The Life of Marie Curie

by Michaela Zelandi

 “A scientist in his laboratory is not a mere technician: he is also a child confronting natural phenomena that impress him as though they were fairy tales.”  – Marie Curie

Little did Wladislaw and Bronislava Boguska Sklodowski know that when their fifth and final child was born on November 7, 1867, a genius came into the world. This genius’ name was Maria Sklodowski, or better known as Marie Curie.  Marie’s brilliant mind was not expected to be yielded as a product of her own surroundings and situation growing up; her family was utterly poor.  Her mother was forced to quit her job and her father soon lost his due to his political views when Curie was just a child.  Their small apartment was now home to the large Curie family with the addition of lowly boarders.  When she was eight, Marie’s sister caught typhus from a boarder; she then died.  Two years later Marie’s mother died.  Despite all these hardships that formed her character and outlook on life, Marie Curie rose above.  She became the most famous and successful woman scientist on the planet. How exactly did she rise above?  Let’s find out.

            Curie’s father himself was a teacher, so he valued education.  He spent his time teaching Curie and her siblings lessons, so much so the Curie shined in primary and secondary schooling, even gaining a gold medal when graduating.  However, Curie’s intelligence wasn’t enough to get her into college because at the time girls were not allowed to enroll.  After taking a year off with family friends due to her depression,Curie begun work as a private tutor.  She made a deal with her sister, Bronya which forced her to work for the next five years.  The sisters both wanted to attend Sorbonne, a university in Paris that accepted men and women, but their financial situation wouldn’t be able to withstand simultaneous college fees.  They decided that Bronya would go first and when she graduated, Marie would enroll.  Marie wasn’t able to wait the next five years to be able to learn, so she joined a secret “Floating University.”  This university consisted of men and women who would meet in different places just to learn from one another, to gain knowledge. Five years later when Bronya graduated, Marie attended Sorbonne in 1891 and graduated in 1893 with a master’s degree in physics (number one in her class) and a year later with a master’s in math (number two in her class).  After earning her degrees, she decided to look for a lab.  It was at this time she met Pierre Curie.

            She and Pierre shared a lab in Paris and soon joined their research efforts towards Marie’s interest – radioactivity.  Pierre ended up proposing soon after, to which Marie declined but two years later she did accept and they married.  After their first daughter, Irene, was born in 1897, the Curies continued their work in radioactivity.  They were not aware of the health dangers that radioactivity exposes humans to.  After the Curies were awarded for their discoveries with  a Nobel Prize, their daughter Eve was born.  The Curies continued researching together until Pierre’s tragic death in 1906.  He was hit by a horse and buggy.

            After her husband’s death, she took over his old position as a physics teacher at Sorbonne.  She continued her research on her own.  She even published a book and received an installation at the Radium Institute, then receiving a job from there.  Her daughters became scientists themselves because of her influence.  On July 4, 1934, she died of leukemia caused by all her interactions with radioactivity over the years. 

            Marie Curie was a woman like no other.  She never stopped pursuing her dream of knowledge despite being a poor woman in the 1800s.  She met challenges in her life with the determination of a bull to get what she wanted, education and soon after answers about radioactivity. 

 

           

 

 

Summer 2015: The Summer of the Music Festivals

by Ryan Johnston

For many students at WMHS, an absolutely smashing summer is expected after this laborious and never ending school year. Luckily for everyone, you can start off your summer by attending some of the most amazing music festivals in the world, including local festival, Boston Calling. Other music festivals that will be taking place this summer include the following: Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Firefly.

For those only interested in staying local, you can attend the very popular festival, Boston Calling. Boston Calling will be featuring some new popular artists of all genres, including but not limited to Beck, Vance Joy, Pixies, and Tove Lo. This festival takes place during May 22^nd, 23^rd, 24^th and is expected to be full of life and party as always. Boston Calling is sure to be a good way to end your spring, giving you that final push to transition into summer. 

