Tuesday, July 15, 2008

The problem with mermaids

Catherine said yesterday: "Mom, I want to talk underwater."

I began an explanation about how that didn't work very well because air is necessary to transmit the sound when she interrupted me:

"But what about Ariel?"

Um, yeah, Ariel can talk underwater in the movie just fine. You do have a point there.

Can those pesky Santa sleigh logistics questions be far behind?
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6 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:48 AM, July 15, 2008

    Perhaps mermaids talk more like dolphins & whales do ...

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  2. :)9:55 AM, July 15, 2008

    But can SANTA talk under water???

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  3. Nancy Toby9:59 AM, July 15, 2008

    I have no idea!!! How can we test it??

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  4. rachel6:06 PM, July 15, 2008

    water transmits sound just beautifully. we don't breathe in air to speak (go ahead, try it, possible but not optimal), we expel air when we speak. the problem is that then we can't absorb enough air under water to breathe and demise or surfacing quickly follow.

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  5. rachel6:06 PM, July 15, 2008

    first you have to kidnap santa.. (cue Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton)

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  6. Nancy Toby6:23 PM, July 15, 2008

    Rachel - Yeah, you have a point. I was making up an answer to kind of avoid the question.... I thought the physics of sound transmission might be beyond her grasp right now.

    So how does Ariel do it, then? Alternately breathe water or air as she chooses?

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