Everyone at Denley’s was wondering what the new dental surgeon would be like. But when Alison Blake learned that his name was Christopher Stevenson, she knew only too well–and her heart sank…
Dental Nurse at Denley’s
by Marjorie Lewty (1968)
A Foolish Man Builds His Primary Lesson Upon Non-Newtonian Fluids
I teach the 9-year-olds in Primary (Sunday School), and this week’s lesson was based on chapter seven in the book of Matthew:
Matthew 7: 24-27
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
At the end of the lesson, I wanted to illustrate that you can’t always rely on your own judgement in determining whether something is solid or not. And what better way to make that point than with non-Newtonian fluids?
So, in addition to the lesson manual and my scriptures, I packed up a pan, a large spoon, a measuring cup, and a Ziploc bag full of cornstarch, and headed to church.
The Primary lesson went quite well, and when it came time for our little object lesson, I sent two of the boys to the bathroom to fill the measuring cup with water. While they were gone, I showed everyone else the Ziploc bag with cornstarch. I explained that cornstarch was a very fine powder, similar to powdered sugar. (Food Science Fact: Most powdered sugar contains a small amount of cornstarch where it acts as an anti-clumping/anti-caking agent.)
A few of the kids asked if they could feel the cornstarch, but I knew that if I let them stick their fingers in the bag we’d end up with cornstarch everywhere, so I told them they could come up and feel the bag if they wanted to.
A few of the kids came up to the front and felt the cornstarch in the bag, but one of the little girls didn’t just feel the bag, she squeezed it. Hard. And…
POOF!!!
The Ziploc bag, the opening of which was aimed straight at my face, exploded. It was like she’d pulled the pin on a cornstarch grenade. I waited for a few seconds for the dust to clear, but then I realized that the reason I couldn’t see anything was that the lenses of my glasses were covered with cornstarch. I took off my glasses (revealing a perfect outline of where they had been), looked down, and realized that there wasn’t an inch of me that wasn’t covered with cornstarch.
Just then, the two boys who had left to fill the measuring cup with water opened the door to the classroom. I turned, and the boys, being greeted by a large powdered ghost and the hysterical shrieks of a dozen laughing kids, nearly dropped the measuring cup and ran.
Chaos ensued. But by the end of class, we managed to get things cleaned up (somewhat) and we were able to recover enough cornstarch from my clothes for a slightly scaled-down version of the original experiment.
As a teacher, I sometimes wonder if the things that I say will be remembered. In most cases, probably not. But I have a feeling that, years from now, in a religion class at BYU, they’ll come to the seventh chapter of Matthew and some kid in the back will raise his hand and say…
“When I was nine, I had this crazy teacher who thought it would be a good idea to illustrate this point with non-Newtonian fluids…”
If that’s the case, the next time we get to this part of the New Testament, I may just pull out all the stops and do this:
Of course, that would work for Matthew 14, too…
Imposing as a Southern Island King Crowned in Glory
The gorgeous taste of fully ripened pineapple, imposing as a southern island king crowned in glory, is yours to enjoy in every soft and juicy Kasugai Pineapple Gummy.
Another great product description from Kasugai. (Remember their Grape Gummies?)
I really like the idea that a taste can be “gorgeous.”
Nurse and the Crystal Ball, The
by Florence Stewart (1969)
It would take more than a fortune-teller to solve Nurse Sue Whittier’s dilemma: Should she tell her dying former sweetheart the truth, or should she leave him in peace and let his scheming wife and brother rob him…?
Clouded Future…
When Sue Whittier unpacked her suitcase, 3000 miles away from the nurses’ dormitory in Maryland, she found a fortune-teller’s crystal ball under her nylons. It was a friend’s idea of a joke, but Sue–who didn’t believe in such things–wished it could tell her what she was letting herself in for. She had driven to California to be with Dave Harding, the man she had walked out on seven years ago just before their wedding–a dying man now who had written, begging her to come. And she had…even though seeing Dave would mean seeing his half-brother, Marv, too–the secret reason Sue had broken that engagement. Still, she was prepared for that. What she wasn’t prepared for was finding another old love of Dave’s at his bedside: Gloria, the blonde he had married on the rebound, the wife who had deserted him two months later and has now returned–with a son she claimed was his. But was it true…? Sue didn’t need a crystal ball to tell her that here was a woman who couldn’t be trusted…
When I read “she found a fortune-teller’s crystal ball under her nylons,” my first thought was, “Well, there’s a an anatomical euphemism I’ve never heard before.”
And if I was Dave Harding, and:
- My bride-to-be ditched me at the altar for my half-brother named Marv.
- My scheming, blonde ex-wife named Gloria showed up with a snot-nosed kid and a paternity suit.
- I had cancer.
I’d refuse treatment and pray for a speedy end.
Dole Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Prepare topping first.
- Melt 3 tbsps. butter or margarine in 9” round or 8”x8”x2” square pan.
- Sprinkle with ½ cup brown sugar.
- Over sugar arrange 4 slices Dole pineapple and Maraschino cherries.
Set aside while mixing cake part.
- Cream 1⁄3 cup shortening with ½ cup sugar.
- Add 1 egg, unbeaten, and 1 tsp. vanilla.
- Sift together 1¼ cups sifted flour, ¼ tsp. salt, 1½ tsps. baking powder.
- Add to first mixture alternately with ½ cup syrup drained from pineapple, beating smooth after each addition.
- Spread batter over pineapple in pan and bake in moderate oven (350°) 50 to 60 min.
- Turn out on plate, serve warm with whipped cream.
Serves 6 to 8.
This postcard is in honor of Chronicler’s Kitchen Krafts find. I haven’t tried the recipe yet, but surely any company-sponsored recipe found on the back of a cheap, hyper-saturated, out-of-register postcard from the mid-60s has got to be delicious, right?