Professor Roland Shack is coerced by visiting Ukrainians into a spur-of-the-moment hike down the Grand Canyon. What hike isn't complete without a picnic basket and vodka?

OSC director Peter Franken challenges professor Bill Wolfe to a racquetball game, with the unusual angle that Bill would spot Peter 19 out of the 21 points. What does Peter have up his sleeve?

Scattering of light makes the sky appear blue, the clouds look white, turns the sun red at sunset and as professor Mike Nofziger found out, clears a middle school faster than the last bell before summer vacation.

The banjo is frequently associated with country, folk, bluegrass and even classical music. Recently, I learned that it also has the power to endear one to new friends, bring together opposing camps and woo pretty young women.

As a professor, Bob Shannon had a wealth of prior industry experience to pull from when formulating real-world problems and, after chatting with Janet Fender, a 1981 Ph.D. graduate, it has become clear to me that he also had a sense of humor.

For anyone who was around OSC in the 1970s and 1980s the annual Saguaro Race is legendary. Supposedly, it all began in 1973 at a party when several OSCers, under the influence of a bit too much sangria, began talking about jogging and who was the fastest runner.