The last day of school

I was hoping to have finished school but I can't resist scoring the last day because it means I can do whatever I like with the kids who turn up. Last year 15 came and I made the mistake of making it far too fun. So this time I plan to make them work all day on science and anyone who refuses to join in can pick and card greasy, daggy wool (I intend to make them sorry for turning up).

This is what we're doing...a few months ago Anita, tongue-in-cheek, emailed me one of those pseudoscience articles about all the things you can do with cucumbers (apart from the obvious ones). So over the last two days I have turned it into a series of 13 experiments to prove or disprove the claims.  Here is the original article, which is not surprisingly on Snopes (DO read some of the more creative emails further down the page). Email me if you want a copy of the experiments. Remember they are aimed at a low science-literacy level to be attempted within a limited time by poorly behaved children.