Check out our new pillow which will be in the shop VERY soon! Us Gibberish Girls LOVE the bacon so we thought these 10 reasons would help justify it being part of our regular diet!

10. Nestling super-healthy vegetables in flavorful bacon makes them even more appealing!
9. A company in the UK is actually transforming bacon fat and grease into a powerful, low emission, environmentally friendly, all-natural, bio-diesel fuel that can be used to effectively and inexpensively run anything from motor vehicles to turbines.
8.  If it is NOT charred or burnt (Jenavieve's favorite way to eat it!) OR you cook it in the oven you can avoid the concern over nitrates/nitrites. Also, if you partake in some milk or OJ with your bacon, the vitamins A, D and E work to effectively prevent conversion of  nitrates and nitrites into dangerously toxic “nitrosamines” in the stomach, rendering them harmless to the body.
7. It’s considered a mood elevator because it makes you insanely happy when you eat it.
6. It is filled with essential vitamins and minerals: Vitamin B1, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B12,  Zinc, B6, Vitamin B2, Phosphorus, Pantothenate, Magnesium, and Iron...making it practically a health food!
5. Full of choline which helps with memory and intelligence.
4. Moderate amounts lower blood sugar and blood pressure.
3. It has less total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol than many popular cuts of beef and chicken.
2. Even though bacon has gotten a bad rep over the years, bacon contains Omega-3 fatty acids. Unlike the Omega-3 Fatty Acids supplements derived from fish sources, the ones that come from bacon aren’t chock full of poisonous mercury, like most of the popular fish oil versions are. So bacon Omega-3′s can not only help prevent heart disease, as well as lower your cholesterol, reduce inflammation and improve circulation, but also help you to avoid mercury and other toxic poisons being regularly spewed into our planet’s oceans.
1. Lots of protein, little carbs.

(This info was gathered from http://bacontoday.com/).

"Early in her career, it was Rosalind Franklin who painstakingly conceived of and captured "Photograph 51" of the "B" form of DNA in 1952 while at King's College in London. It is this photograph, acquired through 100 hours of X-ray exposure from a machine Dr. Franklin herself refined, that revealed the structure of DNA." - Rosalind Franklin University

Happy belated birthday to Rosalind Franklin! She was an amazing woman and such an inspiration! 

I.Q. (1994) directed by  Fred Schepisi. 

We're both pretty big fans of Meg Ryan's work pre- Against the Ropes (2004) and we love a good romantic comedy. And who doesn't love Tim Robbins? The chemistry (pun intended) between Catherine, a nerdy mathematician, and Ed, a car mechanic, is fueled by none other than Catherine's adorable elderly uncle, Albert Einstein, who is played by scene stealer, Walter Matthau. Matthau's Einstein is probably the best part of the film along with his fellow partners in crime who all add the silly, nerdy repartee that every good rom-com needs. 

The plot is fairly simple but what makes this film worth multiple viewings is Matthau's depiction of Einstein. Him and his goofy scientist friends are determined to play cupid for Catherine who is in a relationship with a man (Stephen Fry) they deem unworthy. It's true, Fry's stuffiness and lack of imagination seem like a poor match for the quirky and spirited niece of one of the world's greatest minds. His thinking is too inside-the-box and by the book. Enter Ed. The kind, creative car mechanic with a heart of gold and an exceptional mind. Einstein and his buddies think Catherine wouldn't be happy with someone who wasn't as smart or smarter than herself so they devise a plan to set the two up by providing Ed with a scientific theory that impresses even the President of the United States (Dwight D. Eisenhower played by Keene Curtis). True to romantic comedy form, their plan starts to fall apart and soon Catherine discovers it was all a hoax. Her happiness is in the stars, with fate. It's corny but hey! most good romantic comedies are. 

This film is packed with all sorts of fun facts and anecdotes (true or false) about some of history's greatest minds. Sure, the creators of this film took some creative licenses in bringing Einstein back to life but most of it is forgivable thanks to Matthau's stellar performance. While some of the issues of gender and relationships are problematic, Ryan's character is mostly an independent, clever mathematician who can and does have discussions with other characters in the film about topics other than her romantic life (not a common occurrence for this type of film). It is frustrating that we're supposed to believe that Ed's character has a comparable intellectual mind, fostered by the School of Life, with the Princeton PhD candidate whose heart and mind he is trying to win. But it's a forgivable incongruity that is in part mended by Einstein's insistence that his niece learns there is more to life and love than a shared interest in academia and continuing the family line of geniuses. I.Q. is a movie with heart. It would make a perfect mother-daughter pick for movie night! 

(BTW, it's currently available on Netflix!) 

What would Don Draper do? 

When I was unpacking my books to load up my bookshelf in my new place, I realized just how many academic books I've acquired over the years. Don't get me wrong, I love them all and treasure them (the ones that didn't end up sold at the school's buyback...girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!) but now that I've graduated, I am really enjoying reading for FUN again! 

I've always loved non-fiction and historical-fiction books so when I was trying to start a list of science-y books for our GoodReads booklist, it was pretty easy to find some that interested me even though I'm not the uber-science geek in the family. Part of my undergrad research was on brain death and bioethics so I picked some related titles that I wanted to read while in school but didn't have time for (Spook by Mary Roach & The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot). Others, like Sam Kean's Disappearing Spoon, Julie has read and LOVED!  The others look really fascinating and have great reviews! I think it's time to head to the library! 

We'd love some more recommendations to add to the list so please share! 

☢ Jenavieve

A Science Saying Saturday quote to celebrate Tesla's birthday! It was on July 10th but that's close enough! :) 

Photo courtesy of loving husband and stepfather, Waynard Huffman. Check out his 52 pictures in a year photo project! It's over now but still fun to look through!  

In case you've never made it before, then FYI, homemade play dough is absurdly simple to make! It's a really fun project for those really hot (or cold) parts of the day when you and your mini lab assistants need to hang out indoors but don't want to just sit around in front of the TV. 

Check out and share this really great explanation of the science of Play Doh!  http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/play-doh.htm

I've included a printable version of our instructions that can also be downloaded on your tablet. 

This our first "At Home Science Lab" post so check back for more fun DIY experiments!