Well Duh, He *is* a Doctor

People think that Dr Seuss just wrote fluff children's stories with catchy rhymes, but there's much genius to his works.  For example, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas is 100% medically accurate. Read on...


Narrator: "And what happened, then? Well, in Whoville they say - that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day. And then - the true meaning of Christmas came through, and the Grinch found the strength of *ten* Grinches, plus two!"

First, a Grinch's heart's volume can be approximated by a sphere.
Second, the Grinch's heart went from 1 radius to 4 radiuses (grew three sizes).
Third, the Grinch's external volume and weight remained constant.
Fourth, the Grinch's heart is assumed to have remained the same strength.
Fifth, the Grinch's vascular system can be approximated by a pipeline.

Volume of a sphere = (4/3) x Pi x radius³

So, the Grinch's heart changed on the order of:  (1)³ to (4)³


The Grinch's heart's volume is now (4 x 4 x 4) = 64 times what is used to be.  The Grinch's heart is first described as two sizes too small, so one can assume that his vascular system is able to handle much more than it does now.

When the big heart tries to pump the blood 64 times as quickly, it will encounter frictional losses at a rate of the velocity squared, so he'll only get 8 times more efficient (8 x 8 = 64).

The higher blood friction will also keep him intrinsically warmer, so less other energy will be used to keep him warm. That, coupled with increased adrenal gland activity and general positive demeanor, makes it perfectly feasible that he now has found the strength of 12 Grinches (ten Grinches, plus two).

link to:  grinch tv special quiz  (I got 8/10)

link to:  cardiomegaly


Paul  I'm a doctor in any country that ends in "-stan"  Totman

Like Hercules, but doesn't need the ring...

What the Fawkes Say

Remember Remember the Fifth of November

If you're American, you might get excited about the rhyme referring to a fifth of Scotch. But alas, it's not that, it's British House of Lords and powdered wig stuff. Yes, nice old Blightey. Pip pip what. Tally ho. Queensbury Rules. Good show old boy. Stiff upper lip and all that. It'll be pretty bland historical stuff, eh?

But it's way better than just 26oz/750mL of booze.  It's booze, treason, backstabbing, cartoonish quantities of explosives, a big chase, inept criminals, a shootout, courtroom drama, torture, humiliation, the hangman's noose, escape, bonfires, and lots and lots of sweet vengeance.  But please, read on for a bit of British History...


[wikipedia]

The Gunpowder Plot of 1605...was a failed assassination attempt against (anti-catholic) King James I of England by a group of English Catholics...The plan was to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of England's Parliament on 5 November.

BOOZE, TREASON

The first meeting between five conspirators took place...at the Duck and Drake Inn.

BACKSTABBING, EXPLOSIVES

The plot was revealed to the authorities in an anonymous letter...Guy Fawkes was discovered guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder under the House of Lords—enough to reduce the House of Lords to rubble—and arrested. 

BIG CHASE, INEPT CRIMINALS

Most of the conspirators fled from London...

Tired and desperate, they spread out some of the now-soaked gunpowder in front of the fire...a spark from the fire landed on the powder and the resultant flames engulfed four of them.  The fugitives resolved to stay in the house and wait for the arrival of the King's men.

THE SHOOTOUT, HUMILIATION

The Sheriff of Worcestershire and his company of 200 men besieged them.  The attackers rushed the property and stripped the dead or dying defenders of their clothing.

COURTROOM DRAMA
Eight of the survivors, including Fawkes, were convicted and sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered (tied to four horses and ripped apart).

TORTURE
The use of torture was forbidden, except by royal prerogative.. King James wrote: "The gentler tortures are to be first used unto him (Guy Fawkes), et sic per gradus ad ima tenditur [and thus by steps extended to greater ones], and so God speed your good work." 


VENGEANCE

Although two had died and thus escaped the executioner, their bodies were exhumed and decapitated, and their heads exhibited on spikes outside the House of Lords.  


THE HANGMAN'S NOOSE, VENGEANCE, ESCAPE, HUMILIATION
Four were tied to wooden panels and dragged through the crowded streets of London. The first to mount the scaffold...was stripped of his clothing, and wearing only a shirt, climbed the ladder to place his head through the noose. He was quickly cut down, and while still fully conscious was castrated, disembowelled, and then quartered, along with the three other prisoners. The following day, three others, and Guy Fawkes were to be hanged, drawn and quartered, opposite the building they had planned to blow up. One of them didn't wait for the hangman's command and jumped from the gallows, but he survived the drop and was led to the quartering block. Although weakened by his torture, Fawkes managed to jump from the gallows and break his neck, thus avoiding the gruesome part of his execution.

CONTINUING VENGEANCE, BONFIRES

The thwarting of the Gunpowder Plot was commemorated for many years afterwards by special sermons and other public events such as the ringing of church bells, which have evolved into the Bonfire Night of today.  It remains the custom in Britain, on or around 5 November, to let off fireworks. Traditionally, in the weeks running up to the 5th, children made "guys" - effigies of Guy Fawkes - to be burnt on the 5 November bonfire. These guys were exhibited in the street to collect money for fireworks. "Penny for the guy" was a traditional phrase used to collect. The word guy thus came in the 19th century to mean an oddly dressed person, and hence in the 20th and 21st centuries to mean any male person.

Remember, remember,

The Fifth of November,

Gunpowder treason and plot;

For I see no reason

Why Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot.

What the Fox Say