In Which My Daughter Explores the Fuzzy Logic of Cat Math

Oh the things parents will do to keep their kids entertained on road trips…

“Can I catch some hail?”

The evening in early June that my daughter and I spent huddled in our basement waiting for the tornado warning to expire is definitely in the running to be one of the formative experiences of my daughter’s childhood. Over a month later, she’s still busily processing it. Today she asked, “Can I catch some hail, Mommyo?”

You are breaking off my heart

Preschooler after being denied extra playtime before bed: “You are breaking off my heart.” (Image Credit: Nevit Dilman)

Science News Roundup: Stuff that caught my eye this week

The final space shuttle launch, a neuroscientist takes on the criminal justice system, and other new of the week.

“Why do tornadoes turn the sky green?”

Growing up in Texas, I was always told that tornadoes turn the sky green. Turns out it’s actually the water particles in the air turning the sky green, not the tornado.

“Why don’t fleas fly?”

This afternoon, after we had exhausted the topic of heartworm treatment in dogs (don’t ask), my daughter asked me about fleas.
Specifically, “Why don’t fleas fly?”

“Why did they draw that dinosaur underwater?”

For one reason or another, we have a lot of old children’s books lying around our house. I was in the middle of reading one of these to my daughter over the weekend when she stopped me.

“Mommyo, why did they draw that dinosaur underwater?”

“If we eat healthy food, does that mean we’ll never die?”

Preschooler: “Mommyo, if we eat healthy food, does that mean we’ll never die?” Mother, suppressing a sigh and taking a determined chomp of her now slightly…