You Just Got Learned!
Jan. 21st, 2015 09:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bloodyrosemccoyWatchin' one of my coworkers doing a Sphere presentation. He gets to the moon slide.
PRESENTER: So what do you see on the moon?
KID WITH COKE-BOTTLE GLASSES: *raises hand enthusiastically*
PRESENTER: You with the Minecraft shirt!
KID: I see the dust of the man who wanted to die on the moon!
*pause*
PRESENTER: Well, that's a cool sciece fiction story! And I'm glad you mentioned "dust," because there's a lot of dust on the moon ...
KID: *droop*
But I was also glad he mentioned the word "dust," because in fact that made me suspicious. I knew about space burials, but I didn't know if there were any on the moon. So I looked it up, and hey--turns out the kid was right! Eugene Merle Shoemaker didn't die on the moon, but his ashes (hence: dust) did get sent up there.
I made a point to let them know during the presentation, just to vindicate the kid--if he's the kind of nerd I was, he was feeling a mix of shame and righteous indignation at being told he was wrong. (The presenter handled his weird comment beautifully, but that wouldn't stop me from feeling that way.) So instead he wound up feeling really awesome that he taught US something today.
FUN FACT: James Doohan's remains are having a hard time getting into space. They've tried launching his ashes twice so far and I think they're going to try again, though just when is a little unclear. Good luck, Scotty!
PRESENTER: So what do you see on the moon?
KID WITH COKE-BOTTLE GLASSES: *raises hand enthusiastically*
PRESENTER: You with the Minecraft shirt!
KID: I see the dust of the man who wanted to die on the moon!
*pause*
PRESENTER: Well, that's a cool sciece fiction story! And I'm glad you mentioned "dust," because there's a lot of dust on the moon ...
KID: *droop*
But I was also glad he mentioned the word "dust," because in fact that made me suspicious. I knew about space burials, but I didn't know if there were any on the moon. So I looked it up, and hey--turns out the kid was right! Eugene Merle Shoemaker didn't die on the moon, but his ashes (hence: dust) did get sent up there.
I made a point to let them know during the presentation, just to vindicate the kid--if he's the kind of nerd I was, he was feeling a mix of shame and righteous indignation at being told he was wrong. (The presenter handled his weird comment beautifully, but that wouldn't stop me from feeling that way.) So instead he wound up feeling really awesome that he taught US something today.
FUN FACT: James Doohan's remains are having a hard time getting into space. They've tried launching his ashes twice so far and I think they're going to try again, though just when is a little unclear. Good luck, Scotty!
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no subject
Date: 2015-01-22 05:11 am (UTC)Space stuff: I have now seen a rocket (an Atlas V) launch from Cape Canaveral, and it was AWESOME! No amount of footage prepares you for the way the burning jets light up the sky like a mini sun, and the way the whole thing is completely silent for several seconds before the soundwave rolls over and through you.
I really wish the SpaceX launch that was scheduled for January 23 hadn't been pushed back, cos I would've loved to see that one too.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-23 07:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-22 05:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-23 07:31 am (UTC)"Yeah, that was pretty cool," I said. "Where'd you learn it?"
He looked sheepish. "TV."
"That's great! TV can definitely teach us all sorts of things, can't it?"
"Yeah!"
no subject
Date: 2015-01-22 06:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-23 07:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-30 06:54 am (UTC)