Once upon a time in a kingdom where all the subjects were science bloggers, there was a house in desperate need of an energy audit and an organization called the Red Cross in need of an insulated bottle to carry cold liquid.
One day the citizens decided to help the homeowner of the house and deduce what was wrong with the house. They started by walking leagues around the house and finding cracks in the foundation, vents leading from the basement and attic to the outside kingdom, plywood floors under the laundry room, and holes in the roof. When they ventured in the back door what they found was much worse, 60 watt light bulbs, cracks in the dining rooms wooden beams and cracks in the stairs letting air in from the basement, a disastrous fireplace mantle and air ventilation system as well as lacking insulation. Many of these observations were found using a contraption called a blower door that essentially sucks the air from the house so you can feel where the air comes in the house from. After completing a packet and identifying the problems with the house brave bloggers entered the basement to find the source of many problems. The basement was a scene from a horror movie with cobwebs and heat ducts spreading every which way. All the heating ducts were unsealed and their metal bodies were open to the unforgivable cold of the basement. Once the bloggers wrote a letter to the house’s homeowner explaining their findings and recommendations to fix the problems they focused their combined attention on other matters.
In order to test their findings, the bloggers decided to create a portable insulation system, or a “thermos.” This “thermos” was to be sent to the Red Cross Organization, in order to save refugees from a terrible death known as dehydration. The bloggers set out on a quest to save refugees. First, they came up with a plan. Their plan included a large bottle, some recycled paper, bubble wrap, and duct tape… colorful duct tape. The bloggers then pieced the objects together to create their masterpiece. First, they put the recycled paper, known as cellulose, into the bottom of the large bottle. Then, they bubble-wrapped a normal sized bottle, and packed some more cellulose around it. Finally, they duct taped more bubble wrap onto the top of the bottle. At last, the bloggers had finished their creation. This masterpiece was durable, and only lost 1.5 degrees Celsius every 30 . Their cold water bottle would stay cold, and the refugees were saved!
