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On this day December 14th 1962, a US made spacecraft called the Mariner 2 had finally arrived at it's long awaited destination Venus.  The Mariner 2 had launched on August 27th 1962, so it took just a little over 3 months to arrive. Before the Mariner 2 was successful, the Mariner 1 had to be self detonated only 5 mins after takeoff (July 22, 1962) due to it veering off course from a SW glitch.  They were able to correct that issue in the code and use other learnings to make Mariner 2 a success.  Although there were a few hiccups and course corrections through it's flight to Venus, it was able to recover from all of them and hit its mark. The Mariner 2 arrived at Venus on December 14th 1962 and began capturing data with its on-board instruments.  Weighing 40 lbs, here are the instruments it was equipped with: Microwave radiometer Infrared radiometer Three axis fluxgate magnetometer Cosmic ray detector Cosmic dust detector Solar plasma spectrometer Particle detect

It happens to all of us, young and old, short and tall. When that late afternoon hits and then the yawning frenzy begins. Sometimes or should I say many times we yawn when we feel tired.  But why is it the body has the need to do this?  Why do we yawn?! There are many theories as to why we yawn. Like many things about the human body, science can't quite explain it or just have theories and no real answers.  So here are some of the theories: We yawn because our brain needs oxygen This has been a theory for some time, but there is no real evidence this is the case We yawn to cool the brain Some theories are this is the way the brain regulates temperature.  When we yawn we draw in are to cool the bottom of the brain stem and cool our head down. We yawn to wake ourselves up Theory is that yawning is the bodies counter measure to wake itself up when too tired.  By the body doing this, it causes muscles to contract and blood to flow waking you up. We yawn when bored

Almost 80 year ago today an event occurred that changed the tides of WWII.  The war had been raging in Europe, but he US had mostly stayed out of it.  That is until the Japanese decided to attack and bomb Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.  This attacked killed 2,335 Americans and was the reason the US finally put both feet into the fire to enter the WWII stage. Source: Wikipedia On December 7th at 7:48 am Hawaii time, the base was attacked.  353 Japanese aircraft were launched from nearby aircraft carriers and started attacking.  Many of them after running out of bombs and ammo would nose dive into ships trying to sink them.  All eight battle ships in the harbor were damaged and 4 were sunk.  All but the USS Arizona were raised and repaired and 6 returned to service.  The USS Arizona remains there today along with the crew forever entombed as a reminder of that fateful day. I recently had the opportunity to visit Pearl Harbor and see some of the aftermath from that attack.  It i

You may have not thought about this much, but why does ice float in water? It is water itself right?  Did you know water is the only liquid this will happen to? (At standard temperatures that is)  If you froze some alcohol and put it in its liquid self, it would sink... So why is water so unique? The simple answer?  Water expands when freezing making it less dense when in its frozen state.  So if an object is less dense than the liquid you are putting it into, it will float! Why does water become less dense when frozen?  Well, water is a polar molecule which means it has a positive and a negative side.  This is because it's a bit off balance having 2 hydrogen atoms and only 1 oxygen atom. This causes water molecules to be attracted to each other almost like little magnets. As water cools below 4 C, the hydrogen bonds adjust to hold the negatively charged oxygen atoms apart. This produces a crystal lattice, which is commonly known as 'ice'.  This also causes the froze

Over 230 years ago the revolutionary war was finally winding down towards its end.  On this day November 30, 1782 the British signed an agreement to recognize US independence. This also included the definition of the boundaries of the United States of America along with the British agreeing to withdraw troops from the US. However it wasn't until April 11, 1783 when Congress officially declared the end to the Revolutionary War. Here are some facts about the Revolutionary War: Involved 217,000-231,000 Colonial Troops although only about 48,000 active at any given time. At any given time Britain had about 22,000 Troops along with ~25,000 Loyalists (colonist still loyal to Britain), and about 30,000 German Troops at it's disposal The British hired professional German troops called Hessians About 6,800 US troops died in battle, however 25,000 US troops died during the war mostly due to disease. Total British casualties was about 24,000, but it is unclear how many are f

Have you ever seen a fly land in front of you and start rubbing their hands and feet together?  Either  they are getting ready for a tasty meal or planning something devious or both...?  So why do they do this?  Well the answer is simple, they are cleaning themselves. Flies are actually quite complex and they have many sensory capabilities.  They have very compound eyes that include thousands of individual visual receptors that all act as individual eyes.  Their antenna detect smells and the hairs on the ends of their legs act as taste buds. It's complicated business to keep all these sensors working properly.  So when they land they clean these all off.  You will see them rubbing their front and hind limbs together and rubbing their eyes and antenna.  They have to keep them all clean so they avoid predators, find food and find locations to lay their eggs. One good thing about this need for them to clean themselves is it creates the perfect opportunity to swat them with a

