It is National Mole Day! Sorry cute (?), burrowing creature, it isn’t your day. National Mole Day is celebrated by chemists and chemistry students on October 23rd. The mole is honored between 6:02 a.m. and 6:02 p.m. This makes the date 6:02 10/23, And where did that number come from and why does it deserve it’s own day?Continue reading “How Many Moles in a Mole?”
Author Archives: Darlene Kaskie
I Hear the Train a Comin’
For more than two centuries, trains have traversed the American landscape altering how and where people live and work. This is why, in 2008, Amtrak created National Train Day to be celebrated on the Saturday closet to May 10th, the anniversary of the pounding of the Golden Spike in Promontory, Utah which marked the completion of the First TranscontinentalContinue reading “I Hear the Train a Comin’”
Get the Lead Out
“Eeyore was saying to himself, “This writing business. Pencils and what-not. Over-rated, if you ask me. Silly stuff. Nothing in it.” — Winnie the Pooh. A long time ago, in a far away place, before apps and texts and even typewriters, pencils were used to convey the written word. As you purchase a new box of TiconderogasContinue reading “Get the Lead Out”
March Winds
It is the proverbially windy month of March, when the weather is widely variable, blowing in warmer temperatures and creating spring storms. If you want to see how windy Iowa (or the entire country) is, check out the Wind Map. How can Mother Natures’s ferocious power be harnessed and tamed? Driving along Interstate 80, acres of wind turbinesContinue reading “March Winds”
Waste to Water
Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, and the world’s richest man, is known for changing how the world operates and functions. The mission of his non-profit, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is to give all people the chance to live a healthy and productive life. To this end, during the mid-1990s, Bill Gates gave computers to libraries and schools,Continue reading “Waste to Water”
Celebrating Weatherpeople!
Because the weather has a significant impact on our daily lives, National Weatherperson’s Day recognizes the scientists who track our major storms and atmospheric climate changes. The day commemorates the birth of John Jeffries who was born in Boston in 1745. He was a Harvard graduate and surgeon who became fascinated with observing the weather. Beginning in 1774, he daily measured and recorded theContinue reading “Celebrating Weatherpeople!”
Santa Using Today’s Technology
Drones are taking off
As you take your final exam, you may find yourself shopping last minute for your family’s holiday gifts. Don’t despair. There is a day for that. December 18th is Free Shipping Day; a one-day, online-shopping event when thousands of merchants offer free shipping with delivery by Christmas Eve.1 So how do your packages go over the river andContinue reading “Drones are taking off”
Get Cooking; Saturday is Microwave Oven Day
In 1942, while Dr.Percy Spencer was testing a magnetron, a candy bar in his pocket melted. This was Dr. Spencer’s ‘aha moment’ when he realized that radioactive beams can cook food. The Raytheon Company filed a patent application for Spencer’s invention on October 8, 1945. Then the company built the first commercially available microwave oven calling it the Radarange. It debuted in 1947 standing six feetContinue reading “Get Cooking; Saturday is Microwave Oven Day”
Need a Lift?
December 1st is Cyber Monday, a day created by marketing companies to persuade people to shop online the first Monday after Thanksgiving. Employees returning to their desks after the holiday, stuffed full of turkey, are considered prime to shop on their high-speed internet connections at work. Warehouses, such as Amazon, are stocked to the brim with merchandise, and according to theContinue reading “Need a Lift?”