10 Unexpected Merit Badges

There are certain Boy Scout/Girl Scout Merit badges you expect - Archery, Cooking, Camping, Safety, that sort of thing. But the Scouts have a more well-rounded nucleus of merit badge opportunities than you could ever imagine (well, unless you were a Scout). Here are 10 you may not have expected to find on a merit badge sash.

1. Dentistry. The dentistry badge first entered the scene in 1971. To earn the badge, Scouts have to study the tooth structure, write about what causes dental decay, arrange an educational visit to a dentist's office to help make teeth casts and get experience with some of the instruments, and finally, assist a dentist in performing a root canal. OK, I made that last one up. No root canal required - just an essay on fluoride (or something similar). 2. Cinematography. As you might suspect, this is a fairly modern badge and was introduced to the system for budding filmmakers. To earn this patch for their sash, Boy Scouts have to learn to use a tripod, pan a camera, frame a shot, select an angle and proper lighting, and learn how to shoot a handheld. And, with your parent's permission, of course, you should try to visit a film set to see how production work is done. Pretty cool! 3. Fingerprinting. Not surprisingly, this one originated in the '30s, just as Eliot Ness and the Untouchables were making detective work cool. This one, of course, involves taking prints and identifying all of the unique characteristics of each one - loops and whorls and all of that fun stuff. But they also require Scouts to get into the science of fingerprints and why they form the way the form. 4. Nuclear Science. Yep - horsemanship, firebuilding, canoeing and Nuclear Science. The Scouts are seriously sophisticated - and socially responsible (which is a duh statement, I suppose). Scouts dig deep into the effects and dangers of radiation, report on people who have contributed to the field of atomic energy, use a radiation meter, build an electroscope or a build a model of a reactor. That's some pretty heavy-duty stuff! 5. Railroading. I love this one because my dad's a railroader and I love that railroads are still relevant to the Scouts when they could be earning badges in aerospace engineering and space exploration. The railroading badge requires being able to differentiate between different types of railroad cars, understand railroad safety, and then complete a project that can include taking a trip on the rails and reporting on what was seen, building a model railroad or visiting a railroad museum and checking out the history. Doesn't that sound like fun? Or am I just a total geek? OK, maybe don't answer that. 6. B Extreme! Girl Scout group 24 observed that if a girl was into an extreme sport such as snowboarding or spelunking, she was kind of out of luck when it came to earning a merit badge in that area of interest. So they suggested "B Extreme," which allows girls to become accomplished in the extreme sports arena, even if they live in the desert and want to learn about white water rafting. Simply researching and reporting on the sport is enough to earn a merit badge. A skateboarding suggestion includes learning the physics behind some of the tricks: "Consider Newton's First Law of Motion, which states that an object in motion will stay in motion and an object at rest will stay at rest unless the object is acted upon by an outside force. What outside forces are at play while doing an "ollie"?" 7. Couch Potato. This Girl Scout badge might sound like it's all about watching Gilmore Girls reruns and snacking on Doritos, but it actually can end up being an in-depth analysis of gender portrayals in the media, or a careful consideration of the nutritional value of some of the snacks we mindlessly consume while wondering exactly why we continue to watch The Hills. 8. CyberGirl Scout Badge. OK, minds out of the gutters, this one is actually about Internet safety, among other things. To earn this one, kids can research why they might need to use the Internet with a parent or guardian and an Internet scavenger hunt for the answers to Girl Scout-related trivia. This one is for Girl Scout Juniors - grades four and five. 9. Hi-Tech Hide and Seek. Geocaching - hiding some sort of a treasure in a public place and then giving clues to people over the Internet as to where the goodies can be found - and it has become so popular that it now has its own merit badge. "Letterboxing" is the same thing, except Geocaching makes use of a GPS and the finder usually gets to keep the geocached treasure. The prize in a letterbox is usually just a logbook that people sign when they discover it. 10. Sew Glam. This goes far beyond the simple sewing buttons and darning socks our moms might have earned sewing badges for back in the day. "Sew Glam" introduces girls to the world of creative solutions when it comes to a needle and thread (and glue gun and pinking shears and bleach pens and sequins...). The Required Activity asks Scouts to take a pair of jeans - Target, thrift-store finds, or already-owned ones - and make them their own. No iron-ons are allowed, but basically anything else goes. Did you get any merit badges that are kind of out of the ordinary? Share in the comments! Sash photo from Babble.com. Boy Scout Merit Badge photos from Girl Scout Merit Badges photos from GirlScoutShop.com.


