It all starts with poster board.
Getting mom to drive to the drug store to load up on the thick flimsy is a great start to a great project. Grab a sheet of white, a sheet of neon pink, and if you’re lucky one of those thick cardboard three-folds. Come on, we both know that cardboard added some scientific integrity to your research — the seventh grade equivalent of getting your work published in The New England Journal of Awesome.
Now, it doesn’t end there. Next you’re grabbing markers, spray paint, baking soda, and Styrofoam. Once you’ve got everything together you’re rushing home and getting down to science, people. The carpeted corner of the unfinished basement becomes your lab and it’s time to spend hours putting on lab coats, staring into microscopes, and pour bubbling green liquids into beakers. Also, taping.
Come on and let’s count down some classics:
6. The solar system. Jabbing those spray-painted Styrofoam balls with a straightened out coat hanger is a truly great feeling. As is painting a splotchy brown Australia on Earth and a big eye on Jupiter. If you want to go the To Scale route, remember to leave Pluto at home.
5. Volcano. There are two types of eruptions. First, there’s the Underwhelming Fizz — where you stare deep into the mouth of the fiery beast only to witness some rock-hard hunks of baking soda floating in a pool of strong-smelling vinegar. It’s disappointing, but you can always try again and hope for a Superblow — where everyone stares with wide-eyes as red ooze bubbles and slides down your carefully painted volcano onto the GI Joe townspeople below.
4. The one the kid’s parents obviously did. Also known as robbing your child of the thrill of scientific discovery in exchange for a B+.
3. Growing something. Whether it was lima beans or patches of fresh grass, it was a a classic move to study Sunlight vs. Shadows, Music vs. No Music, or Watering Plants vs. Pouring Coke On Them.
2. Coke is bad. Speaking of Coke, did you have that kid who left a tooth or some nails sitting in it for a month? The groundbreaking research typically concluded with a harsh indictment of the entire soda industry. And maybe a business card for the kid’s dad who was a dentist.
1. The one that didn’t work. Every science fair had a few of these gems. They were sad and beautiful at the same time. Because that down-faced ten year old standing in front of a dim lightbulb was learning how to deal with lost efforts and how to get back their drive after a fall. Keep that chin up, tiger. You’ll get ’em next time.
Yes, beautiful science fair moments were always a perfect close to months of hallway passion, energetic teachers, and long lonely nights cutting construction paper letters with pinking shears. Letting kids learn, letting kids dream, letting kids try and try and try — well, there’s just so much good that comes of that.
As they bottle insects, jab battery wires into lemons, and rub magnets together, you can see the whirring gears spinning with delight. Yes, all that learning just sponges, soaks in, and sticks there forever as the next generation of curiosity seekers tease their buzzing minds forward and forward and forward…
AWESOME!
Pre-order The Book of Awesome
Photos from: here
Pulling up to your house and seeing the parking spot right in front open.
Everyone who lives in San Francisco knows that parking is not always easy. Especially when you are getting home from a long day at work the last thing you want to do is drive around looking for a parking spot and then endure the 2-3 block walk home after you find one.
But on the rare day when the spot right in front of your house is open, that is awesome!
Jumping off your swing at full height. It was the most daring thing you could do as a kid, and the greatest feeling in the world was when you finally build up the courage to let go, feeling your body soar through the air as you land on your butt in the sand. AWESOME!!!
when there is paper towel in public washrooms
Amen… I mean, do the air dryers even work? I always feel like my hands are just as wet after I use them.. just a little warmer..
http://1000awesomethings.com/2009/02/26/821-when-the-public-bathroom-has-paper-towel-instead-of-hand-dryers/
When you get put on hold or call waiting and are expecting to wait for hours on end and someone on the other line at telus or green peace answers right away!
AWESOME!
When you walk up to the bus stop just as the bus pulls in.
You feel like a total public transit all star when you can casually just walk on board. No waiting. No running. Are you lucky, or just awesome to have this happen to you? Both. This event totally makes riding the bus seem like your own personal limo. And it only cost $2.50.
