Troubled by the apathy toward science he sees in the country's young people, the South Korean science minister has stooped to their level with a new book of scatological poetry entitled Does a Fart Catch Fire?
The minister, Kim Young-hwan, says that addressing the sometimes vulgar matters that interest children is the best way of convincing them that science is worth their attention. Each poem in his book is followed by an explanation of the relevant science. "What happens if astronauts in space cannot control their fart and shoot, 'ppung,' and the fart catches fire?" the title poem asks. Kim then explains that the gas we pass, like other chemicals, can in fact burn. Other titles range from "Peeing on an Earthworm" (about how children should treat small animals) to the more proper "Can Fish Catch Colds? "
Kim, a dentist-turned-politician, is no stranger to flatulent prose: He wrote a previous children's book entitled Daddy Eats Doo-doo, as well as four volumes of serious poetry. He says his present effort has been so well received that he is now writing two similar titles. The books, which he envisions as "fusion[s] of science and art," are part of the Science Book Movement that the ministry began in June, aimed at getting children's science books written by scientists into elementary schools.
The South Korean science minister is author of a new book of poetry with a title that translates as "Does a Fart Catch Fire?"
CREDIT: SA AEOK-WON