Comments (17)

Newest 5
Newest 5 Comments

Here's a great one I earned. It's called Word's Rock! and it's about Scrabble. You have to research Alfred Butts (the game's creator), rules of the game, words you can make, ect. Kind of strange... http://www.girlscoutsaz.org/files/Words%20Rock%20Patch%20Program%20.pdf
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Evil Mad Scientist has one of the best ideas for a badge that I hope it will one day be incorperated into the Boy Scouts' official list: a circuit designing badge.
http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/softmerit
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
I'm impressed by the boy scout who made the little reactor to bombard thorium with neutrons in his mother's
garden shed:
http://www.wesjones.com/silverstein1.htm
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
I used to work at Seven Ranges Scout Reservation in Ohio from 2001-2003 in the "ecology" department and we taught a ton of awesome merit badges like Bird Study, Energy, Atomic Energy, Space Exploration, Environmental Science, Fish and Wildlife Management, Forestry, Geology, Mammal Study, Nature, Oceanography (yes, in Ohio lol), Reptile and Amphibian Study, Soil and Water Conservation, Weather, and Astronomy (my favorite). Fun times!
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Hmmm. Color me an idiot, but I thought that if the power was coming from thrust at the tips of the rotors (instead of from a powered axle), there was no need for a tail fan for counter rotation...
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
The tail rotor would be needed for yaw (turning left and right). A normal helicopter needs a tail rotor to constantly fight the counter-rotation from the main rotor; this helicopter would need a tail rotor to make it turn left or right.

It appears to be geared with the main rotor, but is likely pitched such that it doesn't provide any thrust to the left or right during flight. When the pilot wants to turn, he pitches the tail rotor blades to provide thrust.

If the tail rotor failed, the helicopter would be just fine, although it would have no ability to turn on its emergency descent.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
@ strayxray

actually it would start to spin uncontrollably with out the tail rotor, just because there is no powered axle between the main rotor and the main body of the helicopter doesn't mean that the friction from the rotor and where it is connected to the body isn't enough to cause it to start spinning. We don't live in a world with frictionless bearings. Also the fuel delivery system to the rockets probably add's a lot more friction to the main rotors axle.

It might not happen as quickly and violently as a normal heli would if it lost it's rotor, but if he were high enough, by the time he got the heli to the ground he could be spinning like a tea cup.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Every action gives re-action. So the main body of the chopper will rotate in the oppsite direction of the main rotor. Don't forget that there is a fuelline-coupling from the main body to the rotorblades that gives added friction. So the tailfan is needed.

I like the noise of that thing- While most chopperbuilders work frantically on reducing or even cancelling the noise of their rotorblades as best as they can to make their choppers more useable in crowded areas, these guys come up with a system that wakes up the whole valley when they start up their machine. :-D
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
This concept is not exactly new. In the 1950s a Dutch company built 11 Kolibri's (Hummingbirds):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jhpUJLhQfs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nederlandse_Helikopter_Industrie_(NHI)
And an American prototype:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YH-32_Hornet

All designs failed...
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
With torque the entire force generated by the engine gets split between the rotor and the body of the helicopter.

The difference with friction as a force is two fold. First, obviously, is that it would be in the direction of the rotors, not the opposite direction. Second, we're talking an incredibly small amount of the output of the engine being transferred via friction (easily as low as .01%). Third, it takes much more energy to spin the heavier body of the helicopter than the rotors.

So it would take very, very little to cancel it out.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
this is right on it...Every action gives re-action. So the main body of the chopper will rotate in the oppsite direction of the main rotor. Don't forget that there is a fuelline-coupling from the main body to the rotorblades that gives added friction. So the tailfan is needed.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
hey guys....stop thinking like a regular heli...the trust created by the jets is the prim factor of this equation....the blades move in an opposit direction to the exiting energy from the jet....the body of the vehicle, thru drag, will tend to follow the directions the blades are rotating in...the speed at witch the vehicle travels depends on the friction present at the rotor bearins and the vehicle mass that is presented to the air around it..ie...if there is a lot of friction the heli will turn quicker but if the was a huge flat panel sitting flush to the direction it is rotating in then it would tend to act as an air brake and slow down the action of rotation in proportion to its size.....space travel is marvelous...time travel is quicker....zorro
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Login to comment.
Email This Post to a Friend
"10 Unexpected Merit Badges"

Separate multiple emails with a comma. Limit 5.

 

Success! Your email has been sent!

close window
X

This website uses cookies.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using this website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

I agree
 
Learn More