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Month: July 2006
Sow, and so ye shall reap, naturally
Get ready for the Second Annual World Naked Gardening Day (WNGD)! People across the globe are encouraged, on Saturday, September 9, 2006 to tend their portion of the world’s garden clothed as nature intended. So says the official web site for the event. (Thanks to investigator Bob Frenay for alerting us to the nature of […]
Clip enthusiast wanted (volunteer)
The Kinsey Institute is seeking volunteers for an apparently abstruse experiment, Jerome Cerny‘s Labial Clip Comparison Study. Here are the publicly advertised details: Clip comparison study Principle Investigator: Jerome Cerny, PhD Experimentors: Jenny Finkel, Nicole Prause Instruments used: labial clip, photoplethysmograph, portapres, pneumotrace, subjective lever, videos (some sexual), questionnaires Duration of session: 2 hours Payment: […]
When Lipscomb met Fisher
An historic meeting, small but memorable, occurred in Harvard Square on July 24, 2006. Helen Fisher — president of The American Nudist Research Library and winner of the 2004 Ig Nobel Literature Prize — met Nobel Laