Constant Science: Kittens!
This week I once again take to the internet to talk science. Specifically, I talk about the science of cuteness with the help of a handful of cute little animals! Check it out below!
Read MoreBloopers and Outtakes!
When I went to visit Aaron last month we got a lot of stuff filmed. Luckily for us that stuff generated a lot of bloopers. I've found some of the best ones and put them together in this little gag reel of us screwing up and generally being weird. Enjoy!
Read MoreConstant Science: Fun With Cannons
We did a lot of stuff when I visited Aaron in Oregon last month. A couple of short clips of this particular adventure were part of our music video for "Man of Constant Science" a couple of weeks ago.
Well, this week we're back with a joint episode of Constant Science with a giant potato cannon that we built! We'll shoot it off a few times, explain the scientific principles at work, and then show you how we built it.
Next week: bloopers and outtakes!
Read MoreDon of the Dead, an Explosions, Inc. Production
Last week we presented you with an awesome music video. This week we're taking things a step further. We're premiering a short film.
Read MoreMan of Constant Science: The Music Video
And we're back! Apologies for the wait time everyone, while we were getting all of our ducks in rows so they could properly dot our i's and cross our t's. But now we're back with a brand new website and a whole bunch of goodies!
Read MoreWork in Progress
Welcome, people of the internet, to Explosions, Inc!
Our new website here is still in progress, but feel free to browse. As far as I know everything is functional. We just don't have all the content where we want it yet. We plan to launch the new site officially in the next two weeks. Thanks for visiting!
Time For A Science Break
Not as delicious as this kind of break.
Happy Monday to all six of our regular readers, two of whom are our mothers. I'm taking to the interwebs today to make a quick and very exciting announcement: Aaron and I are hard at work on a brand-new website! Woo! It'll be super slick and cool looking and wonderful with new images and new video that we're putting together specially for the relaunch.
But...
It means that we have to take a break from posting here at this website for a little while. I don't know how long it'll take us to finish up, but it's possible it won't be ready until May-ish. I'm headed out to Oregon to visit Aaron the first week of the month and we're going to get a ton of really cool stuff done. So don't forget us! Stay tuned! A new website awaits launching!
And don't worry if you've bookmarked this one (and if you have, thank you from the bottom of our hearts). It'll redirect to the new one, which will have the archive of everything we ever put together on this Wordpress site.
See you on the other side!
Constant Science: Aaron's Ping Pong Ball Trick
Thanks to the hurly-burly of modern life, we seem to spend every moment of every day under constant pressure. School, jobs, relationships, the constant threat of velociraptor attack, the list seems endless. Among this litany of pressures, however, is one that we cannot do without. I'm talking about air pressure. This week I want to show you a neat demo you can try at home that takes advantage of a quirk of air pressure. So sit back, relax, and make sure to keep your velociraptor spray handy.
Read MoreMan of Random Science: Explosive Meditations
I was staring resolutely into the middle distance, practicing my world-weary, erudite look, when a few feral thoughts scampered nimbly through the wastes of my wide-open mind: What exactly is an explosion? Shorn of all the fire, debris, shockwaves, and cool protagonists walking away without looking back, what is the essence of an explosion, the thread that binds all explosions together? Is there a singular definition that encompasses them all? Give yourselves a second to think about that. I'll wait........(Warning. Some gross images ahead)
Read MoreConstant Science: Soda Studies and Science Journalism
Happy Tuesday, people who read this blog. It's time for another Constant Science, this one about a study I've been reading about a lot in the online news sources claiming to show a link between diet soda intake and increased belly fat. It's got some striking limitations and weaknesses that aren't being covered by almost anyone who writes about the study, and that's the real topic of this video. Thinking like a scientist is an important skill and a big part of that is being familiar with study design and methodology: good, bad, and everything in between. Click on through for the video!
Read MoreAt Home Experiment 4: Stomp-Bottle Rockets
In the woolly wilds of Oregon, Spring has sprung! The sun is shining, bees are buzzing, and if your covered wagon turns over while fording the river, you might not die of hypothermia. (That was an Oregon Trail joke.) What better way to usher in the season and enjoy the outdoors than building your own stomp-bottle rocket launcher? Safe and easy, you can welcome back the songbirds with a barrage of air-propelled science! (Explosions Inc. does not condone firing rockets at living creatures. Not even birds. Not even if they totally pooped on you and your fancy new pants completely on purpose while you were minding your own business. Stupid birds.)
