SHIPWRECK! Pirates & Treasure is with us at Discovery Place right now and we’re very excited. But the exhibit does raise a few questions:

* Since the sea floor is about the same size as the area of the moon’s surface, how do marine archaeologists find anything and how in the world did Odyssey Marine Exploration find the U.S.S. Republic? Seems to me like that’s not a needle in a haystack; it’s a pinhole in one of grandma’s old quilts.
* Which do you think is the most important ingredient: luck, technology, or science?
* What are ROV’s and photomosaics, anyway and how do they apply to marine exploration?
* Aside from finding artifacts, what other uses are there for ROV’s and photomosaics today?

NASA is interested in brewing beer in space. Now there’s a topic I never saw coming… I’ll avoid all the obvious frat house jokes and go right to the questions and--- well, maybe we’ll keep a few of the frat house jokes just to see if you’re paying attention. What genius came up with this study anyway and why? What are the benefits? How would the fermentation process differ in space? Does yeast sink or swim in zero gravity environments? Would the intoxication factor be less or greater in space? How many scientists volunteered to test the intoxication factors? What would you do for a hangover out there? Where do the bubbles go when a beer is uncapped in space? What happens to the gas in your stomach in a zero gravity environment? What would happen if you lit... Keep reading.

When I die I want to become a fossil. I wonder what I could have done to my body to improve my chances. Where should I have my body placed so that future scientists can learn from my body? Should I be buried in the desert, dropped into a glacier crevasse, injected with food preservatives, go to the cold bottom of the sea? What if I wanted to experiment with my son’s hamster after it dies? How long will it take for the hamster to decompose if I bury it in my yard? What could I do to increase or decrease the rate at which this occurs?

Does 100 % of oxygen come from trees?

That is a great question! Humans need oxygen to live, so it’s a good idea to know where it comes from. Oxygen is released into the air by trees but it can also be found in lots of other places.

Oxygen makes up about 20% of air, and it is also found in water. It is also found in rocks, minerals, plants, and the human body. Oxygen is needed for fires, and it is essential for humans to breathe. The oxygen in the air also has another form known as ozone. Ozone makes up part of the atmosphere known as the ozone layer and protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet rays.

Oxygen is produced by some kinds of bacteria, algae, and plants (including trees) during photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process by which bacteria, algae, and... Keep reading.

What causes the electrical shock I receive when getting out of a car during the winter? Vicello (age 36)

The shock you get when getting out of your car, particularly in the winter, is from static electricity. Static electricity often occurs whenever two dissimilar materials are rubbed together. When electrons, or the negative charge, are removed from one material and deposited on the other a static charge results. When you are in a car the seat is one material and your clothes are another when you move you create friction and build up a static charge. Once your body accumulates enough of a charge and then touches a good conductor, usually metal like the car door the charge quickly leaves you and you feel the shock.

The reason you feel this shock more in the winter than in the... Keep reading.