A second musical festival which is sure to be a blast is Firefly. Firefly will allow you to have a more summer sensation due to the fact that it takes place from June 18^th to June 21^st, which is the tail-end of the school year. The festival is sure to be a blast with the magnificent lineup with bands including Foster the People, The Killers, Cage the Elephant, Modest Mouse, Empire of the Sun, and many more fantastic bands. It is unlikely that many Woburn residents will be able to attend due to the fact that the festival takes place in Delaware, however if the opportunity to attend comes your way, take it, it is bound to be a fabulous time!  

To end off the summer, the critically acclaimed “Lollapalooza” is being held in Chicago. This is a great event to attend to close out the summer with a bang, with the fabulous lineup of both popular, and newly emerging bands, you are bound to have a great time while there. This festival takes place from July 31^st to August 2^nd. As a treat for The Beatles fans out there in WMHS, you will have the treat of being able to see Paul McCartney headline in the festival, performing some of the timeless classics. The lineup for Lollapalooza includes but is not limited to Twenty One Pilots, Of Monsters and Men, Sam Smith, Charli XCX, The Wombats, and Marine and the Diamonds.  

If any WMHS students out there are looking for a wild summer, and have the means of transportation and funds to attend these festivals, it is highly recommended that you go! You are guaranteed to have a good time and have a summer experience to brag about to everyone else who was back here in Woburn sitting around and sweating.

Laughing Out Loud With Mary Lynn Rajskub

by Meaghan Angers

Laughter is the best form of medicine. After a stressful month filled with school, track practice and musical rehearsals, going to a comedy show was just what I needed.  Comedy shows distract you from what’s happening in the real world. Unlike watching a comedy movie or television show, comedy shows make you go out with friends or family and have a good time.

On Saturday I saw Mary Lynn Rajskub, who plays Chloe on 24, at the Laugh Comedy Club in Boston. As I am a huge fan of her on 24, I was ecstatic to see how her role as a computer genius flipped to the opposite of becoming a comedian. Her comedy style is awkward, but very relatable. She tells stories about how she is seen by fans as her computer genius character, stories about how she became a mom and her one and only dream, to be “stupid hot.” The climax of the show is when Rajskub describes how her dream has been to be stupid hot, the kind of hot that all you know is that you’re hot.

For the show I had front row seats and at one point, when she when she was describing how she wanted to be stupid hot, she saw me and my mom. Rajskub turned to my mom during the joke and gives her a high five saying, “you know what’s up!” As she high fived her, Rajskub look at me and says “Wait, you’re here with your daughter that’s so cool!” Being involved with the show made it more special, because you were in the joke. During the show, Rajskub named a table of people, the “Professors”, because they were dying laughing at her joke about a statistic she made up.

My personal favorite joke was when she was describing a day when she really was feeling down on herself. To make her feel like a “better person” she went to Whole Foods to spend “four times the amount of regular food.” As she went to the parking lot, Rajskub started crying about her life over how she has no friends. In the back of the car, her three year old son playing on his iPhone and said, “Mommy, me and daddy are your friends.” Rajskub responds by saying “You get a new app for your iPhone!” This story particularly stuck in my head because it’s so relatable.

Even if you never heard of the comedian, comedy shows are a good way to get out of the house and unwind. As Robert Frost said, “If we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane.” After all, laughter allows us to escape from our realities.

 

Grooving Through 2015: Today's Top Songs

by Laura Zakrewski

Its 2015, we are already three months in!  With that being said, there have been many songs released so far that have captured the attention of its listeners.  So, here are the top ten new songs that hit it big in the New Year:

10. Blake Shelton- Lonely Tonight

This song is undoubtedly country and it has very touching lyrics.  Lonely Tonight was written by Brent Anderson and Ryan Hurd and the track features country artist Ashley Monroe.  Blake Shelton’s voice is clear and the song has serious crossover appeal that any person could appreciate. 

