By Tricia D.
“Science is science and politics is politics, we try not to mix the two.”
I made breakfast this morning, egg and toast. My older sister had discovered an excellent way to cook eggs without making any dirty dishes. Simply put the eggs in a microwavable plastic container and break the egg yolks…set the timer for one minute. I’ve been doing just that, it’s lovely, minimal mess as well.
This morning however following the routine, I pulled out what I thought was a cooked egg. I was sadly mistaken. As it exploded onto my face. POP!
Yes. A microwave oven is something else. Let me tell you. And with egg on my face (literally) I laughed my way to the washroom. But more importantly, my interest was tousled. So to YouTube I went, I wanted to laugh at others’ mistakes with the device (I’m human that way). After clicking here and there, I stumbled upon this channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/kreosan
Enthralled immediately by these two fellows in Luhansk, showing their experiments, which stemmed from first fiddling with a microwave. From this explosion to that explosion, these guys, oh how they made me laugh.
But then honestly, I was looking at the foreground of their YouTube videos. In the background was something else entirely. The evidence and remnants of a war torn Ukraine. And my face stopped hurting, my smile disappeared and my heart started to break.
In an article published in the New York Times, I soon discovered that Pavel and Aleksandr were experimenting with the microwave a client left for them to fix, but never came back for it after a bombing incident. Their videos aren’t only interesting for the scientific factors, but for the answers they hold for their fellow countrymen. Answers to questions like “How to charge your phone from a used car battery…” and so on. Not only that, but they’re a commentary on the life of Ukrainians surviving in a country knee deep in a heavily divided war. The pair travel to war-torn areas of their homeland to show the outcome and the effects of war. Their videos are filled with the sounds of airplanes flying overhead and in a few, bombs exploding. But despite the division, the article states that these two are neutral and it’s not a political view, it’s an act of faith. The article goes on to explain that their videos have been banned, and they’re regarded suspiciously in some areas.
But it is also because of their faith that they met in the first place, after church. Pavel and Aleksandr first came together to create an electric bike. Now they’re hoping to make a trip to Chernobyl…
Goodness, who knew my simple explosion would lead me to find these videos?
I was humbled to such a high extent by human frailty, ingenuity and ultimately by a positive outlook on something quite dire. Pavel and Aleksandr were able to (if I may employ an overused cliche metaphor) literally find some sort of silver lining as it were. Not only that, but they’re giving the world a perspective on the war that we hadn’t seen before. Frankly I am thankful for the egg on my face, as it lead me to find these videos.
Thank you and Good Morning.