Science with Steph

Congaree National Park is a National Park and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve for the largest area of protected old growth forest in the United States. 

Today’s podcast is more physics than geology and focuses on the Death Valley Racetrack and Sailing Stones. Now, when I think of a racetrack, I immediately picture cars driving an oval at fast speeds. And so, when I originally heard that Death Valley had a racetrack, I thought “oh, they must have raced cars here many years ago.” not even really thinking about the logistics of how cars might have made the travel to this remote location. The racetrack is remote and an over 2-hour drive from the nearest filling station today. I cannot even contemplate how a vehicle would have gotten fuel if it was a racetrack for vehicles. So, not a vehicle racetrack but a racetrack for rocks?!

My husband and I are on a quest to complete a bucket list item to visit all the National Parks Service properties. This past March we headed out to Death Valley National Park in California. While touring the park, we met and chatted with many other visitors who were fascinated to learn we were both geologists. As we were chatting, this season's podcasts began to form. I'll walk you through the geology of the park, how the morphological features formed, and through in a bit of some history here and there. This episode will be one of the longer ones, so buckle up and enjoy the tour. 

A quick delve into the history of binary code and the codes hidden in plain sight. #daremightythings #binarycode