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April 18, 2011 11:08 pm PDT
Original Link: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/V2_0BXMZ6AU/science-question-fro-8.html
Science Question From a Toddler: The magnet conundrum
Sometimes, silly questions can teach us fascinating things. Each month, BoingBoing science editor Maggie Koerth-Baker takes one query submitted by a child (or former child) and finds the eye-opening science behind seemingly simple questions. It seems that we all owe the Insane Clown Posse a bit of an apology. Last year, we, the Internet, watched the music video for the song "Miracles" and had a good, hearty chuckle. Here were two grown-ass* men wearing white sweatsuits and clown makeup, frolicking beneath poorly CGI'd rainbows as they philosophized about the miraculous nature of things that were, really, not especially miraculous. The fact that Shaggy 2 Dope's kids look like him is not an inexplicable act of God, it's genetics. The existence of rainbows is a wonder of optics, not an unknowable mystery. The song was a lot less twitch-inducing once you understood that the Insane Clown Posse didn't literally think pet cats and dogs were miracles. In reality, they were simply trying to convey excitement about the awesomeness of the Universe—something I can get behind, even if I, personally, think that scientific explanations only add to that awesomeness, rather than detract from it. But that's not what the apology is for. Instead, it all comes back to the most famous line in the "Miracles" song. Say it with me now, "Fucking magnets, how do they work?" Oh, sure, it sounds ignorant on the surface. After all, didn't we all learn about magnets in, like, third grade? But you have to think about the specific question. The Insane Clown Posse didn't ask, "What are magnets?" or "What do magnets do?" If most of us are honest with ourselves, we'll admit we're every bit as mystified by the inner workings of magnets as the Insane Clown Posse. When I put out a call for Science Question From a Toddler submissions, no fewer than five different people emailed me, asking, essentially, "No, seriously. Fucking magnets. How do they work?" This "ignorant" question turns out to have one hell of a complicated answer....
Original Link: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/V2_0BXMZ6AU/science-question-fro-8.html
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