Mr. O! A Video Blog from the Children's Museum of Houston » Q&A

Such a Leech

Mr.O — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:46:39 +0000

GROSS OUT WARNING – this O Wow Moment episode from the Children’s Museum of Houston contains actual footage of a leech feeding off of its favorite food – blood!

Meet Edward Cullen Leech, or Eddie the Leech for short (that’s right, I went there!). Eddie is one of the stars of our new exhibit ATTACK OF THE BLOODSUCKERS showing now through January 22nd, 2012. In this episode, we discuss the importance of leeches in surgery, how leeches feed (and what that feels like – mostly itchy), what to do if a leech does attach to you, what NOT to do if a leech attaches to you, and how to treat a leech wound.

And yes, that really is my arm and yes that is a real leech.

Now, we don’t feed all our leeches this way. In fact, Eddie won’t dine like this again. If you are interested, you can see our Wowie about Feeding Our Leeches.

Special thanks to our friends at Region’s Bank for making our O Wow Moments possible!

Feeding Our Leeches

Mr.O — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:45:04 +0000

GROSS OUT WARNING – this Wowie from the Children’s Museum of Houston contains actual footage of leeches feeding off of their favorite food – blood!

In a recent O Wow Moment episode “Such a Leech” you may have seen me let a leech feed off of my blood. Well, that isn’t how we typically feed them (or will Eddie the Leech be getting any follow-up meals that way). In this Wowie, we show you how we actually go about feeding our leeches.

Get Your Motor Running

Mr.O — Tue, 31 May 2011 15:39:05 +0000

Have you ever wondered how an electric motor works? I mean, with all the spinning going on, how come the inside doesn’t get all tangled up?

The answer is pretty simple – electromagnetism! Electromagnetism is the force that governs the forces created by electricity and magnetism. Simply put, both electricity and magnetism are related. So, whenever electricity flows through a wire, it generates a magnetic field. You can see this by making a coil of wire and running a electricity through it, then hold up a compass. The compass needle will deflect indicating the magnetic field.

You can use the same principle to create a simple model of the motor using paper clips, a coil of wire, a battery, and some alligator clips. It does take some work to get the model working right, so don’t give up too quickly – it will work.

But do the size of the coils affect the motor? Or the type of magnet? Or the number of coils? Or what about the type of battery - will that affect it? Well, it sounds like you may have some experimenting to do. Have fun!

Pi Day Pie Fight

Mr.O — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:24:02 +0000

We’ve just finished a fantastic Spring Break at the Children’s Museum of Houston! On the first Sunday (March 14th), we celebrated Pi Day (3.14 = 3/14 = March 14th). And what better way than with the First Annual Children’s Museum of Houston Pi Day Pie Fight! We had 46 volunteers willing to throw pies and be pied from all walks of life – doctors, scientists, engineers, college students, and teachers all joined in the chaos!

What is Pi Day? Well, it is a day when we celebrate all things Pi. Pi is the ratio between the radius of the circle and its circumference. In other words, if you measure from the center of the circle to the outside (aka the radius), then compare it to the distance around the circle (aka the circumference), you’d find the circumference is a little more than 3 times the length of the radius. ALWAYS. No matter how large or small the circle, it remains constant. It also is irrational which, in mathematical terms, means it goes on FOREVER. 3.14159 is only the beginning – it keeps going with no discernable pattern.

So why is Pi important? Well, it is essential when dealing with anything involving circles, including anything spherical or cylindrical (ex. balls, pipes, wheels, gears, pulleys, cams, axles, etc.). Pi also routinely appears in mathematical equations describing the fundamental principles of the universe (ex. Coulomb’s Law for Elastic Force, Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, Einstein’s Field Equation for General Relativity) and in probability and statistics.

Q: How do I prevent a Christmas Tree fire?

