why i love science

Dear Dr. Science,

I have always wondered how Rocky and Bullwinkle met and how they became good friends? Do you know? --from Natascha Sells of Milledgeville, GA

"You bet I do. Not only was I there at the Moose and Squirrel's first rendezvous, but I was the one who arranged the meeting in the first place. I had been hired as a consultant on the Way Back Machine,

a device they used to prop up the largely clueless dog named Mr. Peabody. OK, so I'm somewhat bitter, having auditioned for a role that eventually went to a cartoon dog. Anyway, tensions were high on the set, what with the FBI and CIA disguised as stage hands monitoring Boris Badenov and Natasha.

I managed to diffuse that tension through some simple science tricks, making hydrogen bark, turning water into wine and back into water. And when producer Bill Scott realized that Annette Funicello

and Bobby Darin weren't going to make it as the lead characters, I suggested Rocky and Bullwinkle,
two talkative animals I had used in lab research. The rest is cartoon history."