Clint Dinsdale and Irna Moyr test the strength of paper towel.

I consider myself “tech” savvy and keenly aware of the latest trends in technology. I’ve only been texting for roughly twelve months and already I have learned what L.O.L. means. Recently I’ve added a few new acronyms to my repertoire (I am not real sure I used the term acronym in the right context but it sounds intelligent don’t it!). I now know what O.M.G. means and only after a great deal of research do I now know what M.G.H.U.A.

As is the case in most married households, our dinner conversation generally begins with, “How was your day today honey?” My standard reply is simply, ” Just another successful day of molding the young minds of the future.” I’m not real sure I appreciate the acronym (or whatever the heck those things are called!) she mumbles under her breath. Tell me what you think: M.G.H.U.A. (May God Help Us All).

Acronyms or homonyms or whatever other kind of nym aside, let me take this opportunity to update you on a few things going on in the science department as of late. In an effort to persuade students to think outside the box in Bio-Med, we have given them a few tasks to perform which have taxed their brains a bit and lead to a few frustrating moments. A few weeks ago their task was to come up with a procedure to determine what percent of a M & M is accounted for by the delicious candy coating. Procedures ranged from carefully removing the inner chocolate with a scalpel to microwaving the M & M after placing a hole in it and someone even soaked the candy in hydrogen peroxide to dissolve the coating. In the end, it was determined that the candy coating comprised anywhere from 17 to 25% of the total mass of an M & M.

Just recently the Bio-Med kids had to wear the hat of a engineer. Not the kind that wears a cute hat and drives trains across the country. No, these students were asked to design a package that would allow a Pringles potato chip to survive the U.S. postal service and arrive IN TACT to an old college buddy of mine who lives in Minnesota. There were certain parameters the package had to adhere to but none the less, there were some very interesting designs. I have only recently heard back from my buddy but to this point, he has opened packages containing potato chips in pristine condition as well as some packages which contain potato chip dust.

At this point in time students are utilizing laboratory skills gained in the previous chapter to develop a series of tests which will serve to determine the quality of various brands of paper towel. The end product is a “Consumer Report” type of format where students rate the various brands of paper towel based on a battery of tests they designed and then exposed each type of paper towel to their rigorous testing procedures. In the end, it appears as though not all paper towels are created equal.

Rachel Trobough and Anthony Araiza run their own strength test.

In retrospect knowing how to safely mail a potato chip or an awareness of the mass of a M & M’s candy coating may not win you a Pulitzer Prize in science. Consider this, even Einstein had to start somewhere and I’m betting he never had the advantage of mailing one single potato chip. Who knows, if he had the opportunity to mail a few chips, we just might all be able to hop into our time machines by now.