Will the real Cricket World Cup trophy please stand up?

On November 20, 2023November 27, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Sports

I love cricket, even though I’m a crap batter. Cricket is a crazy and confusing sport at the best of times. Seriously, it really is, because everything in the video below is true.

I told you, cricket is crazy. Have you ever tried to explain the rules of cricket to someone; especially someone from a country where cricket is not popular? It’s madness!

But do you know what is also madness? The Men’s Cricket World Cup Trophy. On Sunday 19th November 2023, Australia lifted the Men’s Cricket World Cup for a record 6th time. The 2023 Cricket World Cup was the 13th edition of the competition, but it was only the 7th time the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy had been used. In total, there have been five different Cricket World Cup Trophies!

I told you that cricket is crazy!

1975-1983 (Prudential World Cup Trophy)

The first Men’s Cricket World Cup was hosted by England in 1975, and the main sponsor of the tournament was Prudential, which is a British multinational insurance company. This won’t come as a huge surprise that the trophy was named The Prudential Cup, so the tournament and trophy were known as the same thing.

The West Indies won the tournament in 1975, beating Australia in the final, thus being the first team to win the World Cup and lift the trophy. England hosted the tournament again in 1979, with the West Indies defeating England in the final, and in 1983, India defeated the West Indies in the final, to become world champions for the first time.

The trophy now sits at the Lord’s cricket museum, London, England.

1987 (Reliance World Cup Trophy)

The 1987 World Cup tournament was moved outside of England for the first time because India and Pakistan were the co-hosts. This World Cup had another change, which was over the sponsorship rights. Reliance Industries, which is an Indian multinational conglomerate was the new sponsor.

This resulted in the World Cup being known as the Reliance World Cup, as well as getting a brand new trophy; which you guessed it, was known as the Reliance World Cup Trophy. This trophy was gold-plated and covered in diamonds, which was estimated to have cost around 600,000 Indian rupees, and adjusted for inflation, around 8 million rupees at today’s price.

Australia became world champions for the first time by winning the final against England, and they remain the only country to have won this trophy. I’m unsure of its location, but I would guess it would be held in some cricket museum in Australia.

1992 (Benson and Hedges World Cup Trophy)

The 1992 World Cup moved to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time, with Australia and New Zealand co-hosting the tournament. History likes to repeat itself because the sponsorship and naming rights changed again.

Benson & Hedges, a cigarette conglomerate of all things, became the new sponsor, along with renaming the tournament and a new trophy. The Benson & Hedges World Cup Trophy is a Waterford crystal globe on a wooden base, which was accompanied by the logos of all nine teams. This trophy was rumoured to have cost around £8,000, and adjusted for inflation, around £16,900 at today’s price.

Pakistan won the final, defeating England by 22 runs. There are three facts from the final:

1.) This was Pakistan’s first and only World Cup title.

2.) Pakistan were the only team to have ever won the Benson & Hedges World Cup Trophy.

3.) The trophy is situated at the National Cricket Academy, Lahore, Pakistan.

The Benson & Hedges World Cup Trophy Credit: ICC

1996 (Wills World Cup Trophy)

In 1996, the Cricket World Cup returned to the subcontinent, with India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka co-hosting the tournament. By now you would have noticed the tournament’s new name; Wills World Cup, named after another cigarette company, Wills, after they won the sponsorship and naming rights.

The newly named and designed Wills World Cup Trophy was won by Sri Lanka, defeating Australia in the final by 7 wickets. Just like the 1992 tournament, some facts are important about this trophy.

1.) This was Sri Lanka’s first and only World Cup title.

2.) Sri Lanka were the only team to have ever won the Wills World Cup Trophy.

3.) The trophy is situated at the Sri Lanka Cricket Museum, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Wills World Cup Trophy
Credit: Sri Lanka Cricket

1999-Present (ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy)

24 years after the first tournament, the ICC (International Cricket Council) decided to change things up and award their own trophy. With England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and the Netherlands co-hosting, the ICC unveiled the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy.

This trophy has been constructed from gold and silver, and the centre piece is a golden globe, which is held up by three columns. The symbolism here is represented with the columns, which are shaped as stumps and bails; as well as batting, bowling, and fielding, the three fundamental aspects of cricket. The globe also represents a cricket ball.

The trophy’s height is 60 cm and the weight is approximately 11.0567 kilograms. The names of the previous winners are engraved on the base of the trophy, with space for more. I think the trophy was valued at around £25,000, but I could be wrong.

From 1999, the winning team of each tournament is awarded this trophy; but there’s a catch. As Uddipta Banerjee explained:

“The original World Cup trophy remains at the ICC headquarters in Dubai. A replica of the trophy, which is identical to the original in all aspects apart from the inscriptions of the previous champions, is awarded to the winning team of the Cricket World Cup and remains in their possession.”

The ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy
Credit: Reuters

So, will the real Cricket World Cup trophy please stand up? You have five to choose from. Alright, that’s another blog finished for yet another week, so I hope you’ve enjoyed it. And speaking of enjoying things, guess what’s coming back next week? I’ll give you a clue, Brian May, Michelle Thaller, Bill Nye, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian Cox, and Becky Smethurst, would want nothing to do with it.

That’s right, our Tour of the Solar System continues! Yay. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. My third anniversary of running New Zealand’s 5th least favourite website is coming up soon, so that’s going to be an achievement of a sort.

Anyway, please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, go and lose at Risk, watch out for the Fagradalsfjall volcano, and I’ll see you next week.

Geographical Misconceptions: Part Two

On November 13, 2023November 20, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Geography

I had a meeting a few weeks ago with Some Geek Told Me’s Social Media Consultant and Creative Director. I’ll admit that the discussion was fairly one-sided, however, a decision was made that another Geographical Misconceptions blog needed to be created. The first list of geographical misconceptions can be found here, but it’s nearly two years old. That seems like a long time, though I feel that’s the same length of time it takes a Greenland Shark to blink.

To clarify what a geographical misconception means; at least to me, is a piece of information that people believe to be true, but actually is false.

Just like Superman has various weaknesses, my weaknesses are disinformation, misinformation, and misconceptions.¹ Whenever I hear one of those three types of garbage, my left eye twitches, and my right foot starts tapping. This is me fighting the urge to say something, until I fail, as always, to shut my big fat mouth.

The first list had seven geographical misconceptions, but for the sequel, I’m only going for five. So without wasting any more time, I’ll quote the creator of New Zealand’s fifth least favourite website:

Here are some geographical misconceptions that, to my eternal shame, upset me.

1.) Europe is a country

Very much like the misconception of Africa being a country, this falsehood is very convincing to some people. Their argument would be that Europe has its own currency (Euro €), and its own flag, so it must be a country. Oh, alias, the supermarket is open, but nobody is shopping.

