INSiGHT: Curiosity Box by VSauce 2

This Curiosity Box features a variety of items, so it makes sense to go through it one at a time. The most interesting part of this box must be the Martian Soil. Well, in all fairness, this is actually a tub of Martian Global Simulant 1 (MGS-1), which means that while chemically it is exactly like a soil sample taken from Mars, it was made with components found on earth. Still, it is pretty cool. It indeed looks red, which is interesting, and the added information that can be found in the booklet explains what it is made up of and what it is used for. The booklet even encourages using it to grow a plant!

The next curiosity is both a gadget and a puzzle. After all, who doesn't like fridge magnets? Furthermore, who doesn't like alphabet fridge magnets? However, it is not that easy, because this is a shadow alphabet puzzle! Instead of full letters, these magnets are simply part of the shadows of letters, and because our brains love to complete things, it's possible to see full letters if the puzzle is solved correctly. This is harder than it seems, and on top of that, once solved one has to be careful to not jumble it all up again, because the letters don't stay as one. So, it becomes a nice little puzzle that can be solved again and again. It is a good way to exemplify how human brains perceive things and complete pictures even if they aren't fully there - also often talked about as optical illusions.

Moving on to the next gadget included: a handful of disks to create assisted art. These bear resemblance to stencils often used by children to draw certain shapes, but these disks are a bit more complicated than that! This way of creating art is definitely a fun thing to try out. The history behind it is explained in the booklet and is incredibly fascinating. However, ultimately this item seems to be targeting a younger demographic as it is not as useful as a magnet or out of this world like Mars' soil.

The next part of this box, on the other hand, is an incredibly interesting book about knots. A small rope is included to try out knots while reading, and there is some truly fascinating information in there. It is a perfect little read for anyone with a vested interest in all things knots like Scouts or seafaring, but those that simply always wanted to know a bit more about knots will also find the book compelling. Finally, there is a t-shirt that picks up on the knot theme by donning the only known 15-crossing amphicheiral knot! What does this mean? All this is explained in the box's booklet!

7/10

Very Good - Bronze Award

This Curiosity Box holds information, some truly interesting gadgets, and things to do and solve, which is fantastic. Some items seem to be aimed at very specific interests and others perhaps at a younger audience, whereas some definitely need adult support. It is, overall, definitely full of items to discuss, talk about and learn more from, and well worth the price for anyone interested in science!

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