Shawn Knight just sent me an article on his blog about the intense tornado activities in the Mid-South USA. The pictures are just mind-blowing. Most people in Vancouver, which is where I call home for the time being, have no idea what a tornado really is like, because we don’t have it here. However I could relate to Shawn’s article because I grew up in Missouri, USA, which neighbours the famous Mississippi River, and Kansas City as well as Kansas State, and during my 2 years there, I’ve seen my …

The following is an actual question given on a University of Washingtonchemistry mid term.
The answer by one student was so “profound” that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well :
Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?
Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle’s Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.
One student, however, wrote the following:
First, we need …