Mama Diaries

Sunday, July 14, 2013

The Science Experiments

My family must've been feeling very scientific yesterday, because they came up with a couple of interesting experiments.

"Mama," my eight-year-old son said.  "Can we have some sand?"

"What for, Bubba?" I asked. 

"You'll see."

I got some sand.  My kids put it out under the hot sun and got a magnifying glass. It looked like they were trying to direct a sunbeam onto the pile of sand.  "Um, what exactly are you doing?" I asked.  "Starting a fire?"

"No, Mama.  We're trying to make the sand really hot to turn it into glass."

I had to explain that the little sand to glass process was something that should take place in a furnace and not in the middle of my driveway.

Fast forward about an hour.

"Do you want to see my experiment?" my husband asked.

I couldn't wait to see what he was up to.  I followed him out to the middle of my driveway. (Yes, another experiment in my driveway.)  I saw a bucket with bubbling fluid in it.  "What is that?"

"Battery acid," my husband explained.  "I'm neutralizing it by mixing it with four boxes of baking soda."

"Oh," I said.  "So what does it do - turn into water?"

"Actually, yes," my husband replied.

My son heard that and put his two cents in. "So can we drink it when it's done neutralizing?"

"Absolutely not!" I said.  "I don't care how neutralized it gets.  Nobody is ingesting something that was once battery acid!"

Oy gewalt!  

17 comments:

  1. LOL good call on the battery acid one. So you just have sand lying around to give?

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  2. We moms have to be the voice of reason sometimes! Ha- very creative minds in your house~

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  3. LOL! Like father, like son, I see. (I wouldn't want to drink battery acid, either, so good call!)

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    1. Something would be inherently wrong about drinking something that was once battery acid!

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  4. Sometimes I wonder about your husband . . . .

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. Ha! I bet you wondered about your ex-husband, too! I think it has to do with that Y chromosome.

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  5. Good post for a Monday morning to bring a smile to the face.

    Yvonne.

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  6. Your driveway is a science lab! Cool. :)

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    1. There's a lot of space in my driveway, so it's perfect for such things.

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  7. I can't imagine playing with battery acid in any manner, but I never knew you could neutralize it like that. Wow!

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  8. It sounds like Bubba may be ready for his first chemistry or biology set, and it sounds like your husband would enjoy it with him.

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  9. I remember some of my experiments as a kid reading this!

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