The Euro (€) is a form of currency that’s used in 20 of the 27 countries in the European Union (EU). This means a €20 note you received in Germany, could be spent in Spain or Italy; it has the same value.

There are some countries, microstates, and territories in and outside of Europe that use the Euro as well. However some countries like the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden are located in Europe, but they still use their own currency.

As for the flag, they would be referring to the EU flag, and it represents the union of the 27 countries of the EU. As the United Kingdom is a great example, not every country in Europe is in the EU.²

Europe is not a country, simply because it is a continent.

2.) Mount Kilimanjaro is in Kenya

I can understand why this misconception exists, I really do, but it’s still wrong. Everybody knows that Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and that it is located in Kenya, right? Not quite. Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa, but it’s not in Kenya; it’s actually in Tanzania.

Kenya shares a border with Tanzania to the south, and Mount Kilimanjaro is extremely close to the border. However, 100% of the mountain is on the Tanzanian side of the border. A lot of famous photos advertising Mount Kilimanjaro have been taken in Kenya, but make no mistake, Mount Kilimanjaro is not in Kenya, it’s in Tanzania.

3.) The Giza necropolis is in the middle of a desert

Let’s clear something up first. The Giza necropolis refers to the Giza Plateau, which includes; along with other ancient structures, the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx of Giza.

We’ve all seen amazing photos of the Pyramids and the Sphinx, like these for example:

The photos give the impression that the Giza necropolis is in the middle of a desert, well away from human civilisation, but the truth is always stranger than fiction. The Giza necropolis is extremely close to the city of Giza, which is also known as Greater Cairo, so it’s actually a short bus ride from the city.

So there you go, these ancient structures are over 4,000 years old, but they’re actually close to roads, apartment blocks, hotels, and a Pizza Hut.

4.) Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth

This misconception is a technicality, but like any good Vulcan, we should embrace it. Mount Everest is located in the Himalayas, along the China–Nepal border. From the base to the summit, Mount Everest measures 8,848.86 m (29,031.7 ft). It’s the roof of the world, there is no other point on Earth that is higher. So naturally this would mean that Mount Everest would be the tallest mountain on Earth, correct?

That’s not entirely correct. This is confusing, but on the island of Hawaii, which makes up one of the several islands of the US state of Hawaii, there is a volcano named Mauna Kea. Above sea level, Mauna Kea measures 4,205 m (13,796 ft).

But here’s the technicality; over 50% of Mauna Kea is actually underwater. From the underwater base to the summit, Mauna Kea is actually 10,211 m (33,500 ft), which is more than 1.3 km higher than Mount Everest. This makes Mauna Kea the tallest mountain in the world because it is taller than Mount Everest; measured from the base to the summit.

There is nothing wrong with saying Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world; provided you say: Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world, above sea level. By saying it’s above sea level, it makes the statement more accurate. However as I previously said, this misconception is a technicality, because Mauna Kea is actually taller.

5.) Great Britain and the United Kingdom are the same country

This one really rips my undies. It’s simple, but to explain this better, I’ll use some maps.

The countries we are discussing involve England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland.

Great Britain (territorial and legal term) is a coalition made up of England, Wales, and Scotland.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (territorial and legal term) is made up of surprise, surprise, England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

The British Isles (geographical term only) consists of England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland.

Great Britain and the United Kingdom are not the same country.

There are so many more geographical misconceptions, that I’ll have to badly write another list. I’ll even attempt to tackle some historical misconceptions one day. Alright, that’s it for another week. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. I’m also on Twitter and Mastodon, so drop by and make fun of me for not getting paid for this.

Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, donate to the Gaza Humanitarian crisis, watch the Cricket World Cup semi-finals and final, and I’ll see you next week.

¹I know I didn’t list Sour Cream and Chives. I can and will never forget my original nemesis.

²Give us a B, give us a R, give us an E, give us a X, give us an I, and give us a T. What does it spell? DISASTER!

Every day is the same: Movie Edition

On November 6, 2023November 13, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Movies

People reliving the same day over and over again is not something new to the human experience.

It could be playing against a particular person or team, already knowing that you’re going to lose the same way, just like all the other times you have tried. It could be a new scandal rocking the government, but in reality, it’s an old one because it just keeps happening. It could be having an argument with the same person over the same thing, time, and time, and time again.

There are various ways to describe this experience of reliving the same day, again, again, and again. The first is an extreme form of déjà vu; which I feel deserves a blog post all on its own. Another is having a full-time job; every day is the same as the previous one. Another example is a time loop.

Living in a time loop could bring a plethora of emotions to the surface for a person, whether they are positive or negative, or in some cases, both of them.

Wait a minute Scott, what cases are you talking about?

I’m glad you asked. By the way, you ask amazing questions, well done.

Right, where was I? Of course, the list. Actually reliving the same day in reality would be as terrifying and dangerous as standing up at a women’s rights conference and booing. However, watching someone else work through their emotions during this traumatic time is a lot more entertaining.

I’m not an expert on pop culture, which is abundantly clear because of the lack of imagination in my writing, but also because I have not seen every movie in existence.

Having just said that I have made a list of some of my favourite movies that deal with time loops. As I ignore the sound of trumpets while I announce this, no Some Geek Told Me list would be complete without at least one exception!

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!

Groundhog Day (1993)

Let’s start with the most famous time loop movie of them all; Groundhog Day. Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is stuck in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, USA. It’s 2nd of February, Groundhog Day, and Connors is trapped in a time loop. No matter what happens to him during that day; no matter what, he wakes up in his bed unharmed at the inn at 6 a.m. on the 2nd of February.

Since the day is reset at 6 a.m., Connors remembers everything, but to the rest of the citizens of Punxsutawney, it’s the 2nd of February for the first time. You watch Connors experience every human emotion possible throughout his time in Punxsutawney, all the while trying to achieve a perfect day with his producer, Rita Hanson (Andie MacDowell).

When you meet Connors for the first time, he’s an arse, but as the movie moves forward, you start rooting for him. He slowly starts to change, which means he starts to care about the town. I’ve always liked this movie because the concept is simple and the dialogue is funny as hell.

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Based on the manga All You Need Is Kill, Edge of Tomorrow is a lot better than you think it is; it’s criminally underrated. The short version of this movie is that William Cage (Tom Cruise) is involved in a war with aliens named Mimics, that have invaded Europe.

Cage is killed during a battle after he kills a special type of alien. Some of the alien’s blood enters Cage’s body and after he dies, he wakes up on the previous day, unharmed. Cage retains the memories of the previous day, and with the help of Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), he learns the truth: every time he dies, he resets the day. And some of Cage’s deaths are hilarious!

