Saturday, June 04, 2005

Journey to the center of the earth
Or, for our English speaking readers. "Journey to the centre of the earth:"
Japanese scientists are to explore the centre of the Earth. Using a giant drill ship launched next month, the researchers aim to be the first to punch a hole through the rocky crust that covers our planet and to reach the mantle below.

The team wants to retrieve samples from the mantle, six miles down, to learn more about what triggers undersea earthquakes, such as the one off Sumatra that caused the Boxing Day tsunami.

For our American readers, Boxing Day is a holiday in most of the British Commonwealth. It is the day after Christmas when kids lose interest in their new toys and decide the boxes are more stimulating to their imaginations.

Our scientifically literate readers may be protesting at this point that the center of the earth is further than six miles (ten kilometers) down. They are all a bunch of blue state, liberal elitists who rely on their "education" to think the earth is more than 6000 years old. So we know what to think of them.

Finally, the geezers in our audience will be off in a nostalgic reverie wondering what ever happened to Project Moho. That's a damn good question.

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