No long, wet, cold wait for you today!
http://1000awesomethings.com/2009/05/29/755-when-you-arrive-at-the-bus-stop-just-as-the-bus-is-coming-around-the-corner/
Being the first person in the car crossing the state line.
my family and i play that game. it’s the only time we can un-buckle our seatbelts.
Going for a walk with a beautiful girl (i guess there should be an alternative for girls here… meh, they can enjoy that too :))
finally getting your back/neck to pop after it’s been bothering you — whether you did it by twisting and contorting or had a friend help you out by hugging, pushing and sitting. that feeling of utter relief where all the tension is gone is so good. even back cracks and stretching in the morning are especially liberating and
AWESOME!
Doing well in an exam when you weren’t expecting to.
also, being done with your period and getting to wear your favorite cute, sexy, or comfy underwear without the fear of staining them is awesome!
Freddo? Any comment here?
Yeaaaahhhhh… about that..
I decided to let you cover this one..
lol; put those granny panties in the back of the underwear drawer for another month. Yes fellas, this does warrant a check mark!
Bubble wrap. Seriously, it’s awesome. Remember when you were a kid and you and your siblings would fight over bubble wrap that came in packages? And then your mom would tell you to quit popping the bubbles because she wanted to reuse that. But when she wasn’t looking you would pop a few here and there where she wouldn’t notice.
AWESOME!
i am obsessed with bubble wrap! i love it!
And at least it isn’t used as textured wall paper! :)
http://1000awesomethings.com/2009/01/30/840-popping-bubble-wrap/
Wildflowers.
Any and Every color imaginable. They remind you that Spring is truly here, because even the weather can’t trick a wildflower. As you drive by, windows down, breeze blowing, they intoxicate your senses with the lightly sweet aroma of happiness and relaxation.
an afternoon nap after a day at the beach or pool. especially while on vacation because you’re liberated from any daily hassels that would normally be looming over your head.
it’s awesome because the air conditioning feels amazing on your probably now-burned skin, you’re wiped out from a day of swimming and it feels good to just lay stationary, and you get some rest before leaving to go out to eat or see friends in the evening.
oh, and it’s especially amazing when there’s a classic summer thunderstorm that brought everyone in. i love those personally. they’re what makes summer, summer. and don’t we all love summer?
Drinking coffee outside in an early sunny morning!
On the veranda, on the terrace before going to work, in a cafeteria on a cute European square, even at the gas station when you stop for a brake when traveling somewhere…
There is just something in the smell of a fresh coffee while the chilly morning rays are gently touching your skin…
When you are Instant Messaging someone and you anticipate what they’re going to say next and type it milliseconds before they do. (This also applies in real life when talking to people, but I’m not as good at that. ;P) Awesome!
Hitting the ball well.
May be the first day of Spring and you are playing a sport and you hit it so perfectly the other players just cannot match it.
1)Hitting a tennis ball right in the rectangle and getting an ace.
2) Hitting a home-run in baseball and your team at the home plate ready to pick you up.
3)Getting a perfect goal in hockey or soccer that the goalie cannot reach.
4) In ping-pong when you finally get that spin on the serve where you leave your opponent with their mouth hanging open.
5) In pool when you hit the ball just right and getting it in the hole.
Traveling off road.
Whether on an ATV or in a SUV, there is so much you would have missed had you not taken the path less traveled. The extra bumpy ride, and mud caked shoes are worth it for the secluded swimming hole, and the unexplored caves.
Finally realizing that the meaning of a word or phrase you thought you’ve understood forever is incorrect. And then you have an… “ohhhh THAT’S what it means!” moment!
This will sound ridiculous, but the other day I caught myself realizing what RPM meant on my car. I guess I had always thought about it in reference to a bike (since this was my first independent means of transportation). I realized that it could not mean the same thing on my car… RPM’s can go down as you go faster, so it couldn’t be in reference to the wheels. I had never thought about this before! I felt instantly smarter. Of course, it is always a good idea to keep these thoughts to yourself, because anyone else will think you’re an idiot.
