it eats, shoots, and LEAVES

For my observation I collected 13 different species of leaves and noted some of their differences.

1.They are all different colors

2.They all come from different trees

3.They all have different shapes

4.The fresh0cut leaves are the only green ones

5.One of the leaves is long and slender

6.One of the leaves is shaped like an ellipse

7. One of the green leaves has a brown hole through it.

8. There is one leaf that is green, yellow, and red

9. There is one leaf that is slender and maroon

10. When the maroon leaf is flipped over, a black tip at its end is revealed

11. One of the leaves has dirt.

12. The smallest leaf is a green leaf

13. The veins on the green leaf are dark green

14. The veins on the smaller green leaf are yellow

15. The maroon leaf's vein color is crimson

16. The maroon leaf has a white spot

17. The yellow leaf has green spots

18. The yellow leaf has a brownish center

19. The largest leaf has a hole almost to its edge

20. One maroon leaf has yellow spots

21. The maroon leaf has more dirt than any of the other leaves

22. The maroon leaf has no holes

23. The maroon leaf is not the smallest but it is also not the biggest

24. One of the yellow leaves has a maroon0like color

25. The yellow leaf is the least-crunchy dried leaf

Popcorn Differences

For my observation I chose 20 kernels of popped Popcorn and noted the variety that comes from each kernel in the same bag.

Noted Differences:

1. fully yellow vs. white

2. spotted with yellow

3. some have yellow just on the tips

4. yellow ones smell more like butter

5. yellow ones are greasier

6. some are squishier/softer than others

7. some have more kernel residue

8. some are larger

9. some are more like crumbs

10. some taste saltier than others

11. some are in little condensed shapes

12. others are bigger and more spread out

13. some are fat and rounded

14. others are longer and skinnier

15. one looks like it has tread marks

16. one is barely popped, looks deformed

17. another is not popped at all, just a kernel

18. some have more protrusions than others

19. some have flakey kernel pieces sticking out

20. some have bigger craters than others

21. some have more kernel shards than others

22. some are more jagged and angular than other rounded ones

23. some are crunchier when you eat them

24. some are little, others are big

25. some look like they are made up of pieces glued together while others are clearly one piece

For my observation I decided to do leaves. I ended up collecting 21 leaves of the same variety, however, they're all really quite different.

1. Some are spotted.

2. Some have highly visible veins.

3. Some are more glossy than others.

4. Some are broken.

5. Some are covered in dirt.

-David Layton

Post Tailgate Bottle Caps

Cheers.

Five of them are dented 1/3 of the way across the top

where the bottle opener got them.

The Heineken light is fully dented on top

creating a concave depression

The XX has scuff marks all along the rim

of the top

Samuel Adams has a small "2"

engraved on the underside

Pabst Blue Ribbon has a bold black "2 ♥"

on its underside

Bass is gold with a red triangle and

the cursive word "Bass" underlined on its top

The Corona Extra has ruffles that are

bent out of shape at an abnormal area,

making its stamp print asymmetrical

Blue Moon is virtually untouched,

looks just like it did when it left

the factory

The Nectar Ales says "recycle"

Only 2 of the caps have animal representations on them--

the Nectar Ales has a triangular formation of

3 hummingbirds that look like the recycling symbol

and the other cap does not have a name on it--

just a stylized representation of 2 eagles

New Belgium is the warmest-looking out

of all the caps. It is designed with orange

and red, tertiary hues of the colors

New Belgium has a bicycle on it.

4 of the caps have one star on the top

XX has the same coloration as Heineken Beer--

Both are primarily green with a red accent

"If you see a code you've won!

Text code to GREEN or visit Heineken.com"

--this cap has a code

Four of them have "twist off -->" on the rim

Of these four, one was removed with

a bottle opener anyway

When flipped over, one can observe that all of the

underbellies have a different color. Most are a variation of grey,

some are silver, some are cream, one is yellow

The textures of the undersides vary as well.