Here are some fun riddle to solve... Happy Monday!  (Hint: Answers are at the bottom) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.  9. 10. Answers: Your Left Hand Lunch and Dinner A Towel Fire A Shadow An Egg Incorrectly Silence A Stamp Your Age

E.T. phone home... brings on a new meaning when we are trying to phone E.T.  Well on Nov. 16, 1974, it was the very first time humans had sent an intentional message to outer space with the intention of it reaching alien life forms.  They pointed it towards a cluster called M13.  This star cluster is roughly 21,000 light years away from us. That means it will take 21,000 years to get there...! So don't expect it to ever reach there in our lifetime.  Source:  Wikipedia So what exactly did they send?  It was a simple image of about 1,679 bits or about 210 Bytes.  To put that into perspective, a standard picture from a smart phone is 3-5 million Bytes.  So this is a very small picture.  It was transmitted at 10 bits per second. It took almost 3 mins to send.  Now days most cell phones can transmit even up to 30 million bits per second or more. I think now we can send a 3MB picture in less than 3 sec.  We've come a long way with technology! The picture they sent consi

Every single human being on this planet has the need to lay down at night and sleep.  Young, old or in between we all love to catch some zzzz's at the end of a long day.  If you think about it, it is pretty strange.  We get undressed and put on some jammies (some prefer to go commando) and then we get onto a big soft pad wrapped up like a burrito.  Then we just lay there for 8 hours or more while our heads play movies for us (dreams...).  We do this every single day!  Or hopefully anyway... So why do we even need to sleep in the first place?  To start off, if we don't sleep, we will literally go crazy.  It will induce psychosis and in fact will eventually kill you.  So yes, you have to sleep or you will die...  However, no one really knows exactly why we need sleep.  There are many theories, but this is still a widely studied topic in the science community. Some theories of why we need sleep: Sleep allows the brain organize itself Allows the brain to sort memories a

This is one of the most beautiful things on earth!  When I was going to college there was a canyon called Sardine Canyon near by that had all kinds of colors.  It was one of the most most beautiful things to see. So why do these leaves change from green to all these amazing colors?  Well to answer that, lets first discuss why leaves are green.  The purpose of tree leaves are to gather nutrients for the tree.  They do this by absorbing CO2 from the air and gathering sunlight to change that CO2 and water into carbohydrates to feed the tree. The thing that makes this possible is called chlorophyll, a green pigment that does the magic of absorbing sunlight and gathering all that energy.  But along with this pigment, the leaves also have other pigments that range in colors from orange, yellow purple, red etc... These are masked in the spring and summer by the green chlorophyll.  When the days get shorter and colder, the green stuff dies off and the others start showing through until

Here are some funny stories I found to start your week off with a laugh.  Enjoy! #RookieGuru #GiveMeMore

It is pretty interesting to think that the country had been founded for over 130 years before a sitting president traveled to another country on official business.  So why did he leave the country?  Well, he was heading on a 17 day trip to Panama and Puerto Rico to check on the progress for the Panama Canal. Why did no other presidents before him travel internationally on official business? Because up until this point, it was considered socially taboo for a president to go on any international travels and exchange bows or mingle with other "Royals."  Can't say I blame this mentality, since they had not too long before won independence from such a royal overbearing government. Although I must disagree with many of Roosevelt's political views, this trip opened the door to a whole new era. Roosevelt had spent time in central america before he had become president while he served as Secretary of the US Navy.  It was his wish to make Puerto Rico an autonomous cou

When we get sad, hurt, or when we laugh too hard, for some reason our eyes start leaking water (or saline)...  That is pretty freaking weird if you really think about it!  Why does the body have a need to cry for feeling sad or hurt? Women cry an average of 50 times a year and men cry and average of 10 times a year. The body actually has 3 kinds of tears: basal, reflex and psychic. Basal Tears:  Keep your cornea (the transparent front of your eye) nourished and lubricated so your eyes don’t dry out. Reflex Tears:  Help you to wash out any irritations to your eyes from foreign particles or vapors Psychic Tears: Tears produced in response to that strong emotion you may have from stress, pleasure, anger, sadness, laughing, and physical pain All these different types of tears even look different under a microscope!  They are made up of different kinds of molecules.  I can understand the tears to keep eyes moist or to flush out a foreign object, but what makes me wonder and cont

Have you ever wondered why some men's button up shirts have that little loop on the back?  Well today you will have the answer.  Short answer is it is used to hang it on a hook to prevent wrinkles.  But when did that start? Well many say it all started with sailors.   When you are crammed on a small ship, they don't exactly give you a walk in closet or even a closet for that matter.  You may be lucky to have a little locker.  So they improvised and put these hooks on the back of their shirts so they didn't need hangers.  They could simply hang the shirt in their locker. This trend later became mainstream in the 1960's when many companies started putting them on their shirts.  They called them locker loops.  Businessmen and the elite could go work out and hang their shirts in the locker to keep them nice an wrinkle free. Later on these loops even evolved into a dating symbol.  A guy would cut them off to show he was going steady with someone.  It even got so cra