As the movie progresses, and just like Connors in Groundhog Day, Cage starts to change. He starts to become an excellent soldier, but also a great leader. The concept of constantly dying to reset the day to win a war, brings a lot new level of intensity to a film that has amazing special and practical effects. Live. Die Repeat.

Happy Death Day (2017) and Happy Death Day 2U (2019)

Time looping with a masked serial killer. That is the best way to describe Happy Death Day and the sequel, Happy Death Day 2U. Theresa Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) wakes up in a strange dorm room on her birthday. Later that day, she is murdered by a person wearing a mask of her school mascot.

Gelbman then wakes up in the same dorm room, on the morning of her birthday. As the film moves along, Gelbman understands that every time she is murdered, she wakes up in the same place, at the same time. This allows Gelbman to investigate the killer’s identity, but to do so, she needs to keep dying until she learns the truth, and her deaths become very creative.

Just like Connors and Cage, Gelbman retains her memories of the past day, but nobody else. And just like Cage, Gelbman needs to die to reset the day. However there is a difference: every time she wakes up in the time loop, she is unharmed, but her body has remembered the damage, as her body shows evidence of recovering injuries.

Added that the sequel is even crazier than the original, these two films have taken the time loop genre to places that I’m ashamed to say that I enjoyed.

Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash (2018)

I bet you thought I was going to discuss The Flash (2023) and not a Lego movie, right? The Joker is attacking Metropolis with laughing gas and a fun cannon, so the Justice League is out to stop him. The problem is that Flash is running late because the fastest man alive is always late!

Flash arrives and saves the day, but is drawn into a race with another speedster. Flash wakes up in his room, and just like the same morning, he is running late. Flash soon realises that every time he saves everybody, he ends up racing the strange speedster at the end, then he wakes up in his room on the same day.

Flash is caught in a time loop, and the only person who knows what is going on or could help him break out of it is the strange yellow speedster. But Flash has to catch him first! I think the actual time loop section of the film is quite small, but it’s a plot device to set Flash up for the rest of the film.

This version of a time loop is different from the others, because it’s deliberate, courtesy of the Reverse-Flash!

UMC1, UMC2, and I think it’s hilarious watching Flash go from a happy, positive, and optimistic character, to someone angry, jaded, and desperate to break free of the time loop. We love this movie because Flash is one of UMC2’s favourite superheroes. It has super speed fights, time loops, milkshakes, and a Clown Batman, or is that a Batman Clown?

And here are some honorary mentions:

Run Lola Run (1998)

Primer (2004) ¹

Premature (2014)

The Final Girls (2015)

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016)

Naked (2017)

Palm Springs (2020)

And now for the exception; it’s not a movie, or about a traditional time loop. However, it needs to be mentioned, because when my wife and I saw it, we were gob smacked by its originality.

Doctor Who: Season 9-Episode 11: Heaven Sent (2015)

I’m not going to give too many spoilers for this fantastic episode, because I would rather you discover it for yourself. The Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi) wakes up in a teleporting tube, which appears to be inside a castle of some sort. He has no idea how he got there, how long he’s been there, or why he’s there, but he’s going to find out!

The Doctor soon discovers that he is being hunted, very slowly by a cloaked figure that never stops. The Doctor also learns that the castle is in the middle of an ocean, with no visible means of escaping. As the episode goes on, the Doctor slowly starts to learn, that somehow he has already been there before. He’s there for a very special reason, and more importantly, he has a job to accomplish.

Heaven Sent is easily the best episode of Season 9, if not one of the best episodes of Doctor Who or any television show ever. It’s a great example of why the character is beloved by fans, but also the extraordinary creativity of the production team.

Did I miss your favourite time loop movie out? As always, please let me know. Well, that’s another rant for another week. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. And just like last week, please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, donate to the Gaza Humanitarian crisis, and I’ll see you next Monday.

¹Not technically a time loop movie, but it does have time travel with loops.

I Bleed Black

On October 30, 2023November 6, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Children, Sports

I’m starting with an apology, because this blog is quite shorter and stranger than usual. To expand on this, I’m going to discuss three things today, so hopefully someone can relate to this.

1.) Let’s rip that plaster off now. As you may or may not know, I’m somewhat of a New Zealand rugby supporter. I’ve said this before, but I’m a product of my environment. That being the case, the All Blacks lost the Rugby World Cup Final to South Africa 12-11 on Sunday morning (NZ time), so I’ve been working through a lot of emotions. I’ve been here before, so the emotions aren’t new.

I’m not going to talk about the game, the referee, or the TMO. When I’m ready to talk about these things in a semi-literate way, I will; just not today.

I acknowledge that South Africa won the final, and the All Blacks did not. Congratulations to the Springboks for being the first team to win the William Webb Ellis trophy for a record fourth time.

2.) I travelled to Dunedin on Saturday to watch the Black Ferns vs. Wales, which was part of the WXV1 tournament. I suffered the car trip with my wife, UMC1, and UMC2; and for those unfamiliar with UMC1 and UMC2, they’re my sons: Unmatured Clone 1 (8 years old) and Unmatured Clone 2 (5 years old).

The boys loved it. UMC2 brought his yellow budget binoculars to watch the game and got some hot chips, so he was stoked with the experience. UMC1 had a blast shouting and cheering, as well as calling out set pieces and penalties. The Black Ferns won 70-7, which was quite entertaining and amazing.

Here are some of the photos. I’m sorry about the quality, but I’m a crap photographer.

Some huge tackles were going into this game

I think this line-out photo is the best one

This is the Black Ferns’ Haka

3.) So what’s the point of this short blog? I admire a range of different people for various reasons, so I view them as heroes. This covers people that are alive or dead; male or female and everything in between; people with different religions and different nationalities; scientists, politicians, artists, writers, and everybody else.

I also admire a lot of sports people from different sports and countries. One day I’ll make a blog where I’ll list my heroes, but for the moment, I’m going to discuss a small number of them. You see, some of my heroes wear black.

I’m a grown man-child, and even though it sounds stupid to say it out loud, but the All Blacks and the Black Ferns are some of my heroes. I bleed black.

I mentioned this on Twitter, but I’ll expand upon it further. I was raised with rugby union and rugby league. My grandfathers played, my great-uncles played, my father played, my uncles played, my cousins played, I played, and now my nephew plays. And maybe one day, UMC1 and UMC2 will play as well.

It’s this reason that I developed my love for the All Blacks, and then the Black Ferns. I’ve been a fan of New Zealand rugby since I was a boy, and I promise you, I always will be.

When the All Blacks, Black Ferns and the Sevens teams play, I do what I can to watch and support them. They’re my heroes because they are the best of us at what they do. Week in and week out, they play for us. I bleed black.

