Ask Dr. Mike

[elisem.livejournal.com]

("Ask Dr. Mike" was a highlight of any convention that included it. As TNH said, when she did programming for Minicon, she learned never to schedule anything opposite "Ask Dr. Mike." While most of the hour-long improv was based on questions from the live audience, Mike sometimes would put some seed questions in, just in case there was a lull. These are some of his seed questions. Dating this list is left as an exercise for the reader.)


1) I have a question about household appliances. I once read a book where scientists kept talking about the speed of light in a vacuum. How is this different from the speed of light in, say, a blender?

2) Why do some Olympic athletes inject androids into their blood stream?

3) I've been following the space program for a few years, and I have never been able to understand weightlessness. Why does gravity stop just at the place where the earth's atmosphere peters out? Is this a coincidence, or what? How does gravity work on planets like Venus that don't have any atmosphere at all?

4) How do computers sometimes work?

5) Is it true what they say about Elvis?

6) What would happen if you paint a black hole a different colour?*

7) I was watching old Superman TV shows and noticed that the Man of Steel would just stand still and let bullets bounce off his chest. However, when the crook ran out of ammunition and hurled the empty gun at him, Superman always ducked. Why didn't he just let the gun bounce off his chest too?

8) In international law, what is the legal definition of an "Evil Empire"? Why has the Soviet Union lost its Evil Empire status in the last five years?






* Colloquially, "color"

Comments

[rocza.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I laughed hard. I don't suppose anyone has any of the answers recorded?

[elisem.livejournal.com]

I wish! Though come to think of it, somebody might ask the folks from Minicon (Dave Romm, maybe?) whether there are any recordings of Ask Dr. Mike floating around out there

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

I laughed. Then I read these to Gail.

[pameladean]

I remember the first one very well, though, alas, not the answer.

*hug*

P.