“At first an ordeal and then an accomplishment, the daily run becomes a staple, like bread, or wine, a fine marriage, or air. It is also a free pass to friendship.”
~ Benjamin Cheever, Strides

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

PSA

This is my public service announcement...and perhaps a bit of a nerd rant.


We still haven't taken CSI Miami off of our scheduling recordings on the DVR.  It's often nice because I then have something brainless for background noise.  Monday morning, after Avery's sleepless night, I watched it...and my head exploded.


I'm a science nerd, chemistry to be exact.  
Solutions of iodine in cyclohexane and varying amounts of pyridine from my chemistry days.
I have often overlooked this show's liberties with science....like when they said they put a solid sample into the GCMS.  (GCMS stands for GAS Chromotagraphy Mass Spectrometer).  I even overlooked when they got a totally absurd and impossible chemical product from a particular chemical reaction.  (Although - my husband says complaining to him about it doesn't count as overlooking it).


This past week though, their science mistake could get idiots people hurt.  They violated a major safety rule.  SPOILER ALERT.  The girl spilled acid on her arm.  She went to the sink to flush it with water (or so I thought - because that is the CORRECT method for dealing with an acid spill on your body)...and then asked the guy to pass her the base.  She then dumped the base onto the acid, and performed an acid-base neutralization reaction ON HER FREAKING ARM.  This is ultimately how they figured out how to catch the killer, by the yellow stain it left.  


First, acid base neutralization reactions typically generate HEAT.  In addition, bases are just as corrosive to your skin as an acid is.  So rather than having one hazardous substance on her arm, she added a second one and performed a reaction on her skin that generates heat.  And yet, there was no fire and no screaming.  I feel completely deprived.  At the very least, the yellow mark should have been accompanied by skin burns.


I looked and looked for a proper video of cool acid-base reactions, but alas, you'll have to settle for this awesome video of Avery.  I fully intend to save this for when she is a teenager and thinks she should be dating. 




She was obviously as unimpressed by their lab safety techniques as I was.  Hopefully, the amount of laughing you did at this video made up for having to read my nerd rant.  :)


My husband has now forbidden me from watching shows about "scientists." This is the same reason I'm not allowed to watch lawyer shows. 


Are there any television or movie liberties that make your head explode?

8 comments:

  1. You are hilarious! I laughed just as hard at your rant as I did at Avery. Ha!

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  2. Haha, I want to watch CSI with you now. You should see how bad I get watching news commentaries on the Middle East. :)

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  3. Jeebus, your kid needs some mineral oil or something (do you do that for people? I know we do it for the dog). And we can never watch CSI together. Ever. They'd hear the yelling downtown.

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  4. This post is so nerdy I feel the need to worship at your altar. I hate pseudo-science in TV/movies too. And books....The Da Vinci Code....so.much.crap.

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  5. I hated chromatography ! not to mention all those titration's :P but I did love figuring out all the stockeometric equations!

    Avery is pretty cute :)

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  6. Haha there is so little of this post I understand but I get your basic idea. I get irate watching those "inspirational" teacher movies where a teacher has to overcome teaching poor, troubled children who act out. The teacher does one fun lesson and suddenly all the children are able to read and behave like angels. Case in point - Freedom Writers. My friends cannot even mention that movie around me. Haha now I'm going off on a tangent.

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  7. Wow, I feel stupid. I sucked at science is school. They say those who sucked at science go into sales. Ding ding! I chose the right career. Now I have you & Biv to make me feel dumb! In the best way possible, of course.

    And I love the video of Avery! Hard to believe that sweet little thing I held today made all that ruckus over a turd. Ah-dor-able!

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  8. HA! I love these comments! I should let my nerd out more often!

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