For me, it’s not about winning or losing; they’re my teams, and I’ll support them forever. We belong to them, and they belong to us. We experience the triumphs and failures with them because they come from us.

I don’t love them because they win World Cups and multiple tests (though that does help), and I don’t hate them when they lose. I love them because they don’t remember their victories; they remember their losses. They use it for fuel and motivation, to pick themselves up and to go again. Harder, faster, stronger, and to improve so they can be the best. I bleed black.

Like everybody’s favourite Dagobah resident once said:

“The greatest teacher, failure is.”

Before winning the World Cup for a historic sixth time last year, the Black Ferns had to rebuild themselves after failure, and the All Blacks will do the same. They are stunning examples of role models for all of the tamariki (children) of my country. I’ve noticed recently that when the All Blacks and Black Ferns play, UMC1 and UMC2 are in awe of them, just like me. I bleed black.

After the final, UMC2 asked if I wanted to kick and pass the ball with him outside, and then UMC1 joined us after a few minutes. UMC2 told me that he was a Black Fern, while UMC1 was an All Black.

I feel this setback will only inspire the next generation to step up and play. Anyway, what do I know? I’m 100% biased and I bleed black.

And that concludes this week’s rant. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. I’m also on Twitter and Mastodon, so please drop by and say hello.

Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, donate to the Gaza Humanitarian crisis, and I’ll see you next week.

Sorry, before I go, I’d like to mention that the Cricket World Cup is still on and that Tier 2 and Tier 3 rugby nations exist as well. The fun never ends!

Tour of the Solar System: The Asteroid Belt

On October 23, 2023October 23, 2025 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Science

Step right up, step right up! The worst Solar System tour ever created is back for another month. That’s right, it’s Some Geek Told Me’s Tour of the Solar System! Sorry, did I forget to mention that there are no refunds?

If you’re new to the tour, don’t panic. This is our ninth tour stop, so there is plenty of time to be confused. The other stops are:

1.) Meet the Family

2.) The Sun

3.) Planets vs. Dwarf planets

4.) Mercury

5.) Venus

6.) Earth

7.) The Moon

8.) Mars

Today’s useless tour stop is the Asteroid belt. So whether you know everything about it or very little, get ready for the ninth stop of Some Geek Told Me’s Tour of the Solar System! This tour stop may seem a little boring, but even though it’s smaller than the other stops, it’s still very valid; at least to me.

Let’s start at the beginning. When we last left the tour, we had stopped at Mars; which we all remember is a planet that has developed hundreds of different ways to kill humans. Awesome. Upon leaving Mars’ orbit, we find our new destination: the Asteroid belt.

Just to clarify things, the Asteroid belt is not a new pro-wrestling belt, though instead of King of the Ring, it could have been King of the Cosmos. The Asteroid belt is a region of space, that is located between Mars and Jupiter; like a belt. Because of this, it orbits our local cosmic nuclear fusion reactor; just like the rest of the Solar System.

Within this belt are roughly 1-2 million asteroids, and because scientists are amazing at naming things, it’s called the Asteroid belt. Did you see that coming? The Asteroid belt is also known as the Main belt or Main Asteroid belt. I still would like to stress that these names are not pro-wrestling belts. This is because there are other belts and asteroids in the Solar System, which we will eventually discuss. Great, let’s move on.

Here are two obvious questions, what are they doing there? How in the name of the seven dwarven rings, did they they get there?

The Asteroid belt is roughly 4.5 billion years old, just like the age of the inner rocky planets of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The leading theories of the origin of the Asteroid belt are:

1.) It’s the leftovers of a protoplanet that did not form completely, so Jupiter’s gravity could have ripped it apart.

2.) It’s the leftovers from the creation of the terrestrial planets.

3.) It’s the leftovers from the protoplanetary disk that formed the Sun.

4.) It’s part of Galactus’ rock collection that he lost.

Regardless of the correct story, the asteroids have migrated through the Solar System over millions of years, until they settled in a stable orbit around the Sun, nestled between Mars and Jupiter.

Even though the asteroids were created around the same time as the birth of the Solar System, the rocks that the terrestrial planets are made from, are different from the asteroids in the belt. The main point is that asteroids in the belt, are like a time capsule of the creation of the Solar System, because they are far better preserved, and contain unique metals and minerals; so they are free of geological processes.

The dimensions of the Asteroid belt are far more impressive than Sokka’s obsession with food. The width and thickness of the Asteroid belt is about 150 million km and lies between 2.2 and 3.2 AU from the Sun.

Do you remember this classic scene from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, when Han Solo flies directly into an asteroid field?

I’ve said this before, but truth is stranger than fiction. Because of the enormity of space, the distance between asteroids on average is 1 million km. It’s been said that if you could stand on an asteroid in the belt, it’s highly doubtful you could see another asteroid, because of the vast distance. Basically, if you’re flying a spacecraft through the Asteroid belt, you would have plenty of room to manoeuvre. Thanks, Hollywood.

As for the different sizes of the asteroids, they can vary a lot. It’s been reported that about 1 million asteroids are 1 km across; along with millions of smaller asteroids. Apparently, over 200 asteroids have been identified to be larger than 100 km, with thousands of other asteroids the size of small stones or pebbles; mainly created through collisions with other asteroids. Asteroids over 120 km in size have been recognised as possibly extremely old asteroids, because they have not been destroyed through collisions.

As for the larger objects in the Asteroid belt like Ceres, we’ll look at that closer with the next tour stop. This is purely because I’ve been watching too much rugby, cricket, and news.

And speaking of rugby, I have two things to add.

1.) The 2023 Rugby World Cup Final is on this Saturday night (Sunday at 8 a.m. for me), with the All Blacks going up against the old foe, South Africa.

2.) The inaugural WXV rugby tournaments have begun across the world, and I managed to find some tickets. So the four of us are going to Dunedin this Saturday, to watch the Black Ferns vs. Wales. UMC2 is looking forward to eating some hot chips at the stadium, whereas UMC1 is going to be the stadium tour guide.

Why I am telling you this? I’m a New Zealand rugby fan, and even though I’m a product of my environment, I bleed black. This means I’m equally excited and worried about this weekend.

That’s it for another week, so I hope you’re still enjoying the tour. I know it’s crap, but it costs you nothing. Thank you for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, watch the Rugby World Cup Final, protest for the end of the Israel–Hamas war, and I’ll see you next week.

Go the All Blacks! Go the Black Ferns!

150 Blog Posts About Stuff

On October 16, 2023October 23, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Blogs, Social Media2 Comments

This is my 150th blog post and I have the grey hair and stress lines to prove it. I made my first Some Geek Told Me blog post on 1st December 2020, which was born out of the desire to make the COVID-19 national lockdown count for something.

