Common Knowlede != Truth

Remember that old myth about paper not being able to be folded more than 7 or 8 times?
Turns out a high school girl in Pomona, California found otherwise, and even wrote up a couple formulas for it. One for folding in a single direction (using a rather long sheet of paper), and the other for folding in two directions (alternating). All it took was a little motivation (free math credit if she could accomplish it), some gold foil, and $85 of toilet paper (1.2 km worth).

Of course, the first problem was thickness. Every fold doubles the thickness of what you're folding and halves its area. Doesn't seem like much, but it's kind of like that "you pay me 1 penny today and double it every day there after for a year..." little bits add up. She tried to get around that by using the thinnest sheet she could find, which was gold foil. Being a stickler for details, the math teacher reiterated that she must use paper (not foil). That proved to be a completely different problem, which was to find a manufacturer of paper that would be long enough (and/or) wide enough to test the formulas she came up with.

With an extremely long roll of TP, a large area of a mall (.6 km), and some precise measurements, she managed achieve her goal of 12 equal folds, reaching a thickness of 80 cm. A process that took over 7 hours. The strange thing is that this all happened back in 2002. What ever happened to the news? This is big news right? Oh, what's that!? Apple's releasing new iPods in 2 weeks, nevermind about that science thing.

Actually, Mythbusters covered it a while back too... must have missed that episode... wasn't that when the iPhone was looming?

I like Chick-Fil-A's marketing scheme!

Wow, I didn't expect that from the wholesome Christian chicken-sandwich company (why do I always crave their food on Sundays). Looks like a promising campaign. :-)

Actually, their new Chick-n-Strips(c) are pretty dang tasty. They are larger, but fewer in numbers (3 or 4 count instead of 4 or 6 count). The breading isn't as thick or grease laden, and I no longer get a weird aftertaste in my mouth after eating a batch. Unfortunately, it is also more expensive.

Does anyone else miss their old Chick-Fil-A sandwich honey mustard packets (before the honey-barbecue, not the dipping sauce or dressing either)? Oh well, when does the chick arrive? :-P

Firefly is coming out on Blu-ray this fall!

I would venture a guess that Firefly is the highest selling single-season series ever. I blame poor marketing and lack of sense on Fox's part (they didn't even play the series in order). Despite being canceled, the series gained enough of a following to deem it worthy of becoming a major motion picture, two successful comic book mini-series (with another on the way), a role-playing game, an upcoming MMORPG (though that'll probably fall through), a cruise, a bi-annual ball, and rumors of a second movie (unconfirmed, but highly welcomed). What does it take to get it through FOX's executives to put this series back on the air?

Needless to say, I think I found a reason to get a PS3 for Christmas. :-) What's not to love? Spaceships, cowboys, companions, and stick'n it to da man underdogs.

Oh, for those interested, Amazon has it up for pre-order for $62.95. It's due out on November 11. More info here.

812 degrees is "Normal"!?!?

Apparently, land can spontaneously combust underground. A 2-acre area in Los Padres National Forest in California is smokin'-hot!!! Literally.

Geologists theorize that this may be caused by oxygen seeping into the ground to party with hydrocarbons trying to escape from underground pockets of oil, gas, and tar... Must be one helluva shindig.

Firefighters said there's no fire present and that the area doesn't pose a threat to others, but don't most things start igniting below 500 degrees Celcius?