It Turns Out The Dastardly Moon Is Farther Away Than 500 Miles

Essentially, every day for about a year or so I've been asking the squad here at the Barstool Chicago office a bunch of different, random questions. Some of those questions are random shit like this but most are geography related. Follow on any or all of our social channels to see them.

Anyway, every time I talk about Space, it blows my fucking mind. The other day I was watching this documentary by Brian Cox and people started talking about how the universe is constantly expanding. I think with my simple mind, I've always just kinda thought about this bad boy expanding in one direction, but that's not the case. The universe is expanding in every fucking direction imaginable. It's not just north, south, east, and west. It's every single point between those too. It is simply not possible to understand space or to even begin to grasp a 360-degree expansion. Any one who says they do is a liar. 

But, some folks can help with understanding complicated shit. There's this guy named Brian Cox who is the coolest nerd of all time. Brian is a British physicist and professor who somehow makes quantum mechanics a touch graspable. He writes and says quotes that blow my mind regularly. Sometimes I think back on his quotes and am just kinda in awe because, well, they are quotes like these.

“We are the cosmos made conscious, and life is the means by which the universe understands itself.” (From Wonders of the Universe)*

“Every atom in your body was forged in the heart of a star. The universe is in us — we are stardust made alive.”

“The laws of nature are written in the language of mathematics. It’s the poetry of the universe — precise, elegant, and absolutely unforgiving.”

“The universe is 13.8 billion years old. You are alive for less than a blink of an eye. Yet somehow, you get to see it. That’s pretty special.” 

This week on Drop A Pin, we talked about Space while we were high but didnt say anything nearly as smart as Brian Cox. Give it a try anyway so that you can at least learn that the moon is not 500 miles away but more like 238k miles away. Sorry, Gino. You know that answer was crazy as hell. 

Writing is fucking hard when you rarely do it anymore. Gotta crack the knuckles.