Interesting Things with JC #258: "Black Moon” - April 30th 2022, the southeast Pacific and southern part of South America will be in partial eclipse due to the Black Moon. 64% of the visible sun will be blacked out, according to NASA. There's are a couple definitions for Black Moon, let's take a look!

Interesting Things with JC #257: "Mud Daubers” - they are commonly known in the southern part of the United States as dirt daubers. They are truly fascinating insects. If you have ever seen a tube-shaped nest made with mud on the outside walls of your house or possibly inside your garage, then you know what a mud dauber is. One of the most interesting things about these creatures is that….(go ahead click play!)

Interesting Things with JC #255: "Quantum Locking” - Quantum levitation is a process where scientists use the properties of quantum physics to levitate an object over a magnetic source. Quantum Locking is very distinct from traditional magnetic levitation. The object can be moved, rotated, tilted, and it stays locked in mid air!

Interesting Things with JC #254: "Arctic Circle Daylight". In summertime, the sun is always above the horizon at the North Pole, circling the Pole once every day. It is highest in the sky at the Summer Solstice, after which, the sun starts to sink towards the horizon, until it falls below the horizon, at the Fall Equinox.

Interesting Things with JC #252: "Do Animals Sneeze?” All animals from humans to dogs, elephants, horses, tigers, bears and birds sneeze. But aquatic animals cannot sneeze as they don’t have lungs.

Interesting Things with JC #251: "Space Weather" refers to the variable conditions on the sun and in space that can influence life on earth, as well as impact technology. It's believed that short-lived solar explosions don’t influence weather events like heat waves, but longer-term variations in solar output might affect Earth’s climate.

Interesting Things with JC #248: "The Space Coast" is a region in the U.S. state of Florida around the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. One reason rockets are launched in Florida has to do with the Earth's rotation. From rockets to surfing, salt to searching for the fountain of youth, the SpaceCoast of Florida is a treasure to behold. Click to Listen!

Interesting Things with JC #244: "Alfred Levy and the Invention of Hold Music” - Music on hold was born out of an accidental discovery by factory owner Alfred Levy in the early 1960s. The phone lines in his factory were somehow picking up a radio signal from the radio station nearby, and callers could hear music when they were put on hold.

Interesting Things with JC #239: "Traffic Lights" - Most common traffic lights operate based on timers. In areas that are not as congested, timers are not the best idea, as rural drivers may be sitting at a red light for an extended period of time. This is where sensor based traffic lights are more of an advantage. The actual sensors used can vary greatly per location, they could be lasers, rubber hoses filled with air, video cameras or inductive loops.

Interesting Things with JC #236: "Locked-in Syndrome and the Miracle Microchip”. Locked-in Syndrome is a rare neurological disorder characterized by complete paralysis of voluntary muscles in all parts of the body except for those that control eye movement. Emerging technology provides a brain-computer interface to help people who are locked-in communicate freely again.

Interesting Things with JC - #235: “Sea of Okhotsk” is at the same latitude as the Gulf of Alaska, but unlike the Gulf, the sea freezes between October and March. At 611,000 square miles (1,583,000 sq km) the sea is considered one of the richest north temperate marine ecosystems in the world, and one of the most biologically productive of the world’s seas.

Interesting Things with JC #234 - on April 6th 2016, the first baby born with DNA from 3 parents through mitochondrial transfer happened in Mexico. The technique is designed to help couples who carry rare genetic mutations have healthy children.

Interesting Things with JC #231: "US Strategic Petroleum Reserve” or "SPR" is a U.S. Government complex of four sites with deep underground storage caverns created in salt domes along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coasts. The SPR was filled to its then 727 million barrel authorized storage capacity on December 27, 2009.

Interesting Things with JC #228: "Devil's Backbone - Texas Hill Country" - Stretching from Wimberley to Blanco within the Texas Hill country, the rugged and scenic area known as Devil’s Backbone comes from an earthquake that occurred here over thirty million years ago. The area is made up mostly of ranches and hunting cabins. Ghost stories are an important part of the history here!

Interesting Things with JC #227: “Velcro” - George Mestral patented Velcro in 1955. Originally envisioned as a fastener for clothing, today, Velcro is used across a wide array of industries and applications; including healthcare, the military, land vehicles, aircraft, and even spacecraft. Do you know how it was invented? Click play and let's find out!

Interesting Things with JC #226: "Hedy Lamarr" is often recognized as an early Hollywood starlet, with film credits such as "Algiers" and "Boom Town." As an inventor, Lamarr made significant contributions to radio and technology and systems. During World War II, she invented a radio-guidance system for torpedoes. The frequency-hopping technology has been used to develop Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

For more information on this and other amazing stories, please visit - https://www.womenshistory.org

The A-12 was a high-altitude, Mach 3+ reconnaissance aircraft built for the US CIA by Lockheed's Skunk Works under project Oxcart. The plane was a one seater with a payload of 2500lbs, 101ft long with a wingspan of 55 feet (31x17 meters). Able to hold 10,590 US gal of fuel, weighing 117,000 lb (53k kg) with dual Pratt & Whitney JT11D-20B turbine engines.

Interesting Things with JC #220: "The Great Auk" - While the Great Auk wasn't technically a penguin, it certainly looked like one, and in fact, it was the first bird to be loosely called a penguin. One significant difference, is that true penguins are restricted to the southern hemisphere, especially the fringes of Antarctica. The Great Auk lived along the farthest reaches of the northern Atlantic Ocean.

Interesting Things with JC #219: "Disc Harrows" are farming implements, or tools, used to prepare the soil for planting or sowing crops. They are pulled behind tractors and break up the clods and surface crusts on your land. This helps improve soil granulation and weed destruction. While plowing cuts, granulates, and inverts the soil, creating furrows and ridges, disking breaks up those clods and surface crusts. Let's find out more!

Interesting Things with JC #218: “Elephants” - The word “elephant” comes from the Greek word “elephas” which means “ivory”. The elephant brain is remarkably similar to the human brain, with as many neurons and synapses, as well as a highly developed hippocampus and cerebral cortex. There is a movement called the wooly mammoth revival that seeks to bring the species back to life through the genes of the Asian elephant.