If you’re like me, your eyes glaze over at the mere mention of the word equation. Hang in there. Read this post; there’s a chance to pick up a free copy of one of our Pulse of the Planet CD’s.

For the past two weeks, I’ve been in California with three of our Kids’ Science Challenge winners. SETI winner Kamau Hamilton and I met with Frank Drake, who came up a famous equation that now bears his name. It tells us how many intelligent civilizations there are probably out there in the universe.

The Drake Equation provides a means of figuring out the number of extraterrestrial civilzations which might exist in our galaxy. You factor in the average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets - stuff like that.

This got me thinking about equations and daily life. You could write an equation about just about anything, couldn’t you?

How many people are eating poppy seed bagels in Des Moines IA? What’s the probability of a woman over 50 meeting the guy of her dreams? How many emails will you receive this week offering to deposit substantial portions of Nigeria’s treasury in your bank account? What’s the likelihood that you’ll sit next to a computer programmer on your next flight, or that the airline will misplace your baggage?

We do these calculations all the time, perhaps not with equals signs and constants, but it’s a sure bet that moment to moment we’re going through some kind of risk assessment, doing the numbers, navigating the probability curve unconsciously.

So here’s the pitch. As a comment to this post, send in Your Equation for whatever question or calculation you find yourself confronting in your corner of the microcosm. I’ll pick one based on originality and mathematical prowess, and send you a Pulse of the Planet CD. Now what are the odds that you will respond?

Thanks to everyone who entered – we had a great time looking at all of the glimpses into yesteryear….

Grand Prize Winner Sam Roberts will be receiving a Pulse of the Planet t-shirt and CD for his entry. We especially liked this fountain pen ad, a writing utensil whose time has passed.
Runners Up Lawrence O’Toole and Ben Hoare will each receive a Pulse of the Planet CD.
We loved Lawrence’s photo of an old movie house advertising its “Talkies”

Ben Hoare’s entry was a veritable palimpsest of signage. (Check out this Pulse of the Planet program for a definition of palimpsest!) We have to think that lead would not receive such a high billing today!

To see all of the entries and links to more ghost signs, visit the original post

Keep an eye on the blog - we’ll post another Listener Challenge soon!

In 2001, Pulse of the Planet listener Carrie Hamby shared with us her family’s recipe for Persimmon Pudding - a Thanksgiving treat! Since then, many listeners have contacted us requesting the recipe. Try it and let us know what you think.

“I’m very happy to share my grandmother’s recipe with you, in hopes that it will enliven and enrich more feasts this fall. My grandmother passed away in January of 1999, and her husband - who turned 90 <in 2001> - hasn’t had any of her persimmon pudding in some time, but between my mom and me we try to keep him supplied during this time of year. As he likes to say, “That’s good eatin’!”

Here’s the recipe, with a couple of my own comments in parentheses:

Stir 1/4 tsp soda into 1 cup persimmon pulp. Add 1&1/4 cups sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp salt and 1 egg. Beat well. Add 1 cup flour alternately with 1&1/4 cups milk, and 1 tbsp melted butter. Pour into greased 8×8″ pan. (I find that glass works best.) Bake at 325F for 50 minutes. Double recipe: bake 1&1/4 hours. Serve with carmel sauce.

Carmel Sauce: (The first part should be in a saucepan off the stove.) Mix thoroughly 1 cup dark brown sugar and 2 tbsp flour. Add 1 cup water. Put on heat and bring to boil, stirring constantly. Cook until thick. Remove from heat, stir in 2 tbsp butter and 1 tsp vanilla.

(Now, even if you have leftovers and eat it cold, the carmel sauce only has to be heated up a little to make it pour and you have a whole different kind of delicacy. I recommend trying it both ways.)”

Carrie Hamby

Thanks for your ghosts! “Ghost signs” are evidence of days gone by. You can find them on the sides of buildings in cities and in rural areas. We invited you to send us images of the ghost signs in your neck of the woods and were happy to see what you found and shared with us. In this urban archeology experiment, anthropologist Mark Aldenderfer (one of our science diarists) commented on your photos, telling us what clues they revealed about our past. Associate producer Lara Ratzlaff started it off with our first ghost sign, from Cannon Falls, MN. Check it out below, followed by all of the entries from contest participants.

And we’ll be announcing a new listener challenge soon. Stay tuned!

Your entry about the Sudbury impact triggered a recollection that might be related. I’d like to know more if you can help. On the west shore of Gunflint Lake in northeast Minnesota is a terminal glacial moraine. It includes a car size erratic boulder that is composed of nearly white quartzite pieces cemented together as a breccia. It has the looks of part of an impact debris field. It was carried in from somewhere to the northeast by the glacier. Do you know of any other impact sites closer to Gunflint Lake than the Sudbury site that might be the source of this highly fractured and solidly re-cemented quartzite?

Charles Dailey
Sierra College biology dept.
dcdailey@surewest.net

To coincide with your current article on water and ice…
According to the Jewish faith, the number of life is 18.
The atomic weight of a single molecule of water is 18.

My father always loved that coincidence.