'Science grandma': 72-year-old Chinese retired physics professor becomes internet celebrity

BEIJING, Nov. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by China.org.cn on China's elderly internet celebrities:

Recently, an elderly lady went viral.

In her short videos, 72-year-old Wu Yuren often uses everyday objects like eggs, hangers, and coins as props for her experiments. In one video for example, when explaining cosmic rays in space, she grabbed a broom, ran her hand down the broomstick to the thin brush attached, to illustrate how the energy of the rays gradually weakens and disperses. Using a cooking pot, she introduced China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST); she also explained rocket launches by blowing up a balloon. These intriguing science videos have attracted over 1 million followers.

She's now quite famous on China's social media, and many call her "science grandma". But she's not any ordinary grandma. This 72-year-old is a retired physics professor from China's prestigious Tongji University.

I don't know how you feel after watching these videos, but my first impression was that Grandma Wu is so cool!

It's said that Grandma Wu writes all her video scripts by herself, and she often works with young team members till late at night, just to plan each shoot down to the last detail. For some physics principles that are hard to present, she would discuss them with other professors to work out something easy for people to understand.

Many youngsters are greatly touched by Grandma Wu's sense of responsibility and mission to communicate physics ideas to the public, especially teenagers. Meanwhile, her lifestyle, embracing new technologies to maximize her value, inspires people in particular.

In recent years, Chinese short-video sharing platforms saw a rise of such elderly internet celebrities like science grandma. For example, there's "Grandpa Amu," an experienced carpenter who turns ordinary wood into exquisite items without a single nail or a drop of glue; the 100-year-old "Grandma Foodie," who has an amazing appetite for gourmets from different countries: hot pot, desserts, burgers, even alcohol. "Shaanxi Old Qiao," or Grandpa Qiao, teaches people to cook Shaanxi's local cuisines in his videos. These noodles and all are so tempting that even kitchen rookies couldn't help trying. On some online platforms, comments from young viewers often fill up the screen on videos posted by such "senior internet celebrities".

With the technology boom and the help of young people, many Chinese seniors are opening up a new digital world, and are communicating with the world better through the web. Plus, all this also shows society's respect and affection for the elderly.

As the Chinese proverb goes: "Having an elderly person at home is like having a treasure." These elderly internet celebrities, dedicated, humble, humorous or stylish, are passing on their wisdom and energy in new forms. These "treasures" are well worth a "like" and a "share."

China Mosaic
http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm

'Science grandma': 72-year-old Chinese retired physics professor becomes internet celebrity
http://www.china.org.cn/video/2021-11/25/content_77892932.htm  

SOURCE china.com.cn