At the time of writing this blog post, I have amassed a staggering amount of followers and subscribers, across three platforms:

WordPress: 49 subscribers

Twitter: 17 followers

Mastodon: 85 followers

I know, it’s pretty impressive isn’t it?

To mark my 150th blog post, I thought I would share some of the subjects that I’ve discussed on Some Geek Told Me, but are also connected to 150. Sweet? Great, let’s dive into the latest blog post from New Zealand’s 5th least favourite website.

Batman Begins had a budget of US$150 million.

One of my favourite comic book series celebrated a special milestone: Fables #150.

The average distance from the Sun to the Earth is 150 million km, which is known as an astronomical unit (1AU).

Star Trek: First Contact is one of the best Star Trek movies, in my humble geek opinion. The 1996 film had a box office return of US$150 million.

The atomic weight of Samarium (Sm) is 150.3.

An average adult male South China tiger weighs 150 kg.

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, was first published 150 years ago, in 1873.

The Amazing Spider-Man #150 from 1975.

150 is the sum of eight consecutive primes (7 + 11 + 13 + 17 + 19 + 23 + 29 + 31).

At a New Zealand supermarket called Countdown, a 1.5L of Countdown Lemon, Lime & Bitters is NZ$1.50 or 150 cents.

There are 150 seats in the House of Representatives of The Netherlands.

Can I just quickly address the herd of elephants in the room?

1.) In their infinite wisdom, New Zealanders voted in the most Conservative government in years, with a National-ACT coalition. What have we done?!

2.) Australia voted no, on the Australian Indigenous Voice referendum. What have they done?!

3.) The Israel-Hamas War is showing no signs of slowing down. What can we do?!

This ball of rock and water that we call home, can sometimes be very scary and cruel. I get it. Watching footage or reading articles about terrible events can make you feel a range of emotions including anxiety, worry, disappointment, shock, dread, sadness, fear, panic, frustration, powerlessness, loneliness, and melancholy.

I think it’s natural to have these emotions, but just be grateful you don’t feel apathy. All those previous emotions can be associated with negativity; but at least you have them. It means you care, because feeling apathy is worse.

As for feeling anger, well, to quote Rage Against the Machine:

Your anger is a gift.

And that’s it. Thank you for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. It means a lot to this geeky introvert. Maybe my writing will actually improve by the 300th blog post. Who knows?!

Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, watch the Rugby World Cup semi-finals, and I’ll see you next week. And why you ask? Because the Tour of the Solar System is back, and the next stop is the Asteroid belt!

Crazy Policies from the New Zealand General Election

On October 9, 2023October 16, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Politics

Voting in a general election can be difficult. You could vote for a political party for any number of reasons.

It could be because it’s a generational thing; your grandparents and parents voted for them, so you vote for them.
You could be a swing voter and only vote for parties that keep their promises.
You could have researched each party and studied them until you found the party that best aligns with your values.
Maybe your favourite celebrity or influencer told you to do it.
It could be because that party has the best logo or the most attractive candidates.

The reasons are like Destiny, Death, and Dream; endless.

But voting can be a double-edged sword. The party you support may have an amazing education policy, like every primary school child will have all of their stationery and uniforms paid for by the government. However, that same party could have a crazy immigration policy by demanding every immigrant, regardless of age, needs three PhDs, with $5 million to support them.

If you choose to vote for that party, you’re choosing to help and support the nation’s children, but at the same time, you’re supporting an inhumane immigration policy. Like I said, it’s a double-edged sword.

Credit: New Zealand Electoral Commission

This brings us to the New Zealand General Election. Our general election is being held on 14th October 2023, though advanced voting started on the 2nd October.

Before I go on, you could be thinking, “Well, I’m not a New Zealander, Scott, so why should I care about it?” That’s a fair question, so here’s a fair answer: you don’t have to care, it’s just nice to know things. Like going to a party and knowing the capital city of Brazil is not Rio de Janeiro, but Brasília; or the fact George Lucas did not direct The Empire Strikes Back, it was Irvin Kershner. It’s nice to drink and know things.

We have 17 parties to choose from, along with their candidates in this election. I’ll admit that I’m biased, but we have some good parties, some average parties, some bad parties, and some truly awful ones as well. We have parties ranging from left-wing, centre-left, centre, centre-right, right-wing, and the insane.

They have a range of policies that are truly amazing to the downright batshit crazy, and it’s these batshit policies I’d like to highlight. We have some conspiracy political parties now, which is equally terrifying and hilarious; so it’s not a surprise that I’ll discuss these. Also, I’m not mentioning all of the 17 parties, just the policies that are batshit crazy, in my humble opinion.

I’m apologising in advance if you think any of the below policies are…well, good.

All of these policies are linked through Policy NZ and through the websites of the political parties.

ACT Party

To abolish the New Zealand Human Rights Commission, the Ministry for Women, the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, and the Ministry for Ethnic Communities.
To restrict access to permanent sickness benefits, if the person can work.
To increase the retirement age to 67.
To halt contributions to the New Zealand Super Fund, which is the sovereign wealth fund that supports the cost of superannuation.
To oppose laws against hate speech.
To ignore the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
To remove a public holiday.
Require annual leave to be calculated on a pro-rata basis.
To abolish the Fees Free tertiary education programme.
To repeal the Zero Carbon Act.
To abolish the Climate Change Commission, the Climate Emergency Response Fund, the Progressive Home Ownership Scheme, and the First Home Grant.
To sell public hospitals to private investors under leaseback arrangements.
To reduce government Kiwisaver contributions.
To hold a referendum on the interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi.

New Conservatives

Our long-term problem of fatherlessness is not helped by telling men and boys that their masculinity is toxic and unwelcome. New Conservatives will be a voice for men and the value of masculinity.
To ban medical abortions and withdraw public funding for abortion services.
To ban gender reassignment surgery and hormone therapies for young people.
We affirm the biological reality that there are only two sexes, and oppose the lie that a person can be ‘born in the wrong body’, or can ‘change their gender’.
To remove left-wing ideologies from the curriculum, including critical race theory, gender theory, decolonisation, and extremist “climate science” and sex “education”.
We believe that current climate policies are a distraction from real opportunities to protect and improve the environment. There is no climate emergency. We will end all climate-focused taxes, subsidies, and regulations.
Reducing New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions does not actually benefit the environment in any way – if anything only shifting high-emitting activities overseas.
New Conservatives believe that is an inappropriate use of technology¹ – we should not be playing God, altering the natural makeup of organisms for no real environmental benefit – and this shows there is no real case for change.
Fossil fuels are here to stay, and should be harnessed for the good of the country. We will restore orderly licensing for oil and gas exploration, and make sure that the players in this industry know they are welcome in New Zealand for the long term.

