Ciao everyone! Here is this blog’s next joke:

A photon is going through airport security. The TSA agent asks if he has any luggage. 

The photon says, “No, I’m traveling light.”

I would rate this joke a 10/10 because it is very punny and I enjoy science jokes.  It seemed fitting, considering that my chemistry lab just made our own spectroscopes to observe spectral lines.

But what are photons and why do they matter?

In simple terms, photons (coming from the Greek word phōtos) are light particles, or light packets, with no electrical charge, that emit energy from the electromagnetic spectrum.  The electromagnetic spectrum consists of all wavelengths, or colors, of visible light based on the ROYGBIV color scale.  White light is included in the middle of the spectrum, since all wavelengths are present.  But you may ask yourself, why do I care about light particles?

Well, think about the light coming from your screen now; it’s emitting photons that allow you to see the black of the typed letters and the white and red of the background.  Photons are literally everywhere!

According to Britannica, the concept of the photon was conjured by German physicist Max Planck, who argued that heat radiation is emitted and absorbed in distinct units, called quanta.  For a scientist in 1900, he lacked the support to sufficiently reinforce his studies, but eventually determined his renowned constant of 6.6261 x 10^-34 J⋅s.  Later, in fact, the concept of this quanta was supported by Albert Einstein, circa 1905, in order to prove the photoelectric effect, which supported the idea that photons exist as light particles.  

These subatomic particles move at the speed of light (3.0 x 10⁸ meters/second) and range in total energy.  For example, a higher-energy photon could be found in violet light, versus a lower-energy photon, which could be found in red light.  Energy can be equated by E=hv (energy is equivalent to Planck’s constant times the frequency of the wave).  We’ll get to frequency later.

Wavelengths (depicted by Greek symbol ƛ) dictate how short or how long a complete cycle is for a certain color.  Longer wavelengths have elongated waves, versus shorter wavelengths, which have more compressed waves.  According to the electromagnetic spectrum, warmer colors (red, orange and yellow) have longer wavelengths (longer periods), compared to cooler colors (green, blue and purple), which have shorter wavelengths (shorter periods).

Photons that are said to have longer wavelengths have lower frequencies, meaning that there is less energy per one period of given time (seeing that the waves are spread out).  Shorter wavelengths have higher frequencies, which means that they have higher energy per one period of given time (seeing that the waves are condensed).  This inverse relationship can be equated by ƛ= (c/v), where c is the speed of light and v is the frequency of the wave (in Hertz).

Light waves are measured through a spectroscope, which casts energy through a prism, where it is refracted and separated by color.  In simple terms, electrons in the external shells, or valence shells, of atoms shift around and release energy in the form of light, hence unleashing our photons in our surroundings.

Man, talk about some light reading! Now, it’s my turn to make like a tree and get out of here. Until next time my jokers!

Reference: “Photon.” Edited by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica,

                            Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 20 July 1998, www.britannica.com/science/photon. 

Ciao everyone! Welcome back to the blog, I hope that you’re ready for some more jokes.  Here’s the next one:

Did you hear about the weekly poker game with Vasco da Gama, Christopher Columbus, Leif Erikson, and Francisco Pizarro? 

They can never seem to beat the Straights of Magellan!

This is an advanced joke and I rate it a 9.75/10 because of its historical reference.  I thought it was funny and I hope you all did too!

I really enjoy history jokes, and discussing historical events in general, so when I had first heard this joke, I knew I had to share it.  It’s evident that Ferdinand Magellan is world-renowned, quite literally in this sense.

But what else is there to know about this famous explorer?

Ferdinand Magellan was born in 1480 in Sabrosa, Portugal.  As a young lad, Magellan traveled to Lisbon to work in Queen Leonora’s court. There, Magellan was exposed to the tales of great sailors at time, which inspired him to gain more knowledge about sailing and navigation.  Magellan grew up to sail for the Portuguese with his brother, traveling to India and Africa during the lucrative Spice Trade.

Black pepper, clove, and other spices were acquired in the Western Hemisphere and resulted in the Portuguese dominating world trade.  By now, Magellan grew to be a skilled sailor.  Most world superpowers voyaged to the “Spice Islands” by sailing east, but no one had sailed from the West and reached the other side of the globe, which catalyzed Magellan’s dream.  Talk about Mr. Worldwide.

When Portugal denied Magellan’s next charter for his ideal voyage, he abruptly abandoned his country to sail for Spain, where he was granted permission.  On August 10, 1519, Magellan and the Armada De Moluccas of Spain set sail. In the fleet, there was Magellan’s ship, the Trinidad, as well as the San Antonio, the Conception, the Victoria, and the Santiago. 

