Richard's Poor Almanac by Richard Thompson for August 12, 2015

Transcript:

richard's poor almanac - by richard thompson perseus man: the head's over there. woman: no it isn't. the perseid meteor shower hello stargazers! tonight the perseid meteor shower will be at its peak! to view it, simply go outside, find the constellation that looks the most like perseus (it's a toughie!) and stare. the three basic types of meteor up there. down there. behind you. what are meteors? meteors, also known as space dander, star molt & li'l spockies, are tiny random flecks of comet lint, and they come in three varieties (see chart). when they hit our earth's atmosphere they go kshpt! and burn up. a meteor that hits the earth is a meteorite, and it's worth money! sort of like ambergris (literally, "whale suet."). ambergris is a revolting whale bod-ily discharge that for years was added to expensive perfumes as a practical joke. many alert beach-combers became instant millionaires upon finding a lump of ambergris on the sand! so you should definitely take a bucket when you go to watch the perseid meteor shower, just in case. plus, it may amuse other stargazers boted with waiting for some random flecks of comet lint to go kshpt. guy: c'mon, baby!