Yeah! Or suddenly realizing that you’ve been reading a word wrong. Like when I first learned about the word “pubic” in health class, I mis-read it as “public”. Boy was THAT awkward!
Thinking you have nothing to eat then realizing you just happen to have all the ingredients to make a really good smoothie. Frozen berries, an overly ripe banana and fruit juice. See also:
peanut butter cookies
Drinking the milk after eating chocolatey cereal.
Mmmmm… This is great for all sugary cereals..
This is why, no matter how old I get, I refuse to eat “grown-up cereals”. What I have for breakfast this morning? Lucky Charms!
http://1000awesomethings.com/2009/05/08/770-grabbing-the-cereal-bowl-with-both-hands-and-slurping-up-all-the-sugary-milk/
Forgetting to bring the lunch you packed to work only to see that another co worker has brought home made cookies/muffins for everyone to share!!
Finding out you have a mutual friend.
A while back I made a list of things that made me happy (ie. Awesome things) Here are three of them:
Waking up from a bad dream then realizing it’s not real and that everything is okay.
Thinking it’s a weekday and that you have school (or work), then discovering that it is in fact, a weekend!
(Applies to students) Counting up the marks you got on a test, seeing that the teacher miscounted and you get a better mark than before.
Totally … AWESOME.
When you’re at a party or a club and there’s that one song that just makes you think ‘Damn this is is SO good!’ and it makes you dance like you think you’re that guy from ‘The In-Crowd’.
The night goes on, and you completely forget about that one amazing song.
And then the next morning, by some stroke of genius, you manage to remember a snippet of the lyrics, and after snooping about on the internet for a while, YOU FIND IT.
and listening to it, you re-live some of the brilliance of the night before.
AWESOME.
Optimism.
Sometimes we all need to look on the bright side.
Dialing the wrong number
It could end with a hang-up, a “STOP CALLING ME YOU HAVE THE WRONG NUMBER”, or one of your friends just messing with you and you actually have the RIGHT number.
If it does turn out to be someone you don’t know, or someone calls you from the wrong number, you really step back and think about the billions of people who could be calling you that you do not know, and it makes you feel really small.
Sometimes it turns into a random conversation about the weather, and you get a glimpse into what someone else’s life is like right this second.
Any wrong number begins with the embarrassment of invading someone else’s personal space/life, but regardless if the person called is rude or fun about it, the situation always ends in
AWESOME.
when youre in a bad mood but then you talk to the one person in your life that always makes you feel better. and its not even that you talk about whats making you sad, but he or she is just so happy and excited that their good vibes just transfer to you.
awesommeee!
Spring Break: because for a whole week, you get to relax and not have to worry about school :]
and if you’re in college, you get to go home
Not sure if this has been on the list already, but something that is awesome is walking into class, and learning that you’re watching a movie that day. There’s a lot less thinking and less chances to get called on. When the lights turn off, I think we all give a sigh of relieve.
Unless the teacher is mean and makes us take notes on the movie. Even then, though, it’s still AWESOME!
Doing something right the first time.
When I went to test for my driver’s license, I was nervous. There were so many things to remember, and that blasted parallel parking wasw the most useless thing I ever had to learn. After hours of waiting, I went out for the test drive. I passed, I even got the parallel parking down perfectly. No redos, no humiliation, just pure AWESOME.
Wow – doing this on your driver’s test bumps this up to a whole new level of awesome!
http://1000awesomethings.com/2008/09/18/937-perfect-parallel-parking-on-the-first-try/
544. Family baseball games against the neighbors
You’ve got the whole crew in the van when you’re driving home from work, turn onto the cul-de-sac and spot Mr. Johnson outside mowing his lawn.
You start to slow down, say hi, ask him what his plans are for the day.
“Oh, no plans? Why don’t you and the gang come over and play some ball?”
“Ah, that sounds great. I’ll have them change out of their work clothes and we’ll be down in a bit.”
..but the game is where the awesomeness lies. Good old neighborhood rivalry. Where it’s no longer who has the greenest grass, but who can slug the ball the hardest, then run like the wind.