Rough seas led to an arduous trip across the Atlantic Ocean in order to reach South America, and seasonal storms ravaged the path to the Strait of Magellan, located in Southern Chile.  While sailing through the Mar Pacifico, named by Magellan, and later titled the Pacific Ocean, the fleet sailed towards the Philippines.  However, in a dangerous battle with locals in 1521, Magellan was shot with a poison arrow and died soon after.  This tragedy, however, didn’t stop the fleet from achieving their goal of completely circumnavigating the globe, with Ferdinand Magellan there in spirit.

But how does this relate to poker?  Why does the Strait of Magellan correlate to a popular card game?

Well, when playing a game of poker, the best hand wins.  A straight is a strong hand to have when betting, where you have five cards (from a standard deck) all in numerical order, regardless of their suit.  

Straight and Strait are homophones, and therefore, suffices as the play on words for this joke.  Since the other famous explorers, like da Gama, Columbus, Erikson, and Pizarro weren’t the first to amount the great achievement of traveling the world in its entirety, they’re pictured as “losers” in the metaphorical poker game.  Perhaps next time they’ll change their bets when given higher stakes.

Now, it’s my turn to make like a tree and get out of here. Until next time my jokers!

References: History.com Editors. “Ferdinand Magellan.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 

                                 29 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/exploration/ferdinand-magellan.

Ciao everyone!  Here is this blog’s first joke:

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson decide to go camping one night, so they pitch their tent and go to sleep.

In the middle of the night, Sherlock wakes up Watson and says, “Watson, look up and tell me what you see.”  

So, Watson looks up and observes the sky, “Well, I see the moon, some stars, and maybe some clouds?”

And Sherlock asks, “And what do you deduce from that?”

Watson responds, “Hm, I don’t know.  Maybe that means it will be a nice day tomorrow?”

Finally, Sherlock goes, “Watson, you idiot, it means someone stole our tent!”

Personally, I would rate this joke a 9.5/10 because of its literature reference and its storytelling outline; it definitely made me laugh, and I hope it made you laugh too.

But what really provides the substance for this joke?  The answer, simply, is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s creation of Sherlock Holmes. 

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, born in 1859, began his scholarly life in Edinburgh, Scotland.  As one of ten children, he later pursued an education in the medical field, with a year studying in Austria, then earning a Bachelor in Medicine, Master of Surgery, and an M.D. from the University of Edinburgh’s Medical School.  However, Conan Doyle grew to be a talented essayist and writer, and when he mixed this passion with his deduction skills as a doctor, there was the birth of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1887).  Novels evolved into short stories, and short stories combined into more novels; this seemingly never-ending cycle of unique murder-mysteries captured the attention of millions worldwide.  Tales such as A Study in Scarlet and The Hound of Baskervilles still accumulate their well-deserved fame centuries after they were published.  

Now what can we deduce from this as readers?  Well, from my point of view, it’s widely known that Sherlock Holmes and his partner, Dr. John Watson, are famous for solving impossible crimes.  Simple logic and problem-solving skills are classics for catching criminals, especially when challenged with catching the infamous Professor James Moriarity, but there must be more to the story.

And there is! Perhaps a magnifying glass wouldn’t help solve this one…

Conan Doyle, in his eyes, tried to reimagine himself as Sherlock Holmes.  Sherlock’s cold, reserved, mysterious, and quick-witted persona, as Conan Doyle claims, is a projection of his own intellect and determination.  I wonder if he owned the classic Sherlockian cap.

When the crime-solving industry wasn’t enough, Conan Doyle began publishing nonfiction, including military works such as The Great Boer War (1900), The British Campaign in France and Flanders (1916–20), and The Crime of the Congo (1909).  Surprised? I was too, since these works are somewhat overshadowed by the Sherlock Holmes franchise.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s story comes to an end in 1930, where he died in Sussex, England.  However, his legacy still maintains its longevity into the Twenty-First Century, with new literary and television adaptations.

Now, it’s my turn to make like a tree and get out of here. Until next time my jokers!

Reference: Wilson, P. K. (1999, May 4). Arthur Conan Doyle. Encyclopædia Britannica. 

                                https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arthur-Conan-Doyle. 

Ciao, these are just some brainstorming ideas for the passion side of this blog.  I’ve already named the blog “Jokes With Sandra,” so I plan to tell jokes for the most part.  I would like to add more substance by explaining the context/history behind the jokes and my personal ratings.  The purpose of this blog is to make people laugh, or cringe, or perhaps even feel a small distraction from our overwhelming and crazy lives as college freshmen.  I know that I was, and still am, feeling stressed, and I believe that sharing this small happiness with others can make a world of difference.  If this plan fails, I plan to write a blog critiquing famous films because I really enjoy watching movies and being able to make expert references.