This one holds a special place in my heart since I have walked through the Spruce Goose in the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.  It was an amazing experience and fun to see. Spruce Goose Nov.2 1947 Flight Howard Hughes Howard Hughes was quite the character, but it was that character that led him to try something pretty nuts and very fascinating!  The Spruce Goose is the largest aircraft ever built.  It's wingspan is longer than a football field (320 ft)!  So what is so crazy about this plane?  Well it was made out of wood, Laminated Birch and Spruce to be precise.  Even more it was a plane that could take off and land on water, hence the name the "Spruce Goose". So why make this thing out of wood?  Well during wartime steel was all but available since it was used to produce weapons and machines for war.  So Hughes decided to try to make it out of wood.  So he framed it out of wood and laminated it with plastic and fabric.  It was designed

There are many things in life that if you really think about it are pretty weird and strange...  Take for example clapping hands to show approval.  Where did this social norm even come from?  Someone does something we like and we slap our hands together like goofy seals. Pretty freaking strange! So where/when did this behavior start?  Well, no one really knows.  It goes far back to the Romans who would snap fingers, stomp feet and clap hands.  Other cultures and old Christian churches waived linens to show applause.  So where the heck did clapping come from and why do so many cultures around the world do it? One interesting thing is that babies start at a young age to do this to show excitement.  Did they learn it from the parents or is it just inherent?  Many animals clap when excited.  Some theories suggest it stems from early humanity when they would sit around a fire and clap rhythms.  Perhaps it started there.  However, the farthest back documented clapping is the

If you are ever getting something off the clearance rack, chances are you may have accidentally bought a button up shirt from the opposite gender.  You can tell pretty quick because the buttons are on opposite sides for men and women.  Women's buttons are on the left side of a shirt while Men's are on the right.  So why is this the case?  Are all men right handed and all women left handed?  Absolutely not... But there is a reason or theory at least. So there isn't really proven fact as to why but the most accepted theory is that it is based on historical ways that women dressed. Buttons were invented around the 13th century and like any new technology were expensive.  Only the wealthy could afford clothing with these buttons.  On top of that, the wealthy women did not dress themselves. As said before not all women are lefties, nor men righties, but in general more people are right handed than left.  So for that reason these rich aristocrat ladies with their mai

So this white chili is super easy to make and delicious!  It has just a few ingredients and is very little effort to make.  Basically you cook some chicken and mix some beans and seasoning in with it.  It is always a hit with my family! Ingredients: 3 Chicken breasts 2 qt chicken broth 2 cans garbanzo beans 2 cans kidney beans 2 cans pinto beans 1 cans black beans 1 cans red beans 1 medium onion (chopped) 3 garlic cloves (minced) 1/2 tbsp salt 1 tbsp Mrs Dash 2 rosemary stems Pepper to taste You will need at least a 6 qt crock-pot for this recipe.  Step 1 Cook The Chicken So first of you need to just cook the chicken in a crock-pot.  I like to just use some frozen chicken breast because its really easy to shred later.  With bone in chicken you will get more flavor but is a lot more work to pull the meat off.  So just put the chicken breasts in a crock-pot along with the chicken broth, onion, garlic and rosemary. Cook on medium for 3-4 hours or until it fal

I love the movie Tombstone that is based on this historical event.  Basically this was a 30 second gunfight that has gone down in history as one of the most famous of all time.  So what led up to this gunfight and why is it so famous? Tombstone the Movie 1993 Basically it all came down to a long standing feud between the outlaw group the Cowboys and the Earp brothers.  The Cowboys were stealing cattle and horses among other crimes and continually put death threats against the Earps for trying to interfere with their operations.  This continued to brew until the day of the infamous gun fight. Tombstone AZ Around 1881 At around 3:00 pm on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Arizona Territory the infamous outlaws called the cowboys faced off with the lawmen of Tombstone.  In the 30 second battle none of the lawmen were killed only wounded and 3 of the outlaws were killed (Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton). The Cowboys (outlaws) Billy Claiborne Ike Clan

Now I know this seems like a simple lame thing to be thankful for, but could you imagine for a moment what the world would be like with no fruit?  There are so many kinds and flavors.  Some are simply amazing and others not so much. Fruit adds so much beauty and joy to life.  I really could not imagine never eating a piece of fruit again... So to show how thankful I am, here are some of my favorite fruits! Berries I love almost any kind of berry!  Raspberries for sure are my favorite though.  You can just eat them fresh or make some delicious pies or put them in ice-cream.  They are just delicious! Melon (Cantaloupe/Watermelon) I love me all the melons too!  Nothing can be more refreshing that some crispy, juicy, cold and sweet watermelon.  Or soft sweet cantaloupe with some salt (some may hate it, but I love it on melon!). Grapes Whether you are a green grape person or a red grape person, one thing is certain.  They are so tasty.  I like both, but prefer red gra