It Happened HERE

Det hände här is a documentary series that I severely recommend to everybody. It is in Swedish, but in the 21st Century, surely there is a way to work around that little foible?

Before you start complaining, I shall explain its greatness.

The concept: Three historians travel to small places to find big history. Every place, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, will have, at some point, witnessed dramatic fates and life-changing events.

The premise: Three historians, and a television presenter, travel to small, lesser known settlements/towns/villages around Sweden in search of local history. The historians are pitted against each other, and have three days to do research, at the end of which the local population vote for which of the newly unearthed histories they like the best.

The (hypothetical – as everybody responds differently) result: Short term, the winning piece of history will have the honour of giving its name to a local landmark; in this first series there is a roundabout, a bridge, a promenade path and a water tower in the pot. In the long term, the programme wishes to show audiences that there are interesting and dramatic histories everywhere, provided one is willing to search for them.

Personally, I think this is a great idea (apologies for being idiosyncratic). It could be treated as a geography-based version of Who Do You Think You Are? with the benefit of being in the public interest, and engage more people in history. Failing that, perhaps it could at the very least prevent the following map, or at least manage to attribute more meaningful tags to the conurbations of our fair isles.

From Buzzfeed.

In the news and on the web/Communicating sensitive things to sensitive souls

A long time ago I did an “in the news” post, and while there are many interesting things in the news all the time, I have been intrigued by the articles (and amused by the comments) on the con that is shower gels, in both the Times and the Mail (yes, I read that one as well, and about 10 more – it is a sign of stereotypical ageing, no?) From what I gather, gels have the same chemical function as soap (sticks to water and grease), but with added substances to make it feel and smell better, accord with the body’s pH, lather more easily, and so on. The crux is that the average bottle of shower gel costs more than average bar of soap, and very few are advertised to make you clean. (As opposed to make you smell like Japanese trees and whatnot.) (No offence to Japanese trees, I am certain they smell beguiling.)

In the end, I thought, like many others I’m sure, why not skip all additives? Some of the greener blogs I follow (they are in Swedish, let me know if you would like a link) are fans of the No ‘Poo philosophy. The gist is that you make all of your toiletries at home, which sounds rather nice.

From a science point of view, I would hope the reason that mass-manufactured toiletries are allowed for retail is that they have been proven safe for consumption. While the DIY method (and I love DIY things) sounds great, I think I will carry on shampooing until further notice. (Yes, because you wanted to know that.)

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On a communication note, I am afraid that I have not been able to steer clear of Swedish material – purely because I think they do things so well – and would like to share the “15: It is My Life” project on SVT. These are eight short films about being 15, covering drinking, domestic/social/sexual violence, sexual health, bullying and friendship… basically all kinds of subjects that matter to mid-teenagers. The films are well made, and the audience is encouraged to comment anonymously and be a part of the discussion. There are also links to relevant organisations for people offering/seeking help or advice. I thought it was worth a mention.

Science in the Alternative Media

Would it be possible to teach children science and engineering, and the joys of it all, by letting them watch television? In fact, I am willing to put a wager on the fact that a good number of pupils would rather listen to a stereotypically attired professor on the screen, showing them exactly the same equations and going through the same nomenclature as their teacher, than be an audience for the real thing. Most of the time, at least.

Having stepped into the shoes of a science teacher, I now have even more respect for them than I did as a gawky student; and I realise why teachers are vital – a real person can answer back, stimulate conversation and actually be spontaneous. However, television does bring great opportunities to sneak more science into the “background” of life, and in creative ways. Naturally, such a television viewing experience caused this post. I watched “James May’s Toy Stories” when it first came out, greatly enjoyed it, and was delighted to find a special episode featuring a retrial of the one mission that had failed. (I should explain for the uninitiated amongst you that in each episode, a classic toy (think Lego) was revived, and used on a very large scale (think building a real house).)

On the surface, there are model railway enthusiasts, Brits, Germans, engineering on a 1:87 scale, whisky, beer, healthy competition and ice cream. What more could you want? Though if you think about it, a whole host of scientific or engineering topics had been explored. From the engineering point of view, the viewer was treated to explanations of steam trains and the workings of “coal power”; electric trains and why you should be cautious of how many volts you feed into the vehicle (to not burn the engine out); and the the newly invented contraption – the “track-o-matic”, where we were shown a nearly Goldbergian (cause and effect) process of how the model rail-tracks were laid at the same speed as the machine was pulled forwards. From a scientific point of view, each team were to create a brand new way, with yet another backup, to propel a model train along the railway. Things explained were: hydrogen cells and their storing abilities; alkaline cells and why they are better than regular batteries; how to distil fuel from sauerkraut, etc….

I may still be a gawky student inside who enjoys these things, but surely this could be used as a format in which to being more science to the public?