Read MorePi Day Rebuttal: Let Them Eat Cake!
FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: I am not here to impugn the idea behind popularizing mathematical concepts through any means possible. Nor am I here to suggest the concept of Pi itself is not worth study and exaltation. Certainly I am not here to cast aspersions upon the glorious existence of pie. As the full moon loves the night sky, as the grizzled mariner loves the sea, as Garfield loves lasagna, so I too love pie.
Read MorePi Day Post-Mortem
Another Pi Day has come and gone, and this one was a little extra special because it was the once-in-a-century date when, at 1:59:26 AM and PM the date was 3.1415926. People celebrated by baking and eating pi pies, posting pictures on Facebook of pi pies, and generally being gleefully punny. On Pi Day people often celebrate the world's favorite irrational number but, and I think this is a missed opportunity, we rarely talk about it past its significance as a homophone for a delicious dessert. I aim to rectify that here and now, so ready yourself for a big heaping slice of pi!
Read MoreMan of Random Science: Isaac Newton Was Weird
Isaac Newton is, quite justifiably, one of the most famous scientists in history. He was a scientist before scientists were even scientists, back when they were called “natural philosophers” and you pretty much had to be a rich white male to even think about joining their ranks. Back before regular experimental protocols had been developed. The Enlightenment was a turbulent time for our understanding of the universe, and Newton was one of the people sitting right in the center of it.
And Isaac Newton was really kind of weird.
But let’s start with the science.
Read MoreConstant Science: Aaron Is Not Fireproof
The final episode of my epic Chemical Reaction Trilogy! Perhaps it's not quite Peter Jacksonesque in scope (maybe more Terry Gilliamesque) but it's a good primer. This time I discuss where the energy that is released in a chemical reaction ends up and this video is in no way yet another excuse for me to set myself on fire. Nope, not at all. Not one little bit. Nuh-uh...Really.
Read MoreQuick Fix Science Pics
I did not set out to make a post with a rhyming title but it looks like I ended up there anyway. We do a lot of media here at Explosions, Inc., but it's mostly of the video variety. Today I've put together some pictures packed full of sweet, sweet science tidbits that are perfect for posting to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Imgur, what have you. They're all here in this post and I'll be tossing them out one at a time on our own Twitter and Instagram feeds over the course of the next week or two. If you don't follow us on any social media, what the heck are you waiting for?
Is this a common thing to do these days? Yes. Are we sell-outs for hopping on the train? Maybe, but that train is going places, baby! Share the crap out of these, if you would. Aaron and I really tried to make these serious and seriously interesting instead of fluff pieces and we think people will dig them. We want to see these all over social media! Click through for the pictures!
Read MoreConstant Science: Aaron Gets Fired
An ode to element number 8. Without it my job would be so much more difficult. Come to think of it, my entire life, and yours as well would be devoid of, well, pretty much everything, including life. Good thing it's the third most abundant element in this little universe we like to call home. So come along as I sing the praises of your friend and mine, the shining star of the chalcogen family
Read MoreConstant Science: Minute Chemistry Part 2 (of 23.6)
Happy Monday, fans of science! As promised in last week's Dive Science video, I am returning to my possibly futile quest to dedicate one minute to every single element in the periodic table. This week: carbon through neon.
Read MoreConstant Science: Retro Vintage Science
reaction when Don conveniently pointed out we had done just that, a long time ago. So strap yourself into your way-back machine and let's take a trip down memory lane to the Big Bang of Explosions Inc.
Read MoreConstant Science: Dive Science
Hey, hey, hey! I'm back from my travels (you know, the travels that led Aaron to write about my super-cool doppelganger Ron Diefler) with a video that combines some sweet underwater footage my wife and I got while scuba diving in the Caribbean with a whole bunch of science. I talk about water pressure, dive medicine, optics, and, of course, marine biology. Click through to check it out!
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