Banter Bites

Spring Has Sprung. Spring Has Science?

The start of spring is more than a date on a calendar … it's like the start of a new year, except with Mother Nature joining the celebration.

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Yes, today's the Spring Equinox and official beginning of spring – but how could we look at the start of longer days, warmer temperatures, trees budding, flowers blooming, and birds chirping so differently?!

"All of the above" is why Red likes having a specific date to mark the start of the season … and the feeling of starting fresh and new. And even when Black sent her an article about how spring cleaning became a tradition, that didn't change her good mood. Red, like most of us, isn't usually a fan of cleaning and can certainly think of better things to do with her time, but there's something about "spring cleaning" that's different. Maybe it's just a different mindset, but armed with just the right kind of cleaning tips and checklist (pretty pictures help, too), Red's definitely inspired.

Black, of course, has a very different perspective that doesn't include cleaning (although she can explain how vacuuming can be "therapeutic"). She finds the Spring Equinox to be, if not inspirational, at least scientifically satisfying,

What can I say? I like the preciseness of the Spring Equinox (equinox means "equal night") in that day and night are equal across the entire planet. Plus, there has been a great deal of research on how spring improves our mood and energy levels.

This is one of Red’s favorite Banter Bites in large part because of Black’s “corny” puns, but also because fresh corn is a summer staple – whether cooked on the grill or in the microwave, whether eaten on its own or as a primary ingredient in refreshing summer salads


This may be one of the corniest things you’ll ever read.

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: It’s just a vegetable, so how can it possibly elicit such a strong reaction from Red, while, for Black, it’s more a source of amusement and even, it turns out, admiration?

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Think you can avoid artificial intelligence? Think again …

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Red already fights technology at every turn, preferring to keep her ostrich head in the sand, plus, she finds Artificial Intelligence (AI) scary; whereas Black knows ignoring reality merely postpones the inevitable, so she’s started playing with AI to understand it better …

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A man better known for his death than his life, although Red, the straight-A student and history lover, immediately thinks of the costly and controversial movie of his life. (Well, technically, it was the life of Cleopatra.) Black, of course, focuses on business – leadership lessons, including the power of words, although she surprises Red with some food trivia. But the fact July’s named after him is the perfect excuse to rerun one of Red’s favorite Banter Bites …

Quick! If someone says "Julius Caesar," what comes to mind?

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Almost everyone has heard of Julius Caesar, but how many of us really know much about him, or at least that's what Red starts to wonder when she receives the usual flippant, but still accurate, reply from her sister, after feeling very proud that she knew that July was named after the famous Roman.

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