Whitney+Jones





** Invention: Television Date Discovered 1923 ** Philo Farnworth invented the television at age 14. He was in high school when he came up with the idea that an electron beam was capable of scanning pictures back and forth while transmitting them to remote screens. His science teacher helped him with the idea for weeks. Born in a log cabin, he was raised to work hard and was fascinated by electrons and electronics. Several other people had the same bright idea, but Farnsworth’s patent withheld the test. In 1923 the television was invented. It wasn’t until the 1930s that televisions became commercially available. The television now has become common in homes, offices and institutions. The television today is used for entertainment and to get worldwide news updates. The television has become a way of life for people all over the world.

In King Corn, Ian and Curtis are worried about their life span﻿ and why it is shorter than their parents. They come to find out that it is because of the foods that they eat. Through an isotope analysis, they find out that most of their body was made of corn. In order to see how this came about, they decide to plant their own acre of corn in Greene, Iowa. Most of the corn grown in the United States comes from Iowa because the conditions to grow are perfect. Iowa has humid summers and fertile soil which is great for corn production. Corn is a way of life and a way for farmers to make a profit. The government pays farmers through the farm program for stabilizing corn growth. Ian and curtis received $28 for their one acre of corn. Farms are constantly growing because of the money that the farmers receive. While learning about growing corn, Ian and Curtis found out that ammonia is used as a fertilizer and it increases corn production 4x that of regular old farming. The corn is placed in the corn elevator for storage until used. As the movie continues, their corn grows but they realize that it is not edible. It must be processed first. The corn is used mainly for sweetners, ethanol and food for animals. Corn is fed mainly to cows in order to fatten them up for the slaughter. In the end, Ian and Curtis learned a lot about corn that answered many of their questions about it being a main source in our bodies.

I learned a lot from the movie that I never really thought about. I had no idea that all the foods and beverages that I drink from day to day contain corn. Corn is the basis for all of the sweet foods that we enjoy. I also never knew that the corn grown was not edible. It has to go through so many processes before it becomes the corn that we know and love. Billions and billions of corn are grown each year which is used in products that we do not even think about. 5 tons of food are made from one acre of corn. That feeds so many people from such a small piece of land.

The movie was interesting in that it took something as simple as corn and made it into a great learning experience. It just amazes me how much corn impacts our every day life. It was interesting to find out about all of the corn based foods that are eaten every single day that go unnoticed. I was also shocked at the amount of corn that is produced every year and how much money and time farmers put into the production.