Plus, it’s a family affair. A fun one. Mom’s got outfield (no offense), brother #1 at first, Dad at pitch, brother #2 at third, among many other fielding possibilities.
It’s all in good fun. A way to relish in the sunshine and be happy to have a good family and good friends.
There are bound to be some falls, some fouls, some laughs, and a Sunday afternoon well spent.
So next time your family is cooped up inside playing video games and cleaning the house, throw on that old baseball cap, pound that dusty mit a bit, and invite the neighbors over for a family friendly game of ball.
When the cars’ blinker in front of you are in totaly synch for just a few seconds.
Awsome!! :]
Yes!! I have a really long commute from home to school every day … and when my blinker and the blinker of the car in front of me are in perfect synchronization for a few seconds, it just about makes my morning. :)
Reakizing there is a smiley face in the upper right corner of 1000awsomethings.com
love it!
Exchanging a look with a stranger. You know the kind of look where you know exactly what each other means that you exchange with really close friends? It’s more awesome with strangers. :]
Having a cold for a really long time and not being able to taste anything. Then you take your first bite into your morning breakfast and realize you can taste food again!
sweet!
Kickball in the rain.
This is my childhood memories. The feel of the wet cement on your barefeet, then kicking that ball as far as you can and running to first base (which is the first puddle) in your sopping wet hair and clothes.
Awsome!
Managing to apply nailpolish without smudging. You can’t help but feel like a miniature artist once you’re finished. I’m currently rocking some smudge-free electric blue nails, pretty awesome if I do say so myself! :)
#544: That excitement you feel realizing that you’re not the only one who thought __(insert your experience here)__ is awesome. I’ve had that feeling many-a-times while reading this blog, and I suppose it goes along with the idea of knowing you’re not alone. Grin.
Receiving a gift months after the event.
Your birthday passes, a distant relative says,”Oh I got you something.”
Eventually enough time has passed that you forget all about the verbally gifted item. Then you see them (or they send it in the mail), and a token of love is presented. It may not be much, but who cares, because not only did they think of you to begin with, but they remembered you all these months later.
This just happened to me yesterday. My birthday was December, and my soon to be Aunt-in-law gave me a present, still wrapped in Christmas paper!
:)
When your favorite artist releases a new album!
It doesn’t matter what it sounds like–you’re going to love it.
The day ypu realize spring has finally sprung.
You can hear the birds through your closed windows, just tempting you to put on those old jean shorts that fit you oh-so well. When you walk outisde there are kids riding down the street on scooters. That spring smell and the scotter wheels just bring you back to so many memories. Pretty Aws0me, huh?
The feeling after you watch a really good movie.
– All the different kinds of phobias.
Awesome!
I was at Taco Bell with my boyfriend the other day, and as I filled up my small drink with Mountain Dew Baja Blast, I went to grab a lid.
Now, as these lids are not labeled their sizes, I grabbed one, hoping I would get lucky and pick the correct size for my cup.
Unfortunately I didn’t, but I was thinking about how awesome it would have been if I picked the right size.
AWESOME.
Thunderstorms so loud that they shake the whole house.
Breaking out into Disney sing-a-longs. Makes you feel like a ‘lil kid again. :D
544 Sea Legs
Everybody has been to the beach at some point in their life. If not, you should go. Now. GO!
Heh, just kidding. But getting to the point, you know when you’ve spent the entire day soaking up that summer sun, feeling the waves push and pull your legs.. And after a long day of sand castles, picnic baskets, boogie boarding and a long car ride home with the fine grains of sand still against your skin, you slip into a nice warm bed and… relax.
Then you feel it, the everlasting feeling of the water pushing and pulling against your feet. So calming, so relaxing.
It’s time to… just… shleep.
Perfect socks.
You know? The ones soft enough that it feels like you’re walking on air, but they snap perfectly to your feet to ensure minimum slippage.
Also!
Being chosen to win a contest on your favorite website/radio station.
Discovering for the first time that someone you really like also really likes you.