I blame my lack of productivity on the earth's axial tilt!

The axis of the rotation of the earth relative to that of its rotation around the sun is tilted by 23.5 degrees.  This causes some pretty extreme changes in the climate here at 43 degrees N latitude:

For example, here is what Wisconsin looks like in the winter:

This leads to very productive weekends of staying inside and barfing blog posts out of my brain and into the computer.

Here is what Wisconsin looks like in the summer:

This leads to extreme levels of outdoor awesomeness, but very low levels of indoor blog-post-barfing productivity.

Never fear, Science Minus Details will return to full glory soon.  For now I will leave you with Mike Flores' awesome summer 2010 time-lapse montage.


Have fun in the sun, I will see you soon!

Why Pee is Cool - entry #2 - "Why Does Pee Smell?" or "Aroma of Life"

In Germany, nothing marks the beginning of spring like asparagus!  Running from April through the end of June, asparagus season (spargelzeit) is a big deal in Germany.  Here is me happily participating in this wonderful German tradition:

Me, about to have an asparagus aneurysm

As you may know, after eating asparagus, your pee can smell pretty gross.

Bathroom Safety Tip #1: never inhale bathroom-related vapors directly, always gently waft them

Why Pee is Cool - entry #1 - "Why Is Pee Yellow?" or "Rainbow of Urine"

PeePee!  Jokes about it will never stop being funny, and facts about it will never stop being interesting!

Do not try this at home. via phasezero

In this series of posts we will learn what pee is and discover how it connects us with the rest of life on earth and how humans have used it to learn more about the nature of the universe.  Get ready for a wild ride!

"Barely Bad Bananas" or "Where Does Background Radiation Come From???"

The totally normal banana that this totally normal monkey is eating is radioactive, but so is the monkey!

Radioactive Monkey Eating Radioactive Banana, from Arne Bevaart

What is Nuclear Radiation and How Can It Hurt Me?

People get really freaked out about nuclear radiation.

Dude with Awesome Beard, Freaking Out

Since we are all really freaked out by the ongoing trouble with Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant and the hazards posed to the Japanese population by escaped nuclear radiation, let's figure out what nuclear radiation is, and let's begin by talking about radiation in general.  The word radiation is used to describe any type of particle or wave that is moving through space really fast, which encompasses lots of things.  The kind of radiation that will be most familiar to you is LIGHT, which is a kind of electromagnetic radiation.

Electromagnetic Radiation, so-named because it consists of electric and magnetic waves that fly through space together.

"Where Did Helium Come From?" or "Jupiter & Saturn, Helium Hoarders"

All matter in the Universe is made up of three-quarters hydrogen and one-quarter helium (by weight), with relatively insignificant amounts of all the other elements (not including dark matter, whatever that is).  This crazy abundance of hydrogen and helium has been around in nearly the same ratio from minutes after the big bang over 13 billion years ago.  Wowza!

Hydrogen

Helium.  (see story of Larry Walters)

Cool Chameleons, Cool Carotenoids, Cool Colors

Check out what this chameleon can do!  Understanding how chameleons do this will help you to understand how all life on earth is connected.