Making Science Clear as a Belch
Quickly now, what did Archimedes’ principle demonstrate? No clue? Ha! Just as I thought.
If you must know, it was buoyancy. I think ol’ Arch used a bathtub to demonstrate it. If this embarrassing gap in your knowledge reminds you how little you retained from science class in your youth, you’re not alone.
For a lot of American schoolkids, science was a subject just beyond their intellectual grasp. In that regard, it resembled math, history and literature.
Imagine, however, how much more you’d have liked science if the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana had been around when you were growing up.
You think science can’t be fun? That it doesn’t relate to everyday life? Well, I’d venture to say your science teacher never put on a show like the one coming up the next two weekends at the center.
Known as GROSS ME OUT! (the press release uses all capital letters), the center is presenting a return engagement of the “outrageous comedy science show” that publicist Lisa Segrist says was “wildly popular” when it premiered two years ago.
And why not? Aimed at grade-schoolers, the 45-minute show explains the scientific basis for -- and I’m quoting from the press release now -- “belching, farting, spitting, stomachs gurgling, earwax, snot, boogers, scabs and pus.”
If you think I’m tee-heeing while typing those words, you don’t know me. I’m from the old school that finds that kind of stuff unfit for polite society. I don’t even like to use the word “cuticle” in mixed company. But because GROSS ME OUT! is expected to lure lots of grade-schoolers, I felt obliged as a former member of the Moral Majority to put the tough questions to Segrist, starting with why in the heck they want to put on such a show.
Made of sterner stuff than I, Segrist answers without flinching. “I guess a lot of times kids are running around talking about burping or farting ... a lot of times they’re fascinated with it and don’t understand these things their bodies are doing are actually vital.
“It might make people squirm,” she says, “but there’s actually a lot of interesting science behind these things.”
Take vomiting. Please. The press release notes: “Vomiting, puking, throwing up, barfing or whatever you call it is the body’s way of protecting itself from germs, poisonous substances, infections and just plain eating or drinking too much. This uncontrollable, yet critical, process is controlled through a place in the brain called the vomit center.”
The program, scheduled three times daily Saturday and next Sunday and then again May 29-31, is hosted by actress Della Lisi, who has multiple theater credits to her name but reprises her role of “Sally Snot” for this one. The premise, Segrist says, is that Lisi hosts a game show in which contestants in the audience try to answer questions about bodily things. Cue the peals of laughter.
I realize I’m an old stick in the mud, but do we really need to tell kids about stuff like this?
“Kids are curious about the world around them,” Segrist says. “They’re curious, naturally, and this is an aspect of things they might be curious about. We also talk about manners, and the things that aren’t appropriate.”
A prediction: That will be the least-remembered part of the program.
Segrist is so upbeat about the program that she almost has me convinced it’s not some plot to undermine the youth of our nation. In the name of science, I guess I can reluctantly sign off on the idea.
Come to think of it, maybe Sally can discuss the scientific principles behind something else Archimedes might have done in his bathtub 2,000 years ago.
On second thought, never mind.
Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. He can be reached at (714) 966-7821 or at dana.parsons@latimes.com. An archive of his recent columns is at www.latimes.com/parsons.
