Posted by The Free-Ride offspring are currently summering (for a couple weeks, anyway) with The Grandparents Who Lurk But Seldom Comment. Practically, this means the conversations between Free-Ride offspring and parents over the past week have been brief and focused on how awesome day camp is.
I have, however, taken steps to ensure that while I am deprived of the physical presence of my offspring, you will not be deprived of the weekly installment of sprog blogging. To this end, I gave each of the sprogs a book to read during their visit with their grandparents and asked them to report back on their books via email.
Of course, I forgot to issue a mid-week reminder.
Nonetheless, the elder Free-Ride offspring was prepared to deliver a report on this book:
Mummies, Bones, and Body Parts
By Charlotte Wilcox
What I learned:
1: Mummies can be naturally created or man-made.
2: Carbon dating is often inaccurate. [I assume this inaccuracy is with respect to the typical age of the mummies being dated. Maybe it's a consequence of the mummification process? I'll need to ask the elder Free-Ride offspring about this.]
3: Natural mummification can happen in a bog.
4: Sacrifices were sometimes mummified.
5: Preserved body tissue might tell scientists how someone died.
6: Bones stay preserved better than body tissue.
7: People sometimes use mummies as decoration or for anatomical demonstrations.
8: Noblepeople were often mummified when they died.
9: Most mummies are sent to museums.
10: Preserved lung tissue looks disturbing. XP [Emoticon in original.]
What I want to know:
1: How did people learn how to mummify others?
2: Why did people sacrifice children to their “Gods”? [Scare-quotes in original]
3: Who (or what) was the first person mummified?
4: Why do grave robbers sell creepy preserved things? [I'm guessing capitalism.]
5: Why does preserved lung tissue look like 2-year-old lasagna? [How does my child know what 2-year-old lasagna looks like?]
Major props to the elder offspring for doing blog-homework without any prodding. This sets the bar pretty high for the younger offspring next week.
June 25, 2010
June 25, 2010
June 25, 2010
June 25, 2010
June 25, 2010
June 25, 2010
June 25, 2010