Some are smooth, others are slightly textured

with ripples

Oddly, many of them have one small,

raised bump on their undersides

Stella Artois has dirt caked on the underside;

surprisingly, none of the others do

The nameless one with the eagles on top

smells fruity and without alcohol

Corona Extra smells the most potently

of beer

Two are clearly foreign, with different languages on the top

Most have a little copyright symbol

somewhere on the top, but Blue Moon

has a trade-marked symbol

Alyssa Hargrave

Grapes

grapes:
1. come in different sizes
2. some are darker than others
3. some have stems
4. some have light speckles
5. some are softer than others
6. some are juicier than others
7. some gathered condensation
8. some were wrinkly
9. some had seeds
10. some were juicy
11. some tasted better
12. some had dirt on them
13. some were connected via a common stem
14. some have "tumors"
15. some are greener on the inside
16. some have rings on the inside
17. some had natural cuts/tears
18. some were symmetrical,
19. others were asymmetrical
20. some have a rough texture
21. some looked like raisins
22. some were flat,
23. others were plump
24. some were in bunches,
25. others alone.


Peter Routzahn

From observing bottle caps...

1. transparency

2. ridges on sides- thickness, length

3. color

4. weight

5. texture

6. height/width

7. logos

8. shape

9. material

10. luster

dried flowers

1. most aren't buds
2. most aren't bloomed
3. most aren't twisted
4. most aren't smooshed
5. most aren't yellower
6. most aren't browner
7. most aren't fringed
8. most aren't immaculate
9. most aren't symmetrical
10. some are

Writing Utensils

1. width
2.length
3.colors
4. crayola-washable
5. crayola-crayon
6. staedtler (brand)
7.pilot G-2
8.gelly roll-medium
9. sharpie-metallic
10. micron 03
11. micron 08
12. micron 10
13. ticonderoga pencil
14. different tips
15. 6 pencils
16. 7 markers
17. all make different texture
18. 9 pens
19. bic mechanical pencil
20. 6b pencil
21. hb pencil
22. 2h pencil
23. 4b pencil
24. #2 pencil
25. lime green sharpie

SEEDZ

1. Ratio of white to black on each seed

2. Striped ones

3. Splotchy ones

4. Roundness

5. Pointy ones

6. Burnt ones

7. Curved sides

8. Nicely balanced ones

9. Ones that rolled around

10. Empty ones

11. Length

12. Shade of grey/black

13. Crispy-ness of shell (I ate them after i photographed them)

14. Ones with grey insides

15. Ones with white insides

16. Ones with yellow insides

17. Glossiness of shell

18. Sweet ones

19. Bland ones

20. Ones with large ridges down the length of the shell

21. Some had white boarders

22. Sound made when dropped on my desk

23. Some had a strange grey dust on the fatter end

24. Willingness to be organized into a pattern

25. Some shattered in my mouth and some broke cleanly

(pill^2)

Medical-looking things give me the creeps; I thought these chalky pills looked a little more chipper arranged into a perky square pattern, kind of like if you took rusty nails and made them into a sculpture of kittens in a basket.

-I think the fleshy color makes the pills look just like they taste- dry, chalky, and unsettling.

-The uniformity I think also gives them an ominous feel; identical objects feel so sterile, like gray buildings on a dark city block.

-The markings on them are different depending on which side the pills are sitting on, so half of them show letters and half of them show numbers.

-I like the way the shadows overlap each other, creating 3 or 4 Shadow Pills per each Actual Pill.

-They look like that Traffic Jam game that they make you play in elementary school to develop your logical thinking skills- they each look like they're trying to scoot their way out of the little square. I think this adds to their weird quality of being both completely foreboding and adorable at the same time.

Just a few observations, see you all in class tomorrow!

-Katharine

Differences

I found fallen pine cones and observed a few ways in which they are different...

-Stage of life that the cone fell off of the tree.

-Weathered

-Sap or resin

-Smooth vs. Rough texture

-Smell

-Origin

-Frayed Bottom

-Rotting

-Gaps between peaks

-Shadows

-Color

-Deformed shape

-Damaged

-Size

Pens: We're Not So Different

Even at a blurry distance, the personality of each pen is not mute.

