Random Educational Rant

[Fazor]

My G/F, being the light eater that she is, got a kids meal from a local fast food chain for lunch today. It came with a educational toy from the "magic school bus" series, and had some "true/false" questions about light.

I, being extreemly interested in the study of photons and light, was glad that she had gotten this particular one. But then i read the first question. "True or False, light can go around objects".

Well this is true of course! I couldn't wait to use my 10th grade understanding of physics to show my g/f how smart i was. Specially since just last week i was reading about the gravitation of the sun bending light around it (one of Einsteins theories), proven during a solar eclipse.

But nope, the answer according to the toy was that this is false. Light cannot go around objects. BAH! Bested by a toy designed for ages 3-and-up!

Okay i understand that advanced physics theories are too much to teach a 4 year old. But i also hate teaching them wrong answers. Just leave the page blank till it's ready to be filled in! Heh.

[tofu]

Not only that, but if you eat at McDonalds enough times, then you too can bend light!

[Fazor]

Lol, it was actually Rally's (also called Checker's in some places) but yes, I'm well on my way to developing my own gravitational well. :-D

[lti]

it isnt just gravity that bends light. due to the wave nature of light it can be diffracted around objects. its just the wavelength of visible light is so small that we dont see this effect with everyday objects.

[sarongsong]

Not only that, but if you eat at McDonalds enough times, then you too can bend light!

...and more!

1971
...McDonald's Japanese President, Den Fujita, stated "the reason Japanese people are so short and have yellow skins is because they have eaten nothing but fish and rice for two thousand years; if we eat McDonald's hamburgers and potatoes for a thousand years we will become taller, our skin become white and our hair blonde"... McSpotlight

[darkhunter]

But like does always go in a straight line...its just that space is curved near heavy objects...

[paulie jay]

1971
...McDonald's Japanese President, Den Fujita, stated "the reason Japanese people are so short and have yellow skins is because they have eaten nothing but fish and rice for two thousand years; if we eat McDonald's hamburgers and potatoes for a thousand years we will become taller, our skin become white and our hair blonde"...

A thousand years? We've only been eating McDonald's in Australia since 1971 - that's just a mere 35 years. Talk about super-evolution!

Or is that McEvolution?