Muffleheads - Child's Play in '04

What Greg said.

13 and 17 both also happen to be primes---when one of a pair is prime, then the pair is automatically "relatively prime". As is Greg's pair.

4 and 9 are also relatively prime, even though neither of them are primes.

This message brought to you by your friendly neighborhood engineering professor.

Those things were cool when they hit our area last time. (Of course, I was in second grade and I liked bugs then :)) The way you guys make it sound, I'm now scared to mow the lawn this year, especially since our family owns an older mower. :(

Location has a lot to do with when and where they show up.

In 87 we had them in cincinnati while my grandparents in 30 miles north middletown didn't.

Guess what? The next year it was Ciccadas in Middletown and not here :)

Chuck, who just hopes the buffalo area is clear this year.

We've had a number of people email us asking when we expect the buggers to hit, so they can schedule their visit around the pests.

We honestly don't remember them being a problem 17 years ago...we have a number of staff members who were here back then, and they don't recall the nasty buggies being a problem.

My husband is a farmer (we live about 8 minutes from the park) and he also says it wasn't anything.

So, we have our fingers crossed that the rascals will leave us alone.

The only plague I've ever experienced was a disgusting worm infestation back in the early 1970s in Fairfield, Connecticut. Yuck! They ate everything--leaves, grass, everything green! You could hear them crunching at night. They spun webs everywhere--I remember riding my bicycle to school and huffing up a steep hill, straight into a wall of web and worms. Still creeps me out!

We actually had a second spring that year.

Of course, sick people that we are, we've come up with a menu of signature cicada items to offer our guests this summer. :)

Paula

I don't know how CP's going to be this year. These things are REALLY picky about where they stay in the ground at, and CP doesn't seem like the right location or with the temps up there constantly changing due to the lake. Though I don't remember very much from 17 years ago.

The worst Ohio park will be Dover Lake Waterpark. It's RIGHT DAB SMACK in the Cuyahoga Valley. And last time the 9yr came out, it was Sooo deafening that you had to practically yell to your friends.

For those who don't know the sound these things make, imagine 10000's of people holding some type of shakers and shaking them like crazy and you're right in the middle of it. Then imagine a Bat cave with those 1000's of bugs crawling on the ground and walls, and you have to walk over that.

From what I remember here in Ohio their are 6 different breeds of these things. Someone with a biology major can probably help me out this one, but yes, there are 17 and 9 yr both hitting this year. And I think there is also a 3yr.

The Hinkley area and Cuyahoga Valley (both near Akron) are predicted to get hit pretty hard hear in N.Ohio due to their location, woods, water, and temp.

Though at CP:
If you got hit with one of these things on MF or TTD you would definetly be bleeding. These aren't like Muffleheads that splatter. These things are like beetles, and I DO NOT want to nail one of these!

:)

"The Future of Roller Coasters"
-RollerCoasterGod
http://OhioThemeParks.com

*** Edited 4/13/2004 2:59:38 PM UTC by RollerCoasterGod***

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Brian Noble said:

---when one of a pair is prime, then the pair is automatically "relatively prime". As is Greg's pair.

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Not exactly - 5 and 20 are not relatively prime even though 5 *is* prime... or am I mistaken?

lata, jeremy

--who only deals in calculus...

So the 13 year and 17 varieties only hit in unison every 221 years?

Anyone know the last time that happened?

Jeremy wins a donut.

I have a standing rule in my courses---if a student catches a written mistake (on the board, in a handout, etc.) then I buy them a donut. I find more students pay attention that way. Interestingly, very few students ever want the actual donut---donuts in my courses have become nearly a pure virtual currency.

Great, we got the biology geeks AND the math geeks in the same thread ;)

I just find it kind of funny how the biggest brood is Brood X - the X is for Xtreme!

221 years ago?

No, 'cuz the 13 year brood isn't showing up this year. Someone would have to figure out when the 13 year brood is appearing/last appeared and compare that to Brood X(treme).

Exactly.

Problem is, I don't really care enough to look. I was wondering if someone who was interested happened to know.

(Give me a little more credit than that, Moosh ;) )

Darn, Gonch. I thought you would take the initiative amd figure that out for us.

Arg!!! It's doomsday!!! I love articles these kinds of articles. As many of you already mentioned, the newspapers make a big stink about cicada emergence because people get annoyed by them. They could really recycle those cicadas articles every year because somewhere in the US, a brood of 17-year cicadas is bound to be emerging.

Actually, cicadas are more closely related to aphids and grasshoppers than beetles. ;) But that's getting truly geeky. But, good job with the research, everyone!

I love the little buggers with their creepy eyes and loud buzzing. Their song is a true sound of summer for me. Plus, they are the official insect of CoasterBuzz! For the record, a friend once ate one and said it tasted "squishy" like "banana nut bread," so if you're hungry...

I was wondering when you were going to chime in, Steph. Thanks for the "tasty" info.

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Stephanie said:
Actually, cicadas are more closely related to aphids and grasshoppers than beetles. ;) But that's getting truly geeky.

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Geeky? On Coasterbuzz? Perish the thought! :)

We're one step away from utter geekdom. Gawd forbid someone find a way to work in Star Trek into this discussion....

The main reason I brought it up is that, while I know that there are many different types of periodical broods every year, I have fond memories of this particular brood when it emereged 17 years ago. I actually enjoy when they're out, although I can't really justify 'playing' with them since I'm no longer 14 years old.

But I'm sure I will, anyway. :)

"Dammit Jim I'm a physician, not an entomologist!"

GregLeg++. That one got me to laugh out loud.