TAKE 5: THE COLD FACTS; `SCIENCE' EXPLORES HOW SANTA GETS THE JOB DONE.Byline: David Kronke TV Critic In order to deliver all those toys and presents on Christmas Eve, Santa must travel at Mach 6,395, which is a pretty rapid clip - 1/145 th the speed of light, to be exact. Or there's always the possibility that he's discovered a ripple in the time-space continuum known as a relativity cloud, in which he can go about his work at a leisurely pace, even though nothing more than a blink of the eye seems to pass for the rest of us (abuse) for The Rest Of Us - (From the Macintosh slogan "The computer for the rest of us") 1. Used to describe a spiffy product whose affordability shames other comparable products, or (more often) used sarcastically to describe spiffy but very overpriced products. 2. . That's just one of the fascinating factoids served up alongside the turkey - itself a lesson in thermodynamics thermodynamics, branch of science concerned with the nature of heat and its conversion to mechanical, electric, and chemical energy. Historically, it grew out of efforts to construct more efficient heat engines—devices for extracting useful work from expanding - in ``The Science of Christmas,'' a frequently fanciful, other times leaden, holiday special that drolly applies scientific formulae and speculation to explain some of the most vexing of yuletide legends. It's based on the whimsical book of the same title by Roger Highfield, which first cashed in on the holiday market last year. For example, the star that drew the Wise Men to Bethlehem may have been a rare conjunction of Jupiter and Venus that lit up the night sky more than usual. Or: Reindeer reindeer, ruminant mammal, genus Rangifer, of the deer family, found in arctic and subarctic regions of Eurasia and North America. It is the only deer in which both sexes have antlers. need to be able to hit a running speed of 120 miles per hour to achieve lift-off. And parasites can indeed cause a reindeer's nose to become red - which, in fact, would lead to other reindeer ostracizing it and not letting it in on any of their reindeer games. Other segments are significantly more mundane. Is there anyone who has really wondered, for more than a second, how fake Christmas trees Christmas tree Evergreen tree, usually decorated with lights and ornaments, to celebrate the Christmas season. The use of evergreen trees, wreaths, and garlands as symbols of eternal life was common among the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews. or the tinsel tin·sel n. 1. Very thin sheets, strips, or threads of a glittering material used as a decoration. 2. Something sparkling or showy but basically valueless: the tinsel of parties and promotional events. draped drape v. draped, drap·ing, drapes v.tr. 1. To cover, dress, or hang with or as if with cloth in loose folds: draped the coffin with a flag; a robe that draped her figure. upon them are manufactured, or whether candy canes require a device developed by NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. to keep their stripes from bleeding over? (OK, the NASA thing is kind of cool.) The special is fairly evenly divided between engaging and humdrum information; it's all pretty blissfully useless. ``The Science of Christmas'' is narrated by Daniel Stern, who early on declares, rather vapidly, ``There is no holiday quite like it.'' It's that kind of flat-footed exposition that keeps this program from hitting 120 mph itself, let alone Mach 6,395. But, give it points for actually having found a fairly fresh way to approach the creakiest of genres, the Christmas special. The facts The show: ``The Science of Christmas.'' What: Holiday special whimsically applying scientific formulae to Christmas myths. The stars: Narrated by Daniel Stern. Where: Discovery Channel. When: 9 tonight. Our rating: two and a half stars CAPTION(S): 2 photos PHOTO (1) ``The Science of Christmas'' shows the art of making millions of candy canes without having the stripe run. (2) Because male reindeer lose their antlers antlers metaphorical decoration for deceived husband. [Western Folklore: Jobes, 395] See : Cuckoldry in winter, all of Santa's reindeer would actually be female. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion