' and there's a link to another new addition to the Wired area, our MAGIC BUNNY challenge. This is a brand new feature in which you’re invited to pit your wits in a game of strategy and ever increasing levels of aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrghghghghghgghBALDERDASH!!! Ssssh - don't distract your Grandad while he's playing. GUINNESS WORLD RECORD CERTIFICATES ARE HERE Yes, yes, yes it's true. Everyone whose school or organisation took part in the Giant Jump, and sent back a Witness Statement Form to confirm the number of jumpers, will soon be in receipt of their World Record Certificate. They are here at our offices, and they'll be sent out during the second week of 2002, once the Christmas postal madness has abated. Meanwhile, you can get your frame ready - the certificate dimensions are 36cm x 25cm. And it looks very impressive! If you haven't received yours by 20th January, please send an address label to: Certificate Science Year 11 Tufton Street LONDON SW1P 2QB. LAUGHING ALL THE WAY TO THE LAB You MUST have heard about LaughLab, it seems to have become the most famous popular psychology experiment ever in just a few months. If by any chance you've been away on another planet and haven't heard though, LaughLab is an ongoing web-based study of jokes, humour and what tickles our funnybones... It was set up by Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire, who devised the project in collaboration with the BA for Science Year. The idea is, you go to the site (www.laughlab.co.uk), then you submit a few of your favourite jokes, and rate a few that others have fed in previously. The researchers then take the results and do the analysis into what makes us laugh. Are there sex differences? Age differences? Locational differences? And are puns about as fun as the pox or do people like them? So far, the public response has been big. Very big. And the first results are in. The funniest joke so far is ... at the bottom of the newsletter. (Want to keep you reading after all!) However, here are the very worst jokes. (Brace yourself, a full 74% of people gave them them the lowest possible rating.) Q. Why did the chicken cross the road? A. To get to the other side. Thank you. Next? Q. Why are chickens considered good employees? A. Because they work around the cluck. Hmmmm. Right. What have the researchers learned about the human sense of humour so far? (Apart from the fact we don’t seem too keen chicken jokes…) 1. Men and women favour different types of jokes. Top jokes for males involve aggression, putting women down and sexual innuendo. In contrast, females prefer jokes involving wordplay. 2. When rating jokes on the Laugh Lab 'smileometer', the Germans rated a higher percentage of jokes as funny or very funny than any other nation. Dr Wiseman, however, points out that the results are only preliminary: "While we already have some interesting findings, the data collection period will continue till March 2002 when we move to the second phase of the experiment." ANTARCTIC OFFER On a chillier note, last week as you might remember, we highlighted the brilliant website of the British Antarctic Survey (www.bas.ac.uk). And this week, they've come back to us to offer more more more good stuff. They say: "In the light of 'Shackleton-mania' and things-Antarctic, the Survey has a number of information packs, books, posters etc on offer for your school, projects and for those armchair explorers amongst us. Offers available while stocks last. For a full list of what's available please request an 'Antarctic Offers list' via email to: information@bas.ac.uk or write to: Lize King at the Information Office, BAS, Madingley Rd, Cambridge CB3 0ET." And you thought Santa lived at the North Pole? PHYSICS COMMUNICATION FELLOWSHIPS If you love physics and communicating what it's all about, and want to promote physics to larger non-specialist communities, the Institute of Physics invite you to apply for a bit of funding and IoP support through a Physics Communication Fellowship... They say, "The Fellowships are for researchers in physics or a related discipline who have some experience in communicating physics to a non-specialist audience and would benefit from funding and appropriate training to enhance their existing outreach work. Fellows are funded up to £1000 to give major talks or the equivalent and to develop materials to support their activity." Sound interesting? For an application form and further details contact Shuk Kwan Liu in the Public Relations Department, Institute of Physics, 76 Portland Place, London, W1B 1NT. Tel. 020 7470 4800 E-mail:shuk_kwan.liu@iop.org. The closing date for applications 31 January 2002. Applicants must be from the UK and Ireland only. ROYAL INSTITUTION LECTURES ... it wouldn't be Christmas without the annual series of science lectures from the Royal Institution. This is their 175th anniversary, and this year the lecturer is Sir John Sulston, and the talks are on a genetic theme. Sir John was one of the principle British scientists involved in the revolutionary Human Genome Project, which in February produced a draft sequence of the human genome - a three million letter long DNA code that in essence, initiates and shapes what we humans are as biological beings. In the five-part lecture series Sir John will, in traditional RI style, be using experiments, demonstrations and audience participation events to explore his subject. And he’ll be explaining how our growing knowledge of human genetics is beginning to answer many of the fundamental conundrums of life, such as 'how do humans develop?' and 'are we controlled by our genes?'