My thesis in Up Goer Five speak!

In the air there are little tiny drops of stuff, and we don't understand how all the drops get there. Breathing in the drops is bad and we're not sure if the drops make the world hotter or colder, which is important. So for my big final college paper I tried to find out how some of the drops are made.

We know some of the drops are made when stuff from trees and stuff from cars come together in the air and make new stuff that sticks together into drops. We have a pretty good idea of the first part of what happens, so I made the first part happen in a cup to make three middle things that could come from three kinds of tree stuff. Then I looked to see what they did. Two of the middle things broke down by themselves but the third one didn't do much. This is the one that came from the kind of tree stuff that doesn't make a lot of drops with car stuff. This makes sense because we think the middle things are too small to stick together and make drops, but if they break down they could make bigger stuff that does stick together.

Then we want to know why the third kind of tree stuff makes a middle thing that doesn't break down. There wasn't enough time to be really sure, but we think it might have to do with where the different parts of the middle thing point, so some parts can touch each other and make it break down, and it's not as easy with the third kind. Other people should do stuff to try to find out if that idea is right!

Bright winter spice cookies

I came up with these cookies today when J said he wanted cookies, but we didn't have any of the usual centerpiece ingredients - ginger, peanut butter, chocolate chips. I like them because they rely on just a few spices to really stand out, without the medley of standard "winter flavors" like cinnamon and nutmeg.

Cream together:
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil

Add:
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 tsp vanilla x
Zest of 2 small oranges

Blend separately:
2 cups whole-wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (double if butter unsalted)
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Work dry mix into wet mix. Chill until workable without sticking to hands, ideally 30 minutes in fridge. Form into balls, roll in sugar, and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F for 8-12 minutes, checking for tops to just start cracking. Makes about 30.