On Tuesday, I’ll be in the Twin Cities to pick up #2 Son for Thanksgiving break, and as long as I’m there, I’ve been invited to join in the fun of this month’s Cafe Scientifique: it’s the Physics of Bowling, to be held at Bryant Lake Bowl in Minneapolis. This has the potential to be very interesting, since they’re pitting the best of BRB bowling team against…scientists. They promise that there will be science-based bowling tips, so maybe there’s hope. (Anyone else remember Egghead Jr., the smart chicken in the Foghorn Leghorn cartoons who excelled at sports by scrawling formulas to calculate what he’d do next? I don’t think that works in the real world, but we’ll see.)
To entice people to show up, this could be dramatic entertainment. I am a very bad bowler. There is a chance of pratfalls. There could be injury and death and destruction, and blood on the floor. I could fall over, burst into flames, and explode. At the very least, you’ll get to watch a geek do a spastic dance and throw a heavy ball somewhere. You don’t want to miss this!
(Unfortunately, if the organizers read this they may decide that somebody else might be preferred to bowl—liability issues, you know. Having all the spectators laid out prostrate with laughter could be risky.)
“Bowing” for science?
Actually, I first read that title as “Blowing for science”, which shows you the level of my mental processes.
And I thought spontaneous combustion was ridiculous. It turns out it’s a consequence of bowling.
Completely off topic: In the course of sorting and packing my books, I just turned up a booklet titled “Natural Law”, by Robert Anton Wilson. This was originally published by the abruptly-defunct Loompanics Unlimited. It is still available from Run for Cover! (inter alia).
Paging through it, I note that nearly 20 years ago, he was trying to get across many of the same points regarding the nature of science and “natural law”, as the modern skeptics are still doing, and dealing with many of the same basic arguments (and tactics) from the religionists.
The more things change… Sigh
Aha! I recognize the lion by his paw! I mean, that is, I recognize Foghorn Leghorn’s paw. That’s him in the accompanying picture trying to teach the widow’s little chick to play baseball (I mean, baseball). Loved those cartoons. Hated sports. (Still do.)
Didn’t wear glasses (or knit caps) in those days, but I figure I was the only kid in my class who identified with the little bookwormish fowl.
My bowling strategy is to fling the ball down the lane as hard and fast as possible and may the gods helps the pins…
Will the scientists be bowling in white lab coats? How about
lab coats with “Darwin Rules” on the back?
I don’t think BLB has those nifty automatic scoring thingies, so it takes a scientist to actually keep score if someone gets a spare.
Obviously you’ve learned from your guru.
Speaking of grrlscientist, she’s been unwell lately, and I think she’d appreciate whatever support people could give.
The scientists will be the ones that are passing their rented shoes back and forth and smelling,..to see if there is a distiction bx these shoes and the ones that they smelled at the other bowling alley.
Here is another contest that may interest readers. What are the best science books of all time?
http://www.discover.com/issues/dec-06/features/25-greatest-science-books/
(Anyone else remember Egghead Jr., the smart chicken in the Foghorn Leghorn cartoons who excelled at sports by scrawling formulas to calculate what he’d do next?)
Foghorn Leghorn goes to look in the bin where he was playing hide-and-seek, after Egghead Jr. digs him up elsewhere because the math said that’s where he was.
Then he stops, and walks away.
“I might, I said, I might be there.”
It would be a riot of you would wear one of those cephalopod ties to the match. :D