Ten tons of foresight (assuming you can measure foresight in such units) is no match for 160 pounds of klutz. Well-engineered products must withstand the unintentioned slings and arrows, the unforeseen slips and stumbles, the accidental kicks and elbows, and the regretfully overturned coffee cups that only a first-class professional klutz can deliver. So begins […]
Month: March 2004
Windows Bug in the Drains
Investigator Wendy Grossman recently sent us this report about a systemic bug: I was at a press conference on Thursday with PalmSource at One Aldwych, which is one of those hyper-modern London hotels. One of its features is a airplane-style vacuum-operated toilet system. One of the Palm execs told me that while they were staying […]
Blast-less Off in Bunnlevel
What’s new in Bunnlevel? Something not easily described. As the local newspaper put it: “Sounds ludicrous, but Mr. McLean is dead serious.” A report in the January 8, 2004 issue of the (Dunn, North Carolina) Daily Record includes the following: If Bunnlevel ever becomes a hub for space travel, Tommy McLean will be responsible. Based […]
Gang-Writing
“What is the record for the maximum number of authors/co-authors on a published paper?” asks investigator Brian G. Williams, Ph.D., P.E., of Idaho State University, in Pocatello, Idaho. He continues: A graduate student of mine found a paper: “STAR Detector Overview,” K.H. Ackermann, et. al., Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, vol. 499, […]
Astrology Chart for Bacteria
If you are, or have, bacteria, it would do little harm to consult the official Astrology Chart for Bacteria. See it, or some of it, anyway, here.
The Name of the Beast
Every kind of bug or beast or plant or other living creature has a formal name. Some of those names are strange indeed. Investigator Mark Isaac has compiled lists many of the strangest. See his collection here. Thanks to investigator Antonio de la Nuez Latorre for bringing it to our attention.
Looks Like Michael Jackson
In 1997, a 24-year-old Belgian male requested that his head be reconstructed to make him resemble the singer Michael Jackson. Three plastic surgeons granted his wish. So begins this week’s Improbable Research column in The Guardian. Read it here.
Largely Unexplored and Uncelebrated
The University of Leicester has a Celebrity Research Group. The group says “This is an intriguing, largely unexplored area of research.” They ar at least 50% correct in that, and possibly more than 50% correct. The group is now conducting what it calls a “celebrity survey,” which you can find at the URL they have […]
The Value of Beauty
Beauty is valuable. There is ample published research to back up the researchers’ belief that they could publish their research. An eye-catching, tidily-summed-up collection of that research appears in the “Beauty Value Research Review” that is part of AIR‘s Special Beauty Issue. Read it here.
AIR Teachers’ Guide
Three out of five teachers agree: curiosity is a dangerous thing, especially in students. If you are one of the other two teachers, AIR and mini-AIR can be powerful tools. Choose your favorite hAIR-raising article and give copies to your students. The approach is simple. The scientist thinks that he (or she, or whatever), of […]