Nerds Make Science Fun!

Okay, so quick rant.

On mythbusters, they tested the static friction force of a normal boot, then the same boot on top of a banana peel by sticking them on an incline. The boot fell off at 45 degrees, and the boot plus banana fell off at 15 degrees.

Then they said that the boot had three times the frictional force.

This is wrong. The frictional force is proportional to the sine of the incline angle (from the horizontal), not the angle itself. For those who actually punch in the numbers on a calculator, the sine of 15 degrees is a bit over .257, and the sine of 45 degrees, which you should memorize, is .707, which is slightly less than three times as large. I can guess two reasons for why they did this.

Either they were tired, lazy, etc. and just said it, and nobody on the editing team caught it.

Or they did it on purpose because the average American citizen knows/retains jack squat about trig and they didn’t want to slap a random “Warning: Science Content!” for something that petty.

Also, I’m implementing categories.

And its fans (okay, check that, its more rabid fans) are idiots. If you flip out at the title without reading the post, or if you do not understand the meaning of satire, you are one of those idiots.

For great justice, I will now compare:

Stephanie Meyer (SMeyer)
and
A conglomerate of Stalin and Hitler (S&H)

S&H: Killed millions.
SMeyer: Driven countless more to thoughts of suicide.

S&H: Exposed the world to the dangers of fascism and tyranny.
SMeyer: Exposed the world to how incredibly low publishing standards are.

S&H: Hitler wrote and published his succinct Mien Kampf.
SMeyer: Wrote and published the equivalent of a Mary Sue-laden anime fanfiction, not to mention her ridiculously long descriptions of Edward Sparkles with his shirt off.

S&H: Ensures there will never be a Super-Hitler or Super-Stalin who kill twice as many people.
SMeyer: Ensures there will be another author attempting to publish bad fanfiction.

S&H: Have forever ruined white supremacy, communism, tyranny, and Nazism.
SMeyer: Has forever ruined vampires.

S&H: Crimes against humanity.
SMeyer: Crimes against biology, tradition, sanity, vampires, and literature.

S&H: Incredibly potent statesmen. They would have been the best in their time, if not for the “let’s kill people” part.
SMeyer: A mediocre author who has published a mediocre but overhyped book that quickly devolved into a cash cow franchise. She has been compared to JK Rowling, but in no way meets the standard.

S&H: Got the youth involved in politics.
SMeyer: Encourages teenage sex and pregancy.

S&H: Preached that true love was loving your country.
SMeyer: Taught that true love is stalking and suicide threats for males, and submission and dependence for females.

S&H: Have plenty of character flaws.
SMeyer: Bella Mary Sue is, well, a Mary Sue.

S&H: Fanatical followers.
SMeyer: Fangirls.

S&H: Hitler displayed initiative in his writings and speeches. Not sure about Stalin.
SMeyer: Displays pedophilia in her books.

S&H: Hitler took full responsibility for killing opposing party members.
SMeyer: Has shirked from the responsibility of explaining the attempted murders perpetrated by Twilight fanatics.

S&H: Plot evil plans.
SMeyer: No plot to speak of.

S&H: Kaiser Helmets and Swastikas, respectively.
SMeyer: Sparkling Vampires.

S&H: Hitler’s concentration/death camps had grotesque surgical experiments.
SMeyer: Vampire C-sections. By using teeth.

S&H: Led to computers, nuclear power, the space program, encryption ciphers, etc.
SMeyer: Led to fangirls, attempted murders, and a fifth book that is the first book from a different POV, with more stalking.

S&H: Cannot be killed by time travel for fear of causing paradoxes, Super-Hitlers, etc.
SMeyer: Fire away!

Over&Out,

-T