Some scream, like the Flaming Canary Yellow Catholic Center one.

Some murmur, like the average-Joe Black Penmate one.

Some giggle, like the Sparkly Robin's Egg Blue one.

Some hiss, like the gleaming Silver one.

And some, like the melodramatic long-handled Calligraphy pen, stage operatic concertos.

I have only a professional relationship with my pen collection. I have found them and gathered them. Somethimes, I've even bought them.

But I do not love them. They are tools, and they understand this as much as I do.

However, writing with each one, I can't shake the fact that each one brings with it an internal difference to the way and subject I write. Some days, you can bet I'm relying on the even-keeled BIC to pull me through the lecture. With a sign in front of my desk written in Highlighter, I was forced to know that on Sept. 13 I had to get my act together and RSVP for the Ira Glass lecture before it was too late.

I use them distinctly, too. One is so heavy that I never ever use it. One is so effeminate that I fear mockery. One is so politically charged that I only use it in privacy (the Planned Parenthood one I got from who-knows-where).

Iv'e gained many of them, and lost even more. I do not use all of them. But I respect of them.

Them's my pens.

differences

When you make mass-marketed foodstuffs, the overall goal is consistency. If someone decides they like Dr. So and So's all natural, organic marshmallow chocolate explosion diabetes puffs, then in all likelihood they enjoyed the original experience, and want it to be consistent overtime. The problem is, this isn't always true

take the differences in these John Deere gummy snacks.

1. color

2. ratio of colors in each package

3. total number on gummies in each package (one contained 12, the other only 4 each!!)

4. smell

5. shape

6. taste

7. opacity

8. some shapes were malformed, for example the pig missing 75% of it's head

9. surface area

10. scent

11. chewiness

12. indentations

13. some of the same color/ mold have significantly more mass than others

14. white speckles present in some gummies

15. some appear to be chipped on the back,

Catching 22 Observations: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

While rocks found in a common location, like a rocky beach, are often similiar due to a wide range of variables including erosion and origin, each one has a story that is it's own. So when I set out on my hunt for rocks along the steep cliffs of Palos Verdes, I left no stone unturned when it came to observation. I looked for rocks, and I saw...

1. Round ones

2. Flat ones

3. Cylindrical ones

4. Patterned ones

5. Shaped ones

6. Eroded ones

7. Gold ones

8. Black ones

9. Grey ones

10. Red ones

11. Rusty ones

12. Smooth ones

13. Rough ones

14. Slippery ones

15. Chipped ones

16. Striped ones

17. Square ones

18. Speckled ones

19. Heavy ones

20. Light ones

21. Sharp ones

22. Grooved ones

observation exercise

[click images to enlarge]

object(s): super-worn black boots found at the back of my closet.

bought in Vancouver in 2008, these have endured rainstorms, braved treacherous

hikes through snow, and have accompanied my feet on countless walks to and from school.

they now sit peacefully in the shoe retirement home between a pair of

old, black chuck taylors and black and gold nike low-dunks.

--major differences between left and right

1. water damage on soles

2. worn out heels- slanting in different directions

3. hole in left heel

4. stitching is beginning to fray more on the right boot

5. amount of 'wood' exposed on the soles of each boot

Worth more than just a pretty penny

By the time I figured out that U.S. pennies are minted exactly the same way every year until 2010, I had already written about half my list for the differences between them. To say it was hard to find the differences in an object made to be identical is an understatement. My most interesting observation, however, was that when aligned by year, some of the older pennies actually looked newer than some of the newest pennies. For example, that really messed up penny in the center from 200X* looks older than the penny from 1990. They all aged differently.

*I can't actually read the year it's from.

coins from arould the world

i've collected coins from my travels around the world... france, england, costa rica, mexico, etc... coins are really fascinating to me because each has a life of its own. each has traveled the world in wallets of people from all different backgrounds. i sometimes wish that coins could talk so that i could hear their stories. maybe i have a penny that was once carried around by elvis presley... maybe i have a 50 cent euro that princess diana once held... each coin is unique not only in their appearance, but in their history. here are some differences i found below...

