Middle School Fight Club Pt. 2?!

Quote of the Week:

“There is no sadder thing than a young pessimist, except an old optimist.” –Mark Twain

Fact of the Week:

The record for the most visual discoveries of a supernova belongs to Robert Evans, with 42.

Okay, so you might not understand what exactly this record means, but in about one minute you’ll see why it's so impressive.

A supernova is caused when a star about 5-10 times larger than the sun runs out of nuclear fuel and explodes. While previously not visible to a viewer on Earth, it will suddenly show itself by turning into a tiny speck of light in the night sky (in reality, it’s about 100 billion times brighter than the sun). Before Robert Evans started studying the sky, only about 50 supernovae had ever been found.

Beginning in the 1950s, Evans took his telescope into his backyard, scanned and memorized the galaxies and their stars, and searched for any new blips of light. Bill Bryson, author of A Short History of Nearly Everything, explains the difficulty of this task with an analogy: Imagine covering an entire Walmart parking lot with picnic tables. Take a pinch of salt and toss it onto each picnic table. If you were to add one single grain of salt to any of those picnic tables, Evans would be able to spot it.

These days electronic cameras attached to telescopes can spot supernovae (which are extremely rare, by the way), but Evans’ extraordinary ability and pioneering work will always be remembered.

A Short History of Nearly Everything and Cabinet Magazine contributed to this article.

News Update:

Via Fox 4

Last week, we reported on a Florida middle school teacher who encouraged her students to fight during class. This week, it’s the same story, different day (and teacher).

Natally Garcia, 24, was arrested outside of Dallas on a warrant listing four counts of child endangerment. According to NBC, “The fighting in a class of 12- and 13-year-olds was exposed, in part, by parent Beatriz Martinez, who released her daughter's cellphone video of some of the brawling.”

The police reported that students left the classroom bloodied after their fights. In the video, Garcia told a student, “What I need you to do is stand by that door and hold it in case somebody comes in,” according to KDFW-TV.

Two separate fights of two students took place (four children in total), though others were encouraged to join. Garcia has since been fired. No bail amount was listed, and the Mesquite Education Association did not respond to requests for comments from NBC.

NBC News and NY Daily News contributed to this article.

Sports Update:

Creator SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN | Credit: SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA

The back-to-back NCAA Softball Champions are looking mighty once again. The Oklahoma Sooners lead the polls with a 39-1 record. Their only blemish is a 4-3 loss to Baylor back on February 19th. They have the chance to enact their revenge this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday when they face the Bears.

Since that loss, the Sooners have won 31 straight games, including wins of 22-0, 18-0, 16-0, and 14-0. Last year’s team, which graduated a number of superstars, finished 59-3, while the 2021 team finished 56-4. This year’s squad will certainly have their eyes on winning a national title, but so too will they be eager to improve upon the past seasons’ already stellar records.

Want to win 50% off Last Cup Scaries’ Fire Island t-shirt? DM the correct answer of this riddle to lastcupclothing on Instagram, and if you’re the first person to respond correctly, we’ll send you a code! Previous winners are excluded.

I’m a god, a planet, and a measurer of heat. What’s my name?