Episode 128 • Chemistry & Science
Goggles
It's not rocket science
Concoction
Blow up
Scale
Story
Prof. Murry: Good morning, everybody. Please, take a seat. Today we are going to do a little experiment based on what we studied in our previous lesson. Everybody ready? Okay, good. Then grab your goggles and open your books at page 20. All the ingredients are right in front of you, simply follow the instructions you see. Very good, Miss Colby. Good work, Mr. Silverman. Mr. Delaney, why are you not carrying on? It’s not rocket science! You just need to follow the instructions you have right in front of you!
Student: Uhm, it’s just. I read the whole thing and I think there may be a mistake…
Prof. Murry: A- A mistake? Don’t be ridiculous, Mr. Delaney.
Student: No, but, you see, this concoction is mostly water, I’m afraid if we add sodium to that the whole thing is going to blow up.
Prof. Murry: Blo- [laughs]. Please. Here. I’ll show you. Did you weigh this using the scale?
Student: Yes, sir but-
Prof. Murry: Okay, great, then look, all you need to to is add this and wait for it to- [explosion]
Student: Professor Murry. Are you okay?
Prof. Murry: I’m good, yeah. I think you’re right. There’s a mistake in these instructions.
Questions
Goggles
'Everybody ready? Okay, good. Then grab your goggles'
• Are goggles used to protect your hands or your eyes?
Goggles are used to protect your eyes. They look like glasses but they're specifically meant to protect your eyes.
• Who uses goggles?
I think anybody that does a job or that's doing something that could cause harm to their eyes would have to use goggles. I'm thinking obviously, scientists, chemists, anyone that's working with harmful or potentially dangerous substances. You can also wear goggles if you go snorkeling to protect your eyes, to see better. It's just these little, I want to say glasses but again, they're not glasses, that are used to protect your eyes.
• Have you ever worn a pair of goggles?
I have in the past. I don't think it was really necessary. It was back when I was in the States. I was, I think at the time, was 18 years old and I was in chemistry class. We were told every time that we had to do literally anything, basically in that class, we had to wear goggles and it's not, again, like we really needed to wear goggles. I think the most dangerous thing we did was to put a bunch of Mentos, the candy, in a bottle of Coke. It's not like you're going to go blind, I guess. I don't know, maybe you will. The point is I did wear goggles, but I think that was the last time that I did.
It’s not rocket science
'It’s not rocket science! You just need to follow the instructions you have right in front of you!'
• When would you tell someone “It’s not rocket science!”? When they’re making something look harder than it is or easier than it is?
You would tell someone, "Hey, come on, it's not rocket science," when they're making something look harder than it is. They're trying to do something that according to you, is simple and they're making it look really hard or they can't do it. You would tell them, "Hey, it's not rocket science," meaning it's not that difficult thing for which you would need a degree and lots of experience. It's easy. At least, I think it is.
• What’s something that you think is not rocket science?
I think that learning how to type is not rocket science. I feel like, I don't know, at least when I was younger, I always looked at people that could type well. I'm talking about typing fast and with the right fingers on the right keys and all of that. I remember thinking, "Wow. I wish I could do that. It looks so hard. I'm sure it's super difficult to learn." I remember when again, it was around that time I was in the States for the first time. I was 18. I was just like, "I want to learn, I want to do it." I found a website and I literally learned how to type properly in a week, maybe even less than a week. Yes, if you want to learn how to type, just know that it only takes a few days. It's not rocket science. It's super easy.
Concoction
'No, but, you see, this concoction is mostly water...'
• Is a concoction made up of one ingredient or more ingredients?
A concoction is made up of more ingredients. It's a mix of multiple ingredients.It's just a nice little phrase that-- I'm not saying it's nice because it's not nice to tell someone it's my way or the highway, but it's often used by parents or people in authority, in general.
• Is a concoction usually a mixture of things that are usually combined together or not?
No. The thing about a concoction is the fact that it's a mixture of things that usually you wouldn't see together, that are usually not combined together.
• Have you ever created a concoction?
I think maybe just this one time. Especially, I'm talking about in the kitchen. I usually don't experiment a lot. First of all, I'm a terrible cook. I suck at cooking. I never experiment. I'm either doing what I know how to do, which is pretty much boil an egg and cook pasta or what I do is I follow a recipe. Even then, I struggle. I remember this one time, I don't know, I guess I was feeling creative or something and I was in the kitchen and I was making lunch and I wanted to try a different sauce for the pasta. I grabbed a bunch of things. Let's see if I remember what it was, I think it was some cheese, then it was some hard cheese then some soft cheese, then it was some nuts and maybe some, oh, I don't even remember, maybe some olive oil and I forget if I put lemon juice. I don't know. I felt very inspired and I was grabbing everything I could find in the cabinets. It was an okay concoction. I don't think my boyfriend was like, "Yes. No, this is good." Then, he also told me, "But maybe let's not do this again." Not sure if that was a success.
Blow up
'I’m afraid if we add sodium to that the whole thing is going to blow up.'
• If something blows up, does that mean it will break or that it will explode?
If something blows up, it means that it will explode.
• If something blows up, what sound will it make?
Okay, ready for my impression? This is the sound that something makes when it blows up. I have no idea how that turned out. Hopefully, it's okay. If not, I'll edit it out of this episode and I'm going to add an actual sound of something blowing up.
• Did you ever make anything blow up?
I've got a great story. It was a few months ago. Was it few? Yes, it was a few months ago. I always brag or I used to brag before this thing happened that I could cook eggs in the microwave. I thought I just discovered this amazing thing. What I would do is I would grab the egg, I would crack it open. I would put it in a little bowl or something. Then, I would put it in the microwave for, I want to say a minute, a minute and a half. Up until that point, I had done it a few times and I was really happy with the way the eggs turned out, so I thought I'd do it again, but I don't know what went wrong that time. I don't know whether it was, I left it in too long or maybe the container that it was in, was not the best choice. I don't know. I really don't know what went wrong. I remember I was just doing something else in the kitchen. I remember hearing this explosion. I immediately realized what happened. I go to open the microwave and words cannot express what I found in front of me. It was just insane. The whole thing had blown up and the whole oven was covered in pieces of eggs. They were in every nook, in every cranny and I had to clean the whole thing and it was torturous. That's when I swore that would be the last time that I would ever cook an egg in the microwave. Okay, but all jokes aside, don't do it. Don't use the microwave to cook eggs. At least, I can't speak for anything else, but eggs, just don't do it. Grab a pan.
Scale
'Did you weigh this using the scale?'
• Is a scale an instrument to measure the length of something or the weight of something?
A scale is an instrument that's used to measure the weight of something, how much something weighs.
• What can you weigh on a scale?
It really depends on the scale. If it's a small kitchen scale, you can weigh food on it. If the scale's really accurate, you might be able to weigh chemicals on it. If it's bigger, you can even weigh yourself on a scale. Some people have it in the bathroom and they just weigh themselves using the scale.
• Do you own a scale?
I don't own a scale. I used to. I want to buy one, but I don't know if it's the best idea for me. I struggle a lot with food and just, I don't have the best body image. There used to be a time when I was really obsessed with the scale and I would weigh myself every day, literally every day, multiple times a day. I realized that was not very healthy, so I got rid of the scale and I decided I didn't want to have one in the house anymore. Now I'm feeling like I want to go back to maybe having it, but I don't know if it's the best decision for me. Right now, I'm traveling anyway so it's not like I can carry a scale with me the whole time. I don't know. We'll see what happens when I go back to Spain.
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