Mr.O — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:00:44 +0000

This time of year is always lovely to have nicely decorated trees inside the house. But, if you aren’t careful, they will dry out and, with all the electric lights on it, one short can create a VERY serious fire hazard, as the video here clearly demonstrates. So how to keep your tree moist? Here’s a simple recipe:

Mix together:

1 gallon warm water
2 cups clear Karo syrup
1/2 cup of chlorine bleach
1/2 teaspoon 20 Mule Team borax
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 Wollite

Cut 1/2 inch off the bottom of the tree and place tree in solution for 12 to 24 hours. Make sure to keep the solution filled – it will get absorbed fairly quickly (relatively speaking, of course). Rinse off the trunk and place in water in a tree stand. This should be done outside to avoid dripping solution on carpets.

This ingredients in this solution cause the tree to take up far more water than normal, supersaturating it and helping to prevent it from drying out. However, the tree will continue to absorb at a fairly good pace, so make sure you keep the reservoir topped off.

Happy Holidays!

Q – Does eating turkey make you sleepy?

Mr.O — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:00:26 +0000

A common question posed each Thanksgiving is whether or not eating all that turkey is the cause of famous post-meal nap. Well, yes and no. Turkey contains an amino acid called tryptophan (also found in pork and chicken). Now, if we ingest tryptophan, it gets metabolized and turned into seratonin – a neurotransmitter that has a calming effect on the brain and plays a role in falling asleep. The problem is that there isn’t enough tryptophan being ingested fast enough through turkey meat to have such an extreme effect.

So why do we get our naps on? It has more to do with the meal as a whole. On top of the turkey, we have all sorts of other goodies – mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, rolls, corn-on-the-cob, and, of course, pie…mmmmm, pie. All of this is full of carbohydrates and fats. A LOT of carbs on fats. It is estimated that the average big-old plate of yumminess at Thanksgiving has about 3,000 calories and 200g of fats. Yeah, wow. Anywho, it takes a whole lot of energy for your body to digest fats as well as huge amounts of food. So, you body routes a majority of energy and bloodflow to your digestive system to break down all that food, enough to make most anyone more than a smidge sleepy.

Have a Happy Turkey Day!

Q – Can you eat too many vegetables?

Mr.O — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:00:58 +0000

Thanksgiving is almost here and it is time to address this age-old question posed by many a child as they sit in front of a plate with the lovely green (and many other-colored) delights! It actually depends on the vegetable. You could probably eat a leafy green vegetable like lettuce all day long and that would be perfectly healthy. But some vegetables, while still healthy, should only be eaten in moderation. Avocados are a great example – they contain nearly 20 vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, but they are also very high in fat and so you shouldn’t go overboard with them. The same can be said for corn or peas. Both vegetables have a lot of sugar and starch in them and should be eaten in moderation as compared to spinach or broccoli, etc.

By the way – Avocados, like tomatoes, are technically a fruit, but we aren’t going to split hairs.

Q – Shouldn’t the weight of the strings be considered?

Mr.O — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:00:23 +0000

This question, more or less, came up on a different site where we also posted the Up, Up, and Away video. What the poster wanted to know was why we didn’t also weight all the strings in addition to the paper clips. If we were trying to find the true buoyant force of helium gas and how much the gas could lift, then, yes, we would need to consider the weight of the strings plus the weight of the balloons. But, our question wasn’t so much about how much helium but rather how many helium balloons it would take to lift a pound. As such, we considered the helium, the balloon, and the string to all be part of the lifting system. Admittedly, it isn’t the most accurate method, but it is what we could afford . Thanks for the great questions!

Q – Where does helium come from?

Mr.O — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:53:10 +0000

This is a great question. As we mentioned in our Up, Up, and Away video, the helium we have today comes from natural gas deposits, some of the largest of which are in the U.S. But how did the helium get there? Well, mostly from radioactivity. As certain radioactive elements, like uranium, decay, they release a type of radiation called Alpha Particles. Alpha particles are basically helium atoms only without electrons. When this decay happens deep in the Earth, the alpha particles pick up electrons and become helium. Then, the helium gas is captured under impermeable rock layers, like those that hold natural gas.