#wfpl

Why does ice cream give us brain freeze? 

"There's a scientific medical term for ice cream headaches which is sphenopalatine ganglion neuralgia," says Dr. Kris Rau of the University of Louisville in Kentucky

"On the roof of your mouth there are a lot of little blood vessels, capillaries," Rau says. "And there's a lot of nerve fibers called nociceptors that detect painful or noxious stimuli." The rush of cold causes those vessels to constrict."And when that happens, it happens so quickly that all of those little pain fibers in the roof of your mouth — they interpret that as being a painful stimulus," Rau says.

Why We All Scream When We Get Ice Cream Brain Freeze

Two GOP state lawmakers have filed Kentucky’s fourth bill targeting classroom discussions on race. House Bill 487 would make it illegal to teach about institutional racism and would require schools to teach about American “victories” over “international socialism and communism.”

The measure, from Republican Rep. Matt Lockett of Nicholasville and Republican Rep. Jennifer Henson Decker of Waddy, would also mandate schools post all instructional materials publicly online.

Lockett and Decker are the same lawmakers who are sponsoring House Bill 18, which they claim is meant to root out “critical race theory” from Kentucky classrooms. Critical race theory is an academic framework taught in law schools that explores systemic racism, especially in the law. But lately conservatives have been using the phrase as an umbrella term to refer to racial equity initiatives they dislike. Many are accusing schools of indoctrinating children with “Marxist” theories by teaching about institutional racism.

HB 487 includes many elements from House Bill 18, including the prohibition against teaching that a student should feel guilty about what members of their same race or gender did in the past. Many educators worry such legislation is so vague it would discourage teachers from talking about troubling parts in American history, such as slavery.

…

The measure would require schools to post a list of all instructional materials for every course online, and would have school superintendents make curriculum decisions instead of the School-Based Decision Making Council of teachers, administrators and parents.

Finally, similar to Senate Bill 138, HB 487 would create mandatory school curriculum. Historically, those decisions are made by school districts or schools themselves.

…

Some teachers and community leaders have called similar legislation “propaganda.”

In a statement, Kentucky Commissioner of Education Jason Glass balked at the proposal.

“HB 487 creates a big government and courtroom-based attempt at a system that seeks enforcement for a problem that does not exist. The bill presents a sweeping and politically-driven change to how curricular decisions are made, decisions that have historically been left at the local level,” he wrote in an email to WFPL.

…

Meanwhile, Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Marty Pollio said he is concerned that “legislation like this would hinder the progress that we’ve made” in working towards more culturally inclusive curriculum. 

Speaking of Ashlie Steven’s Thompsonian coverage of the Speed Museum reopening, here it is. Given the specific concert of that 30-hour extravanganza that got me started, my favorite bit isn’t all that surprising.

“Well, I’ve been here for 10 hours? 11 hours? Actually, 12 hours now that I look at it,” says Teddy Abrams, the music director of the Louisville Orchestra, as he slumps in a chair in the cinema lobby. “But if I was a Louisvillian, I’d make sure I got myself down here because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Along with Robert Curran of the Louisville Ballet, Abrams has presented two joint performances of the orchestra and ballet today, with two additional performances lined up for tomorrow. He says this sort of collaboration between art institutions is exactly what the city needs.

“This is exactly where cultural programming and large arts organizations really need to to be thinking — big picture, really multidimensional, interactive, using all genres and reaching all backgrounds,” Abrams says. “Just look at the diversity of people here — it’s exactly the audience that all the arts organizations are trying to reach.”