Discounting Oprah, left-handed threads and that spray cheese in a can, there are really only two things in this world for which I harbor strong opinions as to their uselessness: Opossums and the laws of physics. As far removed from each other as two things could possibly be, imagine my nearly incapacitating surprise and awed sense of wonder when the two converged for an afternoon of theory reinforcing merriment.

Here, you’ll have to excuse me, as I offer a preface to this story.

Let it be said the discovery part of science has always held a certain intrigue with me, and growing up on a farm in what I considered the middle of nowhere (four miles outside Tiskilwa), I experienced more than my fair share of encounters with both the aforementioned subjects, which provided countless opportunities for scientific learning.