Melannen's New Writeups

sweet gum (thing)

2006-08-02T18:02:39Z

Sweetgum Tree: Liquidambar styraciflua

Our yard has two large sweetgums, and several young ones growing in the scrub; one has shot up from the exposed root of an older tree. Gum trees used to be a favorite hiding spot for my special toy koala, due to a linguistic serendipity by which they share the same common name as the Australian eucalyptus trees he was always homesick for.

North American sweetgum trees are not at all related to the other sort of gum tree, of course. They are in the same family (Hamamelidaceae) as witch hazel, flowering deciduous trees with related species in Asia and South America. The common name comes from the resinous sap, which was apparently instrumental in the invention of polystyrene, and has been used as a cheap substitute for everything resin has ever been used in, from perfume to waterproofing. Presumably, this sap…

Here is the Church (thing)

2005-11-07T01:16:39Z

A finger rhyme for young children. Widspread throughout the English-speaking world.

Fold hands together so that fingers are hidden inside, with thumbs pressed together and pointing straight up.
Here is the church,

Raise index fingers and put tips together to form a tall triangle.
Here is the steeple!

Separate thumbs.
Open the doors,

Turn figure 'inside out', to reveal ten fingers interlaced and wriggling.
And there's all the people!

Variation:

Begin with fingers on the outside of clasped hands instead of the inside. Repeat first three steps and verses. For final verse, turn figure inside out to reveal an 'empty church'. Act very surprised, and say:
But where's all the people?
Oh, wait.
It's Saturday!

According to Google, there is also a second verse, which goes:
Here is the Parson, going upstairs.
Here is the Parson,…

knives and forks (thing)

2005-11-07T00:51:38Z

A finger rhyme for young children. Recorded in the American Midwest in the 1950s.

Hold your hands together, all fingers interlaced and pointing up.
Here's Mommy's knives and forks

Fold fingers down, creating a somewhat rectangular fist.
Here's Daddy's table!

Raise index fingers, touch the tips together, and bend knuckles to make an arch.
Here's sister's looking glass,

Raise pinky fingers, touch tips. Straighten pinkies and index fingers to make a triangle on either side of the hands. Rock the figure on an imaginary axis running along the points of the triangles.
And here's baby's cradle!

This rhyme was completely unknown to Google, so I had to add it to the public record. I can see why it's gone out of popularity - both looking glasses and that sort of cradle might be unfamiliar to a modern toddler, not to mention the stereotypical family - but it was part of my childhood, darn it all! It shall not be lost!

Scalded Chicken (idea)

2004-01-16T04:01:48Z

Scalded Chicken is a traditional game played with young babies, in the vein of Patty Cake, Peekaboo, or This Little Piggy, although it is aimed at somewhat younger babies--3 to 9 months or so. My parents played it with me, and it doesn't seem to have scarred me for life. Believe it or not.

You start by laying the baby on its back on a quilt or blanket on the floor. Lift the baby's feet and slowly work its legs back and forth like pedalling a bicycle, while chanting "Scald the chicken! Scald the chicken! Scald the chicken!" Then tickle the baby's tummy and all over with your fingers, saying "Pluck the chicken! Pluck the chicken! Pluck the chicken!" Next, take the baby's feet again. Lift them up and down together, gently raising its bottom off the floor, saying "Cook the chicken! Cook the chicken!" And when the chicken is cooked enough, nuzzle its tummy and gobble it all up as exuberantly as possible: "Eat the chicken! Eat the chicken!"

I find the…

hot flash (thing)

2003-08-07T20:26:55Z

For the past few years, on Mondays during school holidays when I'm home, I've been going to church with my mother, where a group of ladies gets together to sew quilts for Lutheran World Relief. The regulars are Mary, who just turned ninety, Helen and Nellie who are slightly younger, Mom, and me. Of late, the major source of amusement (other than gossip and reminiscing, of course), has been Mom's hot flashes. Her face gets red, she starts panting and fanning herself with her shirt, peeling off layers of clothing, and obsessively opening windows. When Mom asks, "Is it hot in here, or is it just me?" this is not an attempt at a bad pick-up line. Helen finds it all particularly amusing, as her husband Earl is also getting hot flashes; he takes hormone shots for his prostate trouble. They've all been through this already, of course.

Hot flashes, also called night sweats or, if you're feeling particularly pretentious, vasomotor disturbances, are a symptom usually…

Archean (place)

2003-03-13T23:34:32Z

The Hadean Eon is over. Time to ring in the Archean! It's about 3.4 billion years ago. The huge meteoroids that once wandered the solar system have been cleaned out, often by smacking into planets. The moon is with us, a stable, tidally locked twin planet, cooling as the last of its lavas tint the marias black. The Earth has differentiated into a nickel-iron core, a plastic mantle, and a mostly solid crust with a hydrosphere and an atmosphere. Never again will the entire surface of the earth flash-melt, obliterating life and the rock record and everything else.

Not that this Earth is any idyllic garden. It's hot, hell-hot, hot enough that ultramafic komatiitic lava (a substance every bit as bizarre as its name, which freezes solid at temperatures below 1600°C) flows freely on the surface. The atmosphere is heavy with carbon dioxide, methane, and…