New Zealand First

Withdraw from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as it removes the rights of New Zealand citizens to write their own laws.
To stop using Te Reo Māori names for government departments.
To amend the Sport and Recreation New Zealand Act to remove public funding from bodies that allow non-biological women to be selected unequally against biological women.
Require a national interest test to stop us being dictated to by the United Nations and agencies like the W.H.O.
To remove gender ideology from the curriculum, and review the New Zealand curriculum to remove critical race theory and de-colonialism.
We will abolish the Māori Health Authority.
To create a Royal Commission of Inquiry into media independence in New Zealand.
To restore 90-day job trials to provide employer certainty.
We will prepare a bid to hold the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch.

Leighton Baker Party

To drop the carbon net-goals as they do not work and impoverish our nation.
There must be a full review of the harm caused by the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as the effectiveness of the vaccine.

New Zealand Loyal

To end New Zealandʼs participation in the United Nations, World Economic Forum, and World Health Organisation.
To investigate the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and its past practices.
To investigate who has benefited by selling this country out to the “Green Agenda.”

Freedoms NZ

To remove UN driven campaigns to control our country and drive the Climate Change fraud, food production, and Health Control.
We believe we are already carbon negative.
To scrap the Resource Management Act.
To ensure there is no more school indoctrination with the Transgender Agenda + more.
To scrap all changes to New Zealand’s firearms legislation made since March 2019.²

New Nation Party

No state funding for media.
To leave the United Nations.
To launch a Commission of Inquiry into our country’s COVID-19 response.
Limit Significant Natural Areas (SNA) to public areas.
To reduce the number of Members of Parliament to 100.³

NewZeal Party

We stand on the side of biological and scientific reality when it comes to gender, and reject attempts to deny or erase the biological evidence of gender.
We will oppose proposed significant content regulations and limitations for media and online platforms.
We will ensure that our media platforms and press can be independent and reliable, free from censorship and unnecessary restrictions.

Have I been too harsh on these parties, or not harsh enough? Have I missed out on any batshit crazy policies? Do you agree or disagree with any of them? As always, please let me know.

Hopefully this time next week, we will have a clear election result, but who knows, the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party may surprise us all!

This was my 149th blog post, so next week I’ll reach the milestone of 150, and I have no idea what to do about it.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, play Lego with some children, watch some Rugby World Cup games, and I’ll see you next week.

¹The technology stated is Genetic Engineering.

²This refers to the Christchurch mosque shootings, where 51 people were killed and 40 people injured. Two AR-15-style rifles, one semi-automatic shotgun, one pump-action shotgun, and two other rifles were used in the massacre.

³Currently, the number is 120.

15 Comic Book Artists Synonymous With My Favourite Characters

On October 2, 2023October 9, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Comics

Some comic book artists go together with characters amazingly well, like salt and vinegar; fish and chips; ice cream and cones; and finally, Vegemite and toast. As a follower of this small endeavour into lunacy, you may recall my love for comic books.

In saying that, and with all due respect to writers, inkers, letterers, colourists, and editors, where would comics be without the artists? They are a pretty visual element to the storytelling, and extremely vital for promoting the style and tone of the comic book.

There have been thousands of comic book characters created over the last 100 years, along with hundreds of different artists; all of which have drawn multiple characters for many different companies, or creator-owned projects.

Over the years, I have read a few comics, so I can appreciate various artists across various genres, like superheroes, horror, science fiction, fantasy; and like the road, the list goes on and on. So because of this, I have subconsciously linked an artist to a character.

What I’m not talking about is linking a famous run or storyline to an artist; what I’m actually talking about is an artist that I believe is synonymous with a particular character. An unrelated example is when I think of Western movies, I think of Clint Eastwood. If I think of rugby, I think of the All Blacks; if I think of dysfunctional families, I think of the Skywalkers.

The comic book artists on this list, are not made up of my favourite artists; though some of them would be. However, that is another blog for another day. No, at least to me, these artists have drawn the best versions of certain characters. In my humble opinion, they are my favourite artists to draw these particular characters. Basically, if I could choose anybody to draw these characters, it would be these artists.

Some of these decisions were extremely difficult, so hopefully I mean no disrespect to any other artists.

I’ve only included 15 characters for the first round, but I promise you, I’ll write several more of these lists! I’ve included heroes and villains to be fair, as well as limiting one artist per character.

Alright then, we are doing this in alphabetical order, so sit back, relax, and away we go!

Some of these artists have died, so out of respect for them, I’ll indicate this with a *

Batman by Tim Sale*

Captain America by George Perez*

Credit: George Perez, Wizard Magazine and Marvel Comcs

Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) by Jim Starlin

Captain Marvel (Shazam!) by Alex Ross

Deadman by Neal Adams*

Doctor Doom by John Byrne

Harley Quinn by Amanda Conner

Hellboy by Mike Mignola

Credit: Mike Mignola and Dark Horse Comics

Invincible by Ryan Ottley

Judge Dredd by Ron Smith*

Spawn by Todd McFarlane

Superman by Dan Jurgens

The Joker by José Luis García-López

Credit: José Luis García-López and DC Comics

The Phantom by Sy Barry

Credit: Sy Barry and King Features Syndicate

The Silver Surfer By Jack Kirby*

As a bonus entry, I’d like to point out that my favourite Star Wars artist is Jan Duursema.

Credit: Jan Duursema and Dark Horse Comics

Do you agree with any of my choices? Who’s your favourite Batman, Captain America, or Superman artist? As always, please let me know.

And that concludes another blog; which coincidentally is my 148th blog post. It’s 147 more than I thought I’d do, that’s for sure. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me.

Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, eat some Salt and Vinegar chips, watch some Rugby World Cup games, and I’ll see you next week.

Three couples we need to stop admiring

On September 25, 2023October 2, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Comics, History, Literature, People

To quote Huey Lewis and the News, “The power of love is a curious thing, Make a one man weep, Make another man sing.” Love can change and transform a person; it can make them loving, compassionate, brave, empathetic, happy, and basically everything else positive society can throw a label on.

Like many things or concepts in this mad little world, love is like a coin; it has two sides or two faces.¹On one face of the coin, is love as described by Jane Austen: witty, lovely, romantic, charming, and enduring. On the other face, well, we have love described by the Brontë sisters: dark, jealousy, twisted, obsessive, and secretive. Love can make people do some pretty crazy stuff and not all of it is good.

There are many couples throughout history and pop culture that personify romantic love. We can admire these couples as role models; whether straight, gay, or everything else. However, there are equally couples that are so bad for each other, that everybody knows they shouldn’t be together, or at least, have some extreme Brontë issues to work through.