9. One Last Time- Ariana Grande 

Ariana Grande has quickly become one of the biggest pop stars of today, and 2015 will most likely be a huge year for her music.  One Last Time is a dance-pop anthem that lyrically explains Grande’s desire to be with her ex-boyfriend “one last time”.  This song displays Ariana Grande’s great vocal talents without being too over the top.

8. Lips Are Moving- Meghan Trainor

 At the end of 2014, Meghan Trainor came onto the scene with a vengeance.  She is a rapidly growing artist from Cape Cod that has been getting a lot of radio play lately.  Lips Are Moving has a fast beat that is perfect for dancing.  

7. Blank Space- Taylor Swift

 Taylor Swift has come back yet again and proved to the world that she can do anything.  She has completely switched her genre from country to pop, and she does it flawlessly in the song Blank Space.  This song is all about being independent and strong.  The message is positive for all listeners.   

6. Love Me Like You Do- Ellie Goulding

 This song was featured in the popular movie Fifty Shades of Grey.  She constantly produces hits and collaborates with many other artists.  This British blonde will most likely win many accolades in 2015. 

5. Jealous-Nick Jonas

  This previous Jonas Brother has decided to focus on his solo career, and it seems as if he’s doing a great job so far. Jealous came out last year and is still played constantly on countdown lists.  It has even been remade into a duet with singer, Tinashe.    

4. She Knows- Ne-Yo feat. Juicy J

 This song is Ne-Yo’s comeback and it’s one of those songs that you hear all the time in the car.  It has a perfect blend of rap and hip hop, so expect to hear even more of this song.     

3. Thinking Out Loud-Ed Sheeran

 Thinking Out Loud is written with beautiful lyrics about loving your significant other forever.   It is a song that will most likely be played at weddings and the accompanying video is very romantic.    

2. Uptown Funk- Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars

  This song has a throwback vibe that has hit it big all over the world.  Its radio play has been non-stop since its debut.  Right now it is number one on the Billboard Top 100 because of its complete uniqueness.

1. Sugar-Maroon 5

 Maroon 5’s recent hit is by far one of the best songs of 2015 because it never gets old.  This song has disco-funk feel to it and the video is based off of the movie Wedding Crashers.   

             This New Year is just beginning and it already has been a great year for music.  The future will most likely have hits from these artists and many others, so be prepared

Feral children: life without connection

by Margarita Forbes

Can you imagine growing up in the woods?  Being raised by monkeys?  Living without any guidance?  Although the idea sounds ridiculous, and maybe a little funny, it truly does happen.  The children who grow up in such environments are called feral children.  A feral child is a human child who has lived away from human contact from a very young age, and has little or no experience of human care, loving or social behavior, and, crucially, of human language.  For example, they may be unable to learn to use a toilet, have trouble learning to walk upright after walking on fours all their life, and display a complete lack of interest in the human activity around them. They often seem mentally impaired and have complete trouble learning a human language (if they eventually do). The impaired ability to learn a natural language or any human skills in general, after having been isolated for so many years is attributed to the existence of a critical period for language learning. Feral children can be confined by humans (often parents), often as victims of abuse and having grown up in the forced isolation of cages or basements.  They could also be brought up by animals, or could even live in the wild in isolation, fending for themselves. 

One of the most famous feral children to have ever existed was Genie, a victim of extraordinarily severe abuse, neglect and social isolation up until the age of thirteen.  When Genie was a baby, her father decided that she was severely mentally impaired.  As a result, he disliked her and withheld her as much care and attention as possible. Around the time she reached the age of 20 months, Genie's father decided to isolate her completely, so from the age of 20 months to 13 years, 7 months, he kept her locked alone in a room. During this time, he almost always strapped Genie to a child's toilet or bound her in a crib with her arms and legs completely immobilized, and left her severely malnourished.  The extent of Genie's isolation prevented her from being exposed to any significant amount of speech, therefore not acquiring language during childhood. Finally, Genie’s abuse came to the attention of Los Angeles child welfare authorities on November 4, 1970.

