Science Lessons

A lovely afternoon in August, a father and his son take a stroll through the park. Dogs bark, joggers whiff by, walkers and birds chirp in the trees. Junior asks for a balloon at a balloon stand, the father happily complies.

After a while, a dog runs up and scares Junior, who lets go of the balloon. He stares at the balloon, in awe, as it rises past the trees and disappears.

- Daddy! Why does the balloon float away? -

The father isn't phased.

- The balloon floats because of the law of buoyancy. The balloon is filled with a gas called Helium. Helium is a lot lighter than air, and so it's like the balloon is floating in a sea of air. -

Junior is quiet for a few minutes. Sometime later he spots a dog peeing in some bushes. Again he bothers his father.

- Daddy! Why does the dog do THAT!? -

Again unphased, the father responds:

- Junior, dogs pee just like us! We urinate after we eat or drink because we absorb the vitamins and nutrients we can use and expell the rest. -

Junior is quiet once again. A few more minutes down the path, and he spots a young couple, embraced and kissing on the grass. He points to them rudely and asks his father.

- Daddy! Why are those two hugging each other like that? -

The father hesitates.

- That, my boy, is Magic. -