Robert Krulwich

The Boomerang Rocket Ship: Shoot It Up, Back It Comes

Robert Krulwich — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:45:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoxiK7K28PU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orUjSkc2pG0

A 'Who Do You Hang With?' Map of America

Robert Krulwich — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:55:00 +0000

Look at the center of this map, at the little red dot that marks Kansas City. Technically, Kansas City is at the edge of Missouri, but here on this map it's in the upper middle section of a bigger space with strong blue borders. We don't have a name for this bigger space yet, but soon we will.

I would call it, for the moment, "The Part Of America Kansas City Hangs With" because that's what this map is saying. It's a new, intriguing way to see our country. This one was built by tracking dollar bill circulation. There've been similar maps built from phone call data.

The Big Squeeze: Can Cities Save The Earth?

Robert Krulwich — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:18:00 +0000

Let's get dense. If we take all the atoms inside you, all roughly 70,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 of them, and squeeze away all the space inside, then, says physicist Brian Greene:

That's a very tight fit. So tight that in real life, it couldn't happen. It's not physically possible. Atoms won't crunch that close. But people, it seems, are willing to try.

What Happened When Humans Met An Alien Intelligence? Sex Happened

Robert Krulwich — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:16:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i_oJn-9d_0

Falling Off The Moon

Robert Krulwich — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 18:02:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o3Oi9JWsyM

Phooey On Flu

Robert Krulwich — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 12:33:00 +0000

A lot of you have had it by now, or are having it or are about to be exposed. This year's flu is called "H3N2" and this week it's doing big business in about 47 states, Chicago and New York. If you've had a flu shot and if you wash your hands several times a day for 20 seconds, (which is the time it takes to hum "Happy Birthday to You" two times through) you might reduce your odds of getting sick.

But your biggest ally is your immune system. It's hard, during flu season, to avoid inhaling a virus or two (or three, or 10,000), but that doesn't mean they're going to take you over.

A Very, Very, Very Delicate Balance

Robert Krulwich — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 11:06:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JykJrVbCMuM

Grrr, Said The Grylloblattid. I'm Not Leaving. Not Yet.

Robert Krulwich — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:38:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbR-dT83zKM

Another Year And I'm Still Here: A New Year's Meditation

Robert Krulwich — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 17:26:00 +0000

Updated Jan. 1, 2013: I've added a postscript to this post. You can find it at the bottom of this page.

Look at yourself. Right now.

You are muscle,skin, bone, brain, blood, warmed by energy, and all of you, every cell, even the subsets of those cells, all trillions and trillions of them, are going to tire, waste and depart. In 10 years almost every bit of you will have been replaced by new bits.

And yet, you will still be you.

New Superhero, 3,200 Years Old, Turns Air Into Wood Superfast

Robert Krulwich — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 17:34:17 +0000

This is for you, Martina Navratilova, for you, Nolan Ryan, for you, Methuselah, for you, Jimmy Carter, and for all of you reading this if you're on the "wrong" side of 50 but still pumping. This week, we've got ourselves a role model, a poster boy for robust old age.

Actually, it's a poster tree: Sequoiadendron giganteum, the giant sequoia. And thanks to Professor Steve Sillett and his team at Humboldt State University, here's what we now know: these trees do more growing when they're older than when they're younger.