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Re: [WikiEN-l] WikiEN-l Digest,...

David Gerard

21 Dec 2007 21 Dec '07

1:16 a.m.

... being all "we're writing an encyclopedia" and stuff: http://fixedreference.org/en/20040424/wikipedia/Screaming_jelly_babies - d.

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Nathan Awrich

21 Dec 21 Dec

3:20 a.m.

Cool. Had never heard of a 'jelly baby.' Unfortunately, potassium chlorate (and nitrate, and maybe all potassium salts) are pretty hard to get hold of in the US. I get my potassium nitrate through a pharmaceutical wholesaler (which requires a federal license). On Dec 20, 2007 8:16 PM, David Gerard <dgerard(a)gmail.com> wrote:

...

... being all "we're writing an encyclopedia" and stuff: http://fixedreference.org/en/20040424/wikipedia/Screaming_jelly_babies - d. _______________________________________________ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l

Steve Bennett

23 Dec 23 Dec

1:48 p.m.

On 12/21/07, David Gerard <dgerard(a)gmail.com> wrote:

...

... being all "we're writing an encyclopedia" and stuff: http://fixedreference.org/en/20040424/wikipedia/Screaming_jelly_babies

michael west

5:06 p.m.

mmmm lol the schools version ( http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/School_science/Screaming_jelly_babies) is like for like. I definately don't remember scince or school open days being fun. All I seem to recall about high school science was cutting up small animals (I think this was part of my "sex education"), looking at the skin cells of a fellow class mate down an ancient microscope and learning something about litmus tests. British school boy science in the 1980s was obviously taught by a sadly moronic bunch of educators - the fact that a candy that looks like a human baby screams as it bursts into flames (however demonstrative of energy) simply reminds me why I dropped science at 14. Thank God for the Arts ;-) On 23/12/2007, Steve Bennett <stevagewp(a)gmail.com> wrote:

...

On 12/21/07, David Gerard <dgerard(a)gmail.com> wrote:

... being all "we're writing an encyclopedia" and stuff: http://fixedreference.org/en/20040424/wikipedia/Screaming_jelly_babies

Interesting to compare to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screaming_jelly_babies Without checking the histories, it looks like a case of the lesser evil principle not being applied. Sure, the tone and style was incorrect. But by removing that, the details of the experiment itelf have gone too. Is the current version really "better" and "more encyclopaedic" than the historical version? Steve _______________________________________________ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l

Ray Saintonge

24 Dec 24 Dec

8:05 a.m.

michael west wrote:

...

I could see cutting up small animals as a part of sex education if the focus were on detailed examination of the sexual organs of mice. This experiment would be sure to attract the attention of teen boys; the teen girls in the class would be more surreptitious in their eagerness to view the experiment. That helps to bring science down from the level of the head to the body level with which many teens often think. Screaming jelly-babies may not be the most instructive of experiments, but the dramatic effects are bound to pique the interests of teen boys, and that's all you can hope for at that stage. Many a career in science was founded on making things explode to an extent that is no longer possible ion today's bowdlerized chemistry sets. It helps to separate the truly inquisitive from those who want to run away to the arts. Ec

geni

12:46 a.m.

On 24/12/2007, Ray Saintonge <saintonge(a)telus.net> wrote:

...

Screaming jelly-babies may not be the most instructive of experiments, but the dramatic effects are bound to pique the interests of teen boys, and that's all you can hope for at that stage. Many a career in science was founded on making things explode to an extent that is no longer possible ion today's bowdlerized chemistry sets.

Simon Walker

28 Dec 28 Dec

3:22 p.m.

Yeah - at my school we have some pretty dangerous things. Now, I've found the concentrated Sulphuric Acid, but where did my teacher put the Francium...? :P stwalkerster On 24/12/2007, geni <geniice(a)gmail.com> wrote:

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On 24/12/2007, Ray Saintonge <saintonge(a)telus.net> wrote:

I suspect you haven't seen the inside of a school chemistry store lately. With the right knowledge it would appear to be possible to create some significant explosions. There do appear to have been some recent changes that would make it much harder to make any form of nerve gas. -- geni _______________________________________________ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l

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David Gerard
geni
michael west
Nathan Awrich
Ray Saintonge
Simon Walker
Steve Bennett