1. size
2. shape
3. thickness
4. weight
5. texture
6. design
7. shine
8. color
9. language
10. dirt
11. smell
12. edges
13. ridges
14. font
15. border
16. sound
17. background
18. value
19. year
20. legibility
21. font size
22. people
23. pictures
24. roll-ability
25. metal

Differences, Flowers

I chose a twelve of the same flower on USC's campus to observe and find differences. Here's what I came up with... (excuse the picture quality)!

1. Some were five-petaled, some were four-petaled.

2. Solid colored stems.

3. Gradient (green to pink) stems.

4. Light pink leaves.

5. Hot pink leaves.

6. Gradient (dark to light) leaves.

7. Dead leaves turned brown.

8. Buds are bright green.

9. Some leaves were almost white.

10. Most are about 1 inch in diameter at full grown.

11. Un-developed only about 1/2 inch.

12. Dead ones lose leaves, most had two or three.

13. The stem attached to the branch length differs.

14. Some leaves have cusp at the end, some are rounded.

15. Concave (almost rolled-looking) leaves on newer flowers.

16. Convex leaves on fully grown.

17. Some middles are green.

18. Some middles have bright green dots.

19. Few have anther stemming from the middle.

20. Small, bright pink veins in the white leaves.

21. Soft to touch.

22. Dead leaves rough, crunchy.

23. Mature leaves flatten out.

24. Often found in bunches of 8 or more.

25. Some grew singular.

Different keys for different locks

I collected and compared the keys around me: keys that open doors in my life, in my friends' lives, and at my work. The variations in keys came from the locks they open and the importance of the places and items behind them. Simple keys open drawers of paper, small keys open bike locks, silver keys open car doors (even if they are brass underneath), and personalized (engraved or stickered) keys open apartment doors.

Differences:

1. color (gold, silver)

2. bow shape

3. blade shape

4. size

5. texture

6. material

7. dirtiness

8. amount of scratches

9. thickness

10. engraving

11. hole shape

12. hole size

13. lettering

14. logo

15. whether stamped

16. length

17. border style

18. importance

19. card or metal key

20. metal or plastic

21. labeled or unlabeled.

22. tarnished or not

23. number of teeth

24. if there's a duplicate

25. if on a key ring with other keys

Observation Exercise

Dimes: Have you looked at your money lately?

While doing a visual study on two dollars worth of dimes, I realized each one of the dimes had certain marks or deficits. The normal things like the year produced was one of many things that stood-out. Most of the marks were noticed on or around the Franklin Roosevelt relief.The designer of the image is signed under the image "J.R". This is something that I never noticed before.

Object: Dime

Dimension:17.91(0.705 in)

Material: Sliver

Location found: some on the street

and others from my brothers money jar.

1. The surface is kind of tarnished and the relief is not as prominent as should be. (1967)

2.Three dents are located on the forehead of the image. (2003)

3.Slight scratched twice located on the lower back neck of facial image.(2010)

4.Werid greenish stain marks on the front face dime.This is located near the word "liberty".(1981)

5.The ribs on the edges are kind of worn down(1984)

6.There is a" D" behind the relief that looks like a "P".This is odd because the majority had D's.(2006)

7.A black dot is on the nose of the image.(2006)

8.Small scratch marks on the neck.(1994)

9.There are greenish gray marks under the chin of the image.(1967)

10.It's a new dime.yet, its lost a bit of it's shine.(2010)

11.This one has a bit of a yellowish tint to it.(2010)

12.The surface has some red stuff on it almost looks like paint.(2010)

13.over the words: "In god we trust" it almost looks underline due to the multiple scratch marks.(1997)

14.Two dents marks on the cheek of the image.(2004)

15.The"D" seems to be scratched out.(2008)

16.Darks marks around throughout the back of the dime.(2001)

17.A couple of dark stains above the head of image,and also there is another "P" instead of a "D".(2007)

18.looks darker in shade then all the other dimes.(1986)

19.Marks on the lower frontal part of the neck.(1988)

20.It was more shine then the others.(1998)