Toss the love coin for a couple and see where it lands. Does it land Austen face up, or is it Brontë? That seems easy, doesn’t it? But what about the couples in the centre of the Venn diagram? What if the coin does not land face down, but is actually on its side? ²

Some people look and say that these couples are lovely and romantic, so they must belong together. They are admired, romanticised, and even idolised. Now I’m not an expert on love; ask my wife, but I have three couples that do not deserve your admiration. As a collective society, we need to stop lying to ourselves about these couples.

May I submit three couples that we desperately need to stop admiring: 1 x historical couple and 2 x fictional couples. Let’s break some hearts!

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow (Bonnie and Clyde)

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were part of the Barrow Gang, which included Clyde’s brother Marvin “Buck” Barrow, and his wife Blanche. They operated in the Central United States of America, during 1932-1934, committing small-time heists and bank robberies.

Bonnie and Clyde were romanticised at the time, and still are. They were a young couple, living their best life, which fed into the counterculture, with part of the public admiring and adoring them. One of the reasons was that Bonnie was already married to a man named Roy Thornton, but she was in love with Clyde.

In the grips of the Great Depression, these love birds were fighting to be free and live wild. The growing problem was their crimes were becoming more violent, which resulted in people being killed. This made the public slowly turn on them, and law enforcement officers hunted them.

On 23rd May 1934, Bonnie and Clyde’s crime spree ended. They were ambushed in their car, by law enforcement officers and were shot to death. Bonnie had 26 bullet wounds, and Clyde received 17; with both suffering head shots.

Over the years, their romantic legacy has grown across the world, especially because of the Academy Award-winning 1967 film, Bonnie and Clyde. But let’s face facts; Bonnie and Clyde committed multiple robberies of banks, gas stations, and small stores, but also killed at least 12 people; which included nine law enforcement officers.

It’s been 89 years since their death, and I’m sorry to say, we need to stop admiring them.

Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet (Romeo and Juliet)

Did you see this one coming?! First performed in 1597, William Shakespeare’s immortal play Romeo and Juliet, has been touted as one of the greatest love stories ever told. It’s been adapted into film, ballet, opera, paintings, and literature, and is still performed through theatre around the world. Over 420 years later, people are still experiencing and revisiting the story.

Though should we still be experiencing Romeo and Juliet? Hell, yes! I’m not smart enough to articulate just how impactful and amazing the play is, and why it’s important. To me, it’s good, it’s so, so good. However, that isn’t the correct question we should be asking.

We should hold on to Romeo and Juliet, until the potential heat death of the universe. But should we keep romanticising them? Hell, no!

I want you to think about a few things:

The entire play is set over six days. Yes, just six days!
When Romeo meets Juliet for the first time, he’s on the rebound from Rosaline (Sunday evening).
Romeo and Juliet fall in love with each other (Sunday evening).
Romeo meets Juliet for the second time and agree to marry (Late Sunday evening).
The next day, Romeo and Juliet marry (Monday afternoon).
By Friday morning, both Romeo and Juliet are dead by their own hands.

Imagine if your child or grandchild came to you and said, that the person they were planning on marrying today, they had only met them the day before? What would you do? Seriously, what would you say?

From the time I first met my future wife, to actually getting married was 20 months. I used to think that was fast, but that’s at a snail’s pace, compared to Romeo and Juliet’s 24 hours!

This brings me to their ages. At the time of the wedding, I believe Romeo was 16 years old, and Juliet was just 13 years old. Granted the play was set in Verona, around the 14th/15th century, but still.

Another love myth to break about the couple is that by the end of the play, six people had died. They were Mercutio, Tybalt, Lady Montague, Paris, and the idiots of the story, Romeo and Juliet. Yes, Romeo and Juliet did kill themselves, but through their actions; directly and indirectly, four other people paid the ultimate price for their one-night stand. Romeo alone personally killed three people!

“These violent delights have violent ends.”

If you’re looking for romance, love, or shenanigans in a Shakespearian play, then admire these couples: Sebastian and Olivia, Viola and Orsino, Lucentio and Bianca, Petruchio and Katherina, Bassanio and Portia, Beatrice and Benedick, or Orlando and Rosalind.

Romeo and Juliet truly belong with the other tragic couples: Othello and Desdemona, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, Duke of Albany and Goneril, Duke of Cornwall and Regan, and of course, Hamlet and Ophelia.

The tale of Romeo and Juliet is not a love story, because nobody is left happy at the end. I think one of the points of the play is not to admire Romeo and Juliet; because they don’t deserve it, but to see their flaws and mistakes, so you don’t have to make them yourself.

The Joker and Harley Quinn (The Joker and Harleen Quinzel)

I’m not going to spend a lot of time with this couple because they are the textbook example of a toxic relationship. When everybody’s favourite Arkham Asylum escapee was recaptured and brought back, the Joker met, manipulated, seduced, and corrupted psychologist Harleen Quinzel, and helped her to transform into Harley Quinn.

Harley Quinn became the Joker’s accomplice and girlfriend, but it was an awful abusive relationship. Over the years and in different versions, the Joker has done some pretty horrible things to Harley. These involve various methods, and include and not limited to throwing her into a vat of industrial chemicals; pushing her out of a window; torturing her by beating, cutting, and hanging her half to death; setting Harley’s own hyenas onto her; planning to kill her in front of the Dark Knight; tried to cut her face off; locked her into a rocket; he killed her and transformed her into a constellation; constantly beating and casting her out before wooing her back; and one time, he didn’t even notice that Harley had left for a year.

And just to clarify, Harley is not blameless in this mess. By the Joker’s own admission, he believes that Harley is crazier than him. The way the Joker controlled and manipulated Harley, only worked because Harley thought his abusive behaviour was a sign that he loved her. It wasn’t.

The Joker would have rather beaten Harley to a bloody pulp than admit he cared for her; as much as a homicidal, sadistic psychopath can care for someone.

Unlike the previous two entries on this list, there is a happy ending of a sort. Harley ultimately left the Joker forever and is now in a loving, positive, and healthy relationship with Poison Ivy. Though whether Harley being involved in another relationship with a villain is a good idea, remains to be seen.

And there you have it. Just like Fat Boy Slim said, “Like a favourite pair of jeans that you won’t give up on,” we need to give up on the idea that these three couples are to be romanticised, admired, or idolised because they don’t deserve it. You wouldn’t wish any family member to be involved in any relationship, similar to these disasters, would you? Well, maybe it depends on the family member.

Have I missed any toxic couples out? As always please let me know. I know I didn’t include Heathcliff and Catherine, but to be honest, this blog got away from me, so I’ll include them next time. ³

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. I’m also on Twitter and Mastodon, where I have daily posts, and attempt to be funny.

Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, avoid playing Monopoly at all costs, watch some Rugby World Cup games, and I’ll see you next week.

¹It’s been a long time since I snuck in a Batman reference.

²This is a shout out to Heathcliff and Catherine. I see you, I see you.

³I told you I saw Heathcliff and Catherine.

Tour of the Solar System: Mars

On September 18, 2023September 25, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Science

Guess what’s back for another week? No, it’s not Simon Cowell’s Ninja Dog UK show, it’s Some Geek Told Me’s Tour of the Solar System! If you’ve never been on the tour before, here are the previous stops:

1.) Introduction

2.) The Sun

3.) Planets vs. Dwarf planets

4.) Mercury

5.) Venus

6.) Earth

7.) The Moon

Voted least likely to help humanity in any way, Some Geek Told Me’s Tour of the Solar System is now on its eighth stop. Buckle up, because we are visiting a planet that if it was a teenage girl, then it would be the popular one. It’s Mars, the Red Planet! Wait, did you think it was Neptune?

Let’s establish something before we begin? There’s so much information on Mars, that I couldn’t possibly explain it all in one blog. Well, not without a time machine, which is a good thing I don’t have one. I’m just going to talk some basic information about Mars, though everything would make a Space-denier’s right eye start twitching.

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, after Mercury, Venus, and us; Earth. This makes it a terrestrial planet, which formed about 4.5 billion years old, give or take a few Sundays. This makes it extremely similar to the other terrestrial planets. That’s not really a surprise is it?

Unlike other planets, it’s named after a chocolate bar…no, seriously, Mars is named after the Roman god of war; you guessed it, Mars.¹

As for planetary rings, someone swiped left on Mars but swiped right for moons. Mars has two moons named Phobos and Deimos, which mean fear and panic for the former, and terror and dread for the latter. I do find it interesting that Phobos and Deimos were the sons of Ares, the Greek god of war, who was identified by the Romans as Mars.

So basically, the planet is named after a Roman god, with the two moons named after his Greek equivalent’s sons. Not confusing at all.

Mars is smaller than Earth, with a diameter close to 6,792 km, compared to Earth’s diameter of 12,740 km. This means that everybody’s favourite planet named after a god of war, is actually the seventh largest planet in the solar system. Sorry, Mercury.

Just like Earth’s orbit of the Sun, Mars’ orbit is elliptical, but it is more severe. Mars’ perihelion is 206,650,000 km, while its aphelion is 249,261,000 km. The average distance from the Sun to Mars is 228 million kilometres, with the orbital speed of Mars being 24.07 km/s, which is only slightly faster than my dog when he’s blitzing.

Alright, that’s all well and good, but what else do we know about Mars? Great question, so here’s a complicated answer. Hollywood has given us some interesting films based on Mars, like Total Recall, Mission to Mars, Red Planet, Ghosts of Mars, The Martian, and Life. Between the insanity of the films lies the truth about Mars.

A long time ago on a planet, not that far away, liquid water was on the planet’s surface. Yes, billions of years ago, Mars had not just liquid water on the surface, but oceans. The observational evidence for this is the hundreds of photos and video footage taken over the years, that have been analysed by scientists; like ancient riverbeds.

Now whether life may have existed in this ancient primordial Martian ocean, is another blog for another day; just ask J’onn J’onzz or H. G. Wells. As for the reason why Mars lost its oceans, the leading hypothesis is that the oceans were ripped away by the solar wind because Mars lost its magnetic field, which prevented this from happening.

The next question is how did Mars lose its magnetic field? Like Earth’s spinning core, Mars’ core would have created a dynamo effect, which in turn would have powered the magnetic field. However, sometime in Mars’ ancient past, something happened to change the dynamo effect, which resulted in a snowball effect: No dynamo effect, caused the magnetic field to stop being generated, which caused the oceans to be ripped away by the solar wind. As to why there were some shenanigans in the Martian core, we should just bring in a CSI team, and they’ll solve it in under 45 minutes.

Mars is now a cold, barren, dusty wasteland; almost like the background to a Mad Max film. Polar ice caps exist at both poles, but the planet is a husk. Temperatures on Mars can range from −110 °C (−166 °F) to 35 °C (95 °F). Basically, Mars has the temperatures of both Hoth and Tatooine.

For Mars’ rotation and orbital period, it takes Mars 1.04 Earth days to rotate once, which is roughly 25 hours. A Martian year equals 687 Earth days, which is about 1.9 Earth years.²

The surface of Mars is covered in a dusty inorganic compound known as Iron(III) oxide. This dust gives the planet a rusty colour, which to nobody’s surprise at all, is why Mars is referred to as The Red Planet. The terrain is mixed with volcanoes, craters, valleys, and lower flat lands.

It’s for this reason that Mars is home to Olympus Mons, which is the tallest mountain in the solar system. Olympus Mons is a massive shield volcano, that is 21.9 km high. In comparison to Earth’s tallest mountains, Mount Everest is 8.848 km (above sea level), while Mauna Kea is 9.33 km (from underwater base to summit).

Mars does have an atmosphere, but it’s very thin and weak. The atmosphere is made up of Carbon Dioxide (95.97%), Argon (1.93%), Nitrogen (1.89%), and smaller traces of Oxygen, Carbon Monoxide, and Water Vapour. If you’re planning on visiting Mars anytime soon, make sure you bring a survival/space suit. If the cold doesn’t kill you, the lack of breathable air will.

And speaking of visiting Mars, humanity has sent many landers, probes, and rovers to the Red Planet; which makes it unique because it’s the only planet that we know of except for Cybertron, that is populated by machines.

Journeying to Mars is no easy step because the average distance between Earth and Mars is about 225 million km. The human exploration and colonisation of Mars is a hot topic at the moment. There are many factors to consider about this, though namely, terraforming is one of them. Put another way, Mars hates humans and will do everything it can to kill them. Because of this, the earliest humans could be walking on Mars, will be in the 2030s. They have a lot of work to do, but they have already started.

Hopefully, when humans land on Mars, I’ll be able to watch it with UMC1 and UMC2. Of course, it depends at the very least, if a 15-year-old and a 12-year-old would want to hang out with their very uncool father.

Well, that’s it for another week. What’s your favourite Mars fact? Please let me know. The 2023 Rugby World Cup is still ticking over, so I’m still trying to find the best time to sleep, and I’m failing as usual.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. I value everybody who stops by to read some of my nonsense. Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, watch some Rugby World Cup games, Up the Wahs, and I’ll see you next week.

¹Astronomers really like Roman mythology.

²The further you move away from the Sun, the orbital periods of the remaining planets are just going to become longer.

SOME GEEK TOLD ME

Author: somegeektoldme@gmail.com