8.2 Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame de Paris comes to Korea!

The musical Notre Dame de Paris debuted in 1998 in France and has been seen by more than 10 million people worldwide. This tragic love story is based on Victor Hugo’s famous novel.  In place of dialogue, the story is told through 54 beautiful songs and accompanied by both ballet and modern dances.

Location: Seoul Arts Center

Schedule: February 2 - 24

Weekdays at 8:00 pm Saturday at 7:30 pm Sunday at 3:00 pm & 6:00 pm

(No Monday shows)

Ticket Prices:

VIP box 150,000 won Section 1 100,000 won Section 2 80,000 won Section 3 50,000 won

Student tickets for section 3 are only 10,000 won. Group discounts are available for parties of 15 or more (20% discount).

8.1 Ghostwriter

Do you know what a ghostwriter is? Is it someone who writes ghost stories?  Or is it the ghost of a dead writer?

 

Actually, a ghostwriter is a person who writes a book for someone else. 

Many books by famous people were written by ghostwriters. One famous example is the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Profiles in Courage. For years, people thought it was written by John F. Kennedy, the former American president. But in 2009, Kennedy’s speechwriter, Theodore Sorenson, admitted he wrote many parts of the book.

So, why do people hire ghostwriters to write books for them? In some cases, they are too busy to write the book on their own. Other people simply don’t have enough writing skills or experience.

The next time you read a book by someone famous, don’t be surprised at his or her writing talent. The book may not be their own creation.

7.5 Voices

If the voices of people are annoying you, try turning on a fan. Then you will notice that the voices can no longer be heard.  But why does the noise of the fan help you ignore the voices? 

The secret lies in the white noise. Think about white light — it’s made by combining all colors of light. The same is true of white noise. It contains all frequencies of sound put together. Examples of white noise are the hiss of the wind, the buzzing sound of a television when the reception is bad, and the sound of a vacuum cleaner. These sounds act to mask all the sounds around you.

How does white noise work? Let’s say two people are talking. Your brain is following the words. But what if 1,000 people were talking? You wouldn’t be able to understand anyone’s words. White noise is like the sound of 1,000 voices, and it prevents your brain from following the conversation.

Using this effect, there are even machines that make white noise to help people focus on something. Next time you’re studying in a noisy place, why don’t you try using white noise?

7.4 Fishing nets

Fishing nets are common in the ocean. But did you know they can also be used in space?

The Earth’s orbit is full of junk. In fact, scientists estimate that there are 370,000 pieces of space debris up there. There is concern that a piece of junk might crash into a satellite. A crash would result in thousands more pieces of debris, possibly destroying many other satellites. On Earth, we rely on satellites for things like GPS, international phone connections, television signals and weather forecasts, so this could be a big problem.

To deal with this, Japanese space scientists and a 100-year-old fishing net company came up with a brilliant idea. They will attach a thin metal fishing net to a satellite and then launch the satellite into space. Once in orbit, the net will be released from the satellite to collect space junk. Several weeks later the net, charged with electricity, will be pulled down by the Earth’s magnetic field. The net and the junk inside will both burn up as they enter Earth’s atmosphere. In this way, a simple fishing net will make space much cleaner and safer!

7.3 Desert: Survival Strategies

The desert can be a dangerous environment. The sun is hot in the sky and the air can feel like an oven.  And — most importantly — there is little water. You could die in only a few days. But here is a survival strategy to create water:

1. Dig a hole in a bright sunny spot. The hole should be about 3 feet deep and 4 feet wide.

2. Place a cup at the bottom.

3. Put a plastic bag over the hole. 

Put rocks on the edges to protect it from wind.

4. Place a small rock in the middle of the plastic so that the plastic bag is pushed down a little. Don’t let the plastic bag touch the cup. It should be a few inches above the cup.

5. Put sand and rocks over the edges of the plastic bag, so that no moisture can get out.

6. The sun will draw moisture out of the soil. This moisture will stay under your plastic bag, and drip into your cup.

But remember! This survival strategy should only be for emergencies. Always carry plenty of water in the desert!

7.2 Plesetsk Air Base

In July of 2006, scientists at Russia’s Plesetsk Air Base were busy preparing the satellite Arirang-2 for launch. Then an 80-year-old lady appeared with a sewing basket.  The lady opened the basket, threaded a needle, and started to sew, stitch by stitch. This lady had 50 years’ experience of such work since the world’s first satellite. She was making a gold dress for the satellite.

This was no ordinary dress, though. Known as multi-layer insulation (MLI), it was designed to protect satellites from the hard conditions of space: burning sunlight, cosmic debris, and temperatures as cold as -270°C.

The MLI had to be made by hand. This is because it had to fit around all of the satellite’s shapes. While the MLI provides great protection, its bright gold color also makes satellites the most brilliant objects in the sky.

7.1 Francis Bacon

(A) In 1626 Francis Bacon had the cool idea that snow might keep food fresh, just like modern refrigerators do. One winter day, he ran to the market, bought a chicken, and filled it with snow.  The result: Bacon caught a cold and died a few days later. 

(B) In AD 79 a man named Pliny wanted to study the volcano Vesuvius as it erupted. He went too close and died after breathing in too much volcanic dust.

(C) The Swedish scientist Karl Scheele discovered more new chemicals than anyone else. He also had the dangerous habit of tasting them. Amazingly, he tasted the deadly chemical hydrogen cyanide and lived. But he also tasted mercury and wasn’t so lucky. He died of mercury poisoning.