An older case, and also one of the most famous, was the feral child, “Wild Peter”, who grew up in the wild.  He was “a naked, brownish, black-haired creature” captured near Helpensen in Hanover, England in 1724, when he was about 12. He climbed trees with ease, lived off plants, and was incapable of speech. He especially enjoyed to strip the bark from green twigs and to suck on the sap; but he eventually learned to eat fruit and vegetables. He was presented at court in Hanover to George I, and taken to England, where he was studied by leading men of letters. He spent 68 years in society, but never learned to say anything except “Peter” and “King George”, although his hearing and sense of smell were said particularly acute.

Connection is ultimately what makes up our human interactions.  Our abilities to care, to love, to learn, and to communicate are what make life so valuable, and without such things, one would not be able to get the experiences that life has to offer.

The Birth of the Internet Phenomena

by Edward Lam

There is a place where unexpected legends are born while others have met their downfall from trying to seek their fortune. A dark place that was left to its own devices after mankind created it. Unwatched and abandoned, such a place grew into an entity that became further and further unrecognizable with each passing year. Despite appearing innocent at its surface, children were warned never to venture too deep and yet those who failed to heed such words remained scarred by the contents within. Dominated by those of a feral origin, the world has commonly referred to such a place as the “Internet”.

Introduced to society’s young in the form of web browsers, the gateway to the Internet is met with full force as soon as a single query is typed within a search engine. Whether it is Bing, Yahoo or Google, the trap remains the same. With thousands of search results in a matter of seconds, the Internet attracts its prey through such impressive displays of offered knowledge. But imagine as fictional Little Timmy from 8^th grade is researching facts about Abraham Lincoln for his historical figure project, he innocently stumbles upon a video of a cat, dressed as the very man he was meant to research. Timmy finds amusement from such a video and proceeds to dive further with the grip of the Internet tightening with each new distraction that Timmy discovers. Perhaps it is another cat video. Maybe this then transitions to videos of a baby’s reaction to eating lemons. The results remain the same: Little Timmy’s history project is one that will fail to be finished.

But can one truly blame the antics of Little Timmy? He is but only one example of the millions that fall under the same spell that the Internet spreads. From social and media outlets such as YouTube, Twitter and Tumblr, the next online sensation in the form of social fads or viral videos is simply waiting to captivate the public’s attention.

Interestingly enough, while Internet sensations seem to appear out of the blue, it should be acknowledged that the road to the Internet phenomena is a delicate one consisting of numerous aspects. Factors include major categories such as cuteness, stupidity, simplicity, comedy and replicability (with the presence of all factors usually increasing viral potential). While each factor has virtue alone, their potency is usually seen when such factors go hand in hand. With the combination of cuteness and simplicity demonstrated in past sensations such as Nyan Cat or the “Charlie Bit My Finger” video, the combination of stupidity and replicability can be a dangerous and influential one as well. From the Cinnamon Challenge to the Ice Bucket Challenge (with this spread actually going toward a beneficial cause), the very word “challenge” seems to invoke a drive within people especially when such a challenge is popularized to a nation-wide scale. While the act of planking is certainly a joy not to be missed, there are phenomena that sometimes can simply not be explained.

Alex from Target. Left shark. Moon Moon. A string of words that had it not been for their Internet relevance, would seem to be either gibberish or codes for a disgruntled coach to yell at his players to anyone passing by. With nothing necessarily astonishing about sensations such as Alex from Target (picture of a teen Target employee by the name of Alex presumably popularized due to the boy’s attractive features), such phenomena can only be placed in the category of “random” as there is no clear explanation for their rise to fame other than simply the general public’s interest in something that suddenly becomes popular. With such sensations depending on being popular in the first place rather than actually displaying anything of significance, survivability of such sensations typically last up to a week as attention spans slowly diverge toward the next big thing.

Therefore, there is a point at which it must be accepted that the Internet is unpredictable; a beast that simply cannot be tamed. So instead of attempting deflect the influence of the Internet, we must simply deem it a wave that must be rode and ask ourselves one simple question: black and blue or white and gold?