Not Smarter Than A Fourth Grader

We’re at the tipping point, friends.

Declan knows more than me.

Lately he has been interested in stars, and space, and the universe – so we started watching How The Universe Works via Netflix. We were also thrilled to see that Boulder astronomer Phil Plait (aka @badastronomer on Twitter) appears on the show – so we knew we were destined to watch.

Dex wanted to see the Black Hole episode first because he had learned about them in school.

“Mama, they are so cool! They turn you into spaghetti.”

Heh, I thought. He is so cute. And so imaginative. I mentally patted him on the head for being charming.

About 20 minutes later, Phil described what would happen to a person if they entered a black hole. That their feet would be pulled in first and quicker because the gravity would be stronger at that part of the body, versus the head.

“We call this the ‘spagettification’ of an object. Where it turns into a noodle as it enters the black hole.”

OK, kid. I give up.

Tell me, and Jeff Foxworthy, all about it.

NASA Black Hole
Image by NASA

This article has 7 comments

  1. zipper

    Ha, that kid cracks me up!!!

  2. Aimee Greeblemonkey

    Chris – the other thing that doesn’t help is that hubby Bryan TOTALLY gets it. It’s now the 2 of them explaining it to me – HA!

  3. TheAntiM

    You have reached the mom/kid event horizon.

  4. alejna

    Heh.

    Sounds like a good show, in any case.

  5. monstergirlee

    I am dreading the day my boy brings home math homework and I cannot help him. I’m sure it’s closer than I think.
    Netflix FTW!

  6. chris

    Okay, seriously, this is my 11 yr. olds favorite show right now. He’s in Netflix heaven with these shows. And I’m not smarter than MY kid either. These shows are nightly dinner topics between him, his brother and father. To say I’m a little lost is putting it lightly. lol

  7. Sizzle

    My nephew (who is 5) often says stuff that I’m like “I didn’t know that!”. I feel like it’s preparing me for having a kid. 🙂

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