Improbable Research

In tribute of a sort to tonight’s Ig Nobel show at the University of Dundee, not far from the Tay Bridge, here are the concluding lines of William McGonagall’s mortal poem “The Tay Bridge Disaster“:

Oh! ill-fated Bridge of the Silv’ry Tay,
I must now conclude my lay
By telling the world fearlessly without the least dismay,
That your central girders would not have given way,
At least many sensible men do say,
Had they been supported on each side with buttresses,
At least many sensible men confesses,
For the stronger we our houses do build,
The less chance we have of being killed.

Another scientific breakthrough seen likely to improve lives almost immediately:  This one is reported in The Guardian, under the headline “Grow-your-own to replace false teeth“:

“Tests have shown the technique to work in mice, where new teeth took weeks to grow. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t work in humans, the principles are the same,” said Prof Sharpe.

That news article was published on May 3, 2004.

Liu Young, who was born in China and educated in Germany, drew some icons to show differences between the cultures. Here are examples. (Thanks to Cathy Caldwell-Harris for showing these to us.)

Anger:

“ Although it is one of the most conspicuous features of dog behaviour, barking has received little attention from ethologists or from an applied perspective.”

This lack of attention has been remedied by new research from the Institute of Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
A team from the university’s Department of Ethology, finds, in a review of previous literature, that   “…barking has evolved towards an acoustic signal that can have a ‘universal’ utility in dog vocal communication.”
Canine communication can come in various forms – some identified (in previous research focussed on the Hungarian hunting dog – the Mudi – see photo)  as : meows, grunts, whines, yelps, screams, whimpers, howls, bleats, growls, yaps, barks, clicks, ‘snapping of teeth‘, and pants.

“In 1659 he decided not to accept anything simply written in a book, instead resolving to do research himself,” says Wikipedia about the now-late Bishop Steno, and goes on to give other bits of his history:

“The effect odor has on a consumer’s experience of the product is still not yet understood.” Prompting investigators at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands to set up two experiments in order to clarify the possible influences of odor on consumer goods. Their research took an unusual approach, centring around what they call ‘incongruent odors’ – perhaps simply described as merchandise with ‘the wrong smell’.