Friday, February 20, 2009

Caught in a Brainstorm

Today's Wonder of the World is...the Amazing Brain!

Flickr photo by ClintJCL
Lately I've been thinking about how weird the human brain is.
And not just because it looks like a walnut.

Flickr photo by mkushin
See what I mean?

No, I'm talking about the freaky things the brain does, all by itself.
For instance, it takes these two revolving sculptures,

and sees the headless lady dancing between them.
Cool, huh? I just wish we could hear the music.
If we're not careful, our minds might invent some to go with it.

Speaking of inventing sounds, have you ever heard of sine wave speech? My dear husband started telling me about it the other day, and just as I was about to nod off (just kidding sweetie!) he showed me some examples.
People, it BLEW MY MIND!
Listen to this (#1A), and see if you can understand it. Weird, huh? Sounds like sound effects from Dr. Who.
Now give this (#1B) a listen, and go back and try 1A again. Now it's as clear as can be! Right?
Freaky!
Since you knew what to expect, your brain filled in the missing parts!

Want to try another one?
How about this (#2A) and its clear version (#2B)
Let's all give your brain a hand. (Applause, applause.)

Of course, our brains' willingness to jump in sometimes confuses things.
When my daughter's best friend first heard Lil Jon sing Snap Yo Fingers (and yes, children, your ancient mother is embarrassing you by quoting Lil Jon on her blog,) she insisted he was actually saying "Snap your bagels!"
Listen to it and see if your brain doesn't agree! (He says it the first time around the 24 second mark.)

I wonder what Sarah's friend thinks about Obama's Elf?


(You don't want to be Obama's Elf anymore? I'll do it!)
The brain doesn't just invent elves for presidents. It even colorizes! See?

Oh, mighty brain, we don't give you enough credit.
We should build hospitals in your image.

Flickr photo by tragesesse14350
Oh that's right! We already have! It's the International Neuroscience Institute in Germany.

We really should stop taking your name in vain.
No more calling people Birdbrain!
No more Pea-brain!

Flickr photo by dadadreams
(Too bad. I really like Pea-brain!)
I say we should hop on over to Etsy right now and give the brain the honor it deserves!
We'll don our brain shirts,

Photo by isotope.etsy.com
(Found HERE)
Put on our brain earrings,

Photo by beatblack.etsy.com
(Found HERE)
And drink out of brain cups!

Photo by foldedpigs.etsy.com
(Found HERE.)
It's all cool stuff, and zombies will love us!

I hope I haven't given you a brain freeze!

Flickr photo by ChrisP2005
Have a wonder-full Friday, y'all, and a great weekend!
Love, Becky

17 comments:

Creations by Marie Antoinette and Edie Marie said...

You certainly was caught in a brainstrom,I love the peabrain,because i've used that term many time while I blog.I have a peabrain you see,Anyho i love this brainy post.Hugs Marie Antionette

Unknown said...

I love the brain. Well, I guess the more proper thing to say is that I really respect the brain and all that it does for us. It's a fascinating organ!

Oh, I have a remedy for brain freeze! Just put the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth...near the back (no, don't GAG yourself, LOL!) just far enough back just before the hard palate meets the soft palate and it will make the brain freeze headache go away sooner!

Trust me, it works! :)

a Tonggu Momma said...

Did I ever tell you I had a brain MRI? Well I did. And I brought it in to show my class one day. And one of the students told his momma that doctor's cut up my head, took my brain out and took a picture of it. LOL.

Rosemary said...

How brainy of you!!
You have a great weekend too!
Rosemary

Adrienne said...

Obama's elf is hilarious! Thanks for the laugh!

What weird timing - yesterday my daughter was studying sheep brains in science class. Of course she had to describe it during dinner.

Unknown said...

Your husband and mine would get along great. By chance, does he also subscribe to Scientific America LOL?

Unknown said...

You are SO amazing!!! You have a very creative, imaginative brain.

Kelly H-Y said...

Always such fun and informative posts! I will never look at a walnut the same way! :-)

May Vanderbilt said...

Whoa! Those listening tracks BLEW MY MIND. The kettle boiled quickly indeed!

TattingChic--that's a great tip. I'm totally going to try that next time I get a brain freeze.

Rebecca Ramsey said...

I've always wanted to know what to do about a brain freeze and now I know! Thanks, TC!

Draffin Bears said...

Hi Becky,

Wonderful post with caught in a brainstorm and a lot of interesting things you shared with us.

I loved the Montparnasse dancers -
We went to Le gare Montparnasse to go and visit some friends who lived at Le Mans, so that was special to me.

Enjoy your weekend
Hugs
Carolyn

Attic Rat said...

Thanks for the brain food. I'm still trying to get my brain working this morning. I think it has decided to take the weekend off. LOL!

Teresa

Cindy said...

wooow...weird stuff Becks..weird stuff indeed. And you won THE shoes...ohmygosh...you lucky dog you! Are they just amazing or what?

c

judy in ky said...

Never heard of Lil John before, so I think I'm glad I don't have kids. I still like Henry Mancini and Burt Bacharach! I would REALLY embarrass my kids if I had any!

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

So much fun!
What does it mean if I understood the garbled words about the kettle boiling before I heard them in the clear version?? Am I an alien or something?? Could explain a lot.

CC said...

Those sound clips were cool and Obama's Elf... AWESOME!!

I had intended to buy a brain jello mold for a student project, but never got around to it. So I made the jello in a regular bowl and told the kids to pretend. Bwhahahaha!

David Ebright said...

I've suspected there are many with a brain the SIZE of a walnut - never realized how similar they look.