. The series has been named 'The Secrets of Life' and the TV broadcasts begin on Boxing Day at 11.30am and run every day until New Year’s Day. There’s information on the lectures at: www.ri.ac.uk/Christmas/ and after the programme on the 28th, viewers will be able to chat live with Sir John on www.channel4.com/talk . Accompanying the programmes, Channel 4 has also created a website: www.channel4.com/genetics , for children to learn about genetic inheritance and natural selection, in a highly enjoyable way. There’s ‘Bug Life’ which is based on Mendel's famous pea experiment - and gives the user complete control over the destiny of a colony of animated bugs. What happens when you diminish their food supply? And why do some of them mutate into cannibals? Find out… And there’s ‘Chromosome 11’, in which the user investigates a family tree and the genetic inheritance of sickle cell anaemia. The user has to determine what risks unborn children may face. The activity gives the user an illustration of how science impacts on real life and of the human and ethical aspects of genetics. AND IF YOU’RE IN CAMBRIDGE There’s another science broadcast you can take advantage of. A group of Cambridge University students have started broadcasting a monthly TV science show on Cambridge RedTV, a local station available on cable. Andrew Harmsworth, a Physics teacher at The Leys School in Cambridge (and a regular contributor to the newsletter) says "I've just seen the first episode, which is repeated daily, and it's excellent. Please advertise it in your next bulletin, as many schools served by the region could get involved." Check out their website at: www.sciencesussed.co.uk/ The next ‘new’ programme isn’t till February, but their existing programmes are shown as rolling repeats, so you can catch them now. MORE REVIEWERS NEEDED – PLUS ADDRESSES Thanks to those who've already applied to be a Science Year reviewer of sciencey books, films, kits, games, DVDs or … who knows what? But - we still need more reviewers AND even if you’ve already emailed to express interest, our Reviews Co-Ordinator would like you to write to her again! There are a couple of guidelines. Firstly, she’d like to know a bit more about what your particular interest in science is, and why you’d like to be a reviewer for us. (And if you’ve written anything similar before, she’d love to know about that). And secondly, she’d like to know your address. Otherwise, where do we send the stuff??! Email: reviews@scienceyear.com . REMEMBER REMEMBER Mnemonics seem to be very popular and many people have emailed to share their tips. (Too many to mention them all here – but thank you to everyone who got in touch). First an anatomical aide-memoire from Mary Frost. ‘Veins have Valves’ (both begin with V) ‘Arteries take blood Away from the heart’ ‘Ventricles are V-shaped’ And John Gilyead wrote in to say, "For the colours in a rainbow, as an alternative to the usual Richard of York, I was taught this one by a year 9 student several years ago and have never forgotten it (so it must be good): "Rinse Out Your Grandmothers Boots In Vinegar" Funnily enough, two minutes later a strangely similar – but slightly more graphic – rainbow-remembering email pinged in from Sue Flanagan: "Run Over Your Granny Because It's Violent" She says, "somehow I can't get this one out of my mind!" Nor us! (Nor Granny!) And still on the subject of mnemonics featuring the older generation, teacher Rebecca Draper sent us this, devised by one of her year 6 pupils for remembering the order of the planets: ‘Many Very Elderly Men Just Snooze Under News Papers’. ‘Men Very Easily Make Jugs Serve Useful Nocturnal Purposes’ She says "Never quite sure what purposes though!!" And it’s best not ponder it too long. However! We had one enquiry following up on all the planet-order discussion of recent weeks, saying "Isn't Pluto currently orbiting the Sun inside Neptune's orbit?" which might have put a (slight) damper on the party, if correct. But it’s not. We got Science Line on the case and here’s what they say: "Pluto is now the furthest known planet in the solar system again. Between 7 February 1979 and 11 February 1999, Pluto's orbit actually lay inside the orbit of Neptune. This is because it has a very elliptical orbit, compared to Neptune's virtually circular one. The next time Pluto will be found closer to the Sun than Neptune will be in another 226 years." QUESTION OF THE WEEK And on the subject of Science Line … we asked them for a festive, life-enhancing sort of question for this last newsletter of the year. And as ever, they’ve come up trumps. The question is: Why do you have to heat brandy before you put it on your pudding to light? (Er, because it stops you drinking it before you pour it on?) No, the correct answer can be found at: www.sciencenet.org.uk/database/Chemistry/0104/c00340d.html And if you have any science questions of your own, you can send them in too. On the website (www.sciencenet.org) , or if you prefer you can phone them on their free 0808 800 4000 number. The lines are open from 1pm - 7pm Monday to Saturday and they're waiting for your call... RECOMMENDED WEBSITE OF THE WEEK … well it’s got to be a fun one with activities you can do at home hasn’t it? To tide us over to the new year after the presents have been put away and the tv schedule’s gone off the boil... It’s Science Fun For Everyone at www.uwm.edu/~tholme/fun/main.shtml . And if you need more recipes for making slime than there are cocktails at the Ritz, it’s the place for you. And while you’re at it, make a battery with leftover fruit and veg, or a home hovercraft … JOKE OF THE WEEK … comes from Laugh Lab as promised. And – drumroll, momentary microphone feedback, the audience settle happily into their seats … Ladies and gentlemen, with 47% of people giving it the highest rating, we bring you: Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are going camping. They pitch their tent under the stars and go to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes wakes Watson up. "Watson," he says, "Look up at the stars, and tell me what you deduce." Watson replies, "I see millions of stars, and if there are millions of stars, and if even a few of those have planets, it's quite likely there are some planets like Earth, and if there are a few planets like Earth out there, there might also be life." Holmes says: "Watson, you idiot, somebody stole our tent!" Excellent! (think you can do better? Really? Well, get on to LaughLab then, and it could be your joke we’re writing about next time!) NEXT YEAR’S GUEST WRITERS Following in the footsteps of those glossy magazines who invite celebrity ‘Guest Editors’ to be associated with editions of their publication, the next three Science Year newsletters will be collated and scribed by a guest writer from each of our partner organisations the Association for Science Education (the ASE), the British Association for the Advancement of Science (the BA) and Science Line. Please make them warmly welcome! And if you have news, views, contributions, substitutions, gripes, hypes, jokes (but not a hoax), please send them to our brilliant new Web Assistant, Katie Walsh (katie.walsh@scienceyear.com) and she will pass them on to the appropriate Guest Writer. And that’s it. The end of 2001 as far as the newsletter is concerned. Have a whale of a time till 2002!