Strange Science

Sometimes, I like science and what I term as “sciency” stuff because the scientific community often reverts to whimsy in what are otherwise indigestible fields of study.  In quantum physics, for instance, one of the sub-atomic particles has been termed a quark.  Furthermore, quarks might be found in six different flavors.  The flavors of quarks are: up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom.

I sometimes try to imagine quark discussions between scientists in the particle collider lab.  For the purpose of my illustration “Hank” will be a sciency name.

Scientist #1:  “Hank, what is up with that down particle in the collider?”

Hank:  “Dunno… I found a strange strange beside my up, too.”

This is the sort of material that makes me sit alone with my forty pounds of housecat, giggling uncontrollably.

Another favorite example of scientific quirkiness involves the discovery of a once sea-going shellfish fossil.  The fossil in question is a crustacean dating back some 425 million years.  The specimen happens to be the oldest fossil ever discovered with a penis still intact.  The British paleontologist who discovered the critter named it Colymbosathon ecplecticos.  The name is Greek for “astounding swimmer with a large penis.”

--Mitchell Hegman