Frank Oppenheimer facts
Like Chuck Norris, but better, because they're all true. Alice Bell introduces us to the crazy, amazing world of the little brother of the Father of the Atomic Bomb.
FACT As a child, Frank Oppenheimer discovered his own sperm using a microscope. He later called it "most wonderful scientific discovery that I ever made".
FACT J. Robert Oppenheimer accused his little brother of being "slow" because it took Frank a bit longer than average to finish up his Ph.D. The real reason for the delay: Frank had joined the Communist Party and was absorbed in Great Depression-era political and social justice work.
FACT After getting blackballed out of academia during the Red Scare in the late 1940s, Frank bought a cattle ranch in rural Colorado and became a high school science teacher. There, he taught kids about thermodynamics via trips to the city dump to scavenge machine parts, and augmented a lesson on the biology of the ear by killing and dissecting a kitten. His experiences teaching science to kids later led him to found The Exploratorium.
FACT Thanks to The Exploratorium website, I now know that there is a very fine line between making something cuter, and making it hellishly creepy. Thanks, Dr. Oppenheimer!
There's more at the Guardian Science Blog: Frank Oppenheimer
Image of Frank Oppenheimer courtesy The Exploratorium, used via CC
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Maggie Koerth-Baker
I do the Twitter, the Google+, and (to a much lesser extent) the Facebook.
Books
• Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before It Conquers Us
Upcoming Appearances
• April 2 at Skeptics in the Pub, Boston, Mass.— 7:00 pm at Tommy Doyle's in Harvard Square. Please RSVP.
•April 4 at MIT: "Shedding Light, Online", a discussion about how blogging and a dynamic audience helped shape my book, Before the Lights Go Out—4:00 pm in Maseeh Hall. Please RSVP.
• April 6 at Carnegie Mellon University: More details to come
• April 9-13 at University of Colorado, Boulder: 64th Annual Conference on World Affairs
• April 10 at Colorado State University, Fort Collins: "Putting the Fun Back in Infrastructure"—3:30 pm in the Rocky Mountain Innosphere.
• April 19 at The Bakken Museum in Minneapolis: Book Launch Party! Come enjoy snacks, a presentation by me, and some fun with the Bakken's Leyden jar.
• April 21 at Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul: Earth Day Tweetup event with Will Steger and Sean Otto—events run 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.
• May 2 at University of California, Berkeley: "Putting the Fun Back in Infrastructure"—6:00 pm, location TBA.
• May 3 at the American Institute of Architects, San Francisco Chapter—Lunchtime lecture, time and location TBA.
• May 3 at Barnes and Noble, El Cerrito, Cali.—7:00 pm.
• May 30 in New York City—Panel on local and DIY energy with the New America Foundation
• June 22-25 in Aspen, Colorado: Aspen Environment Forum
• July 5-8 at CONvergence in Minneapolis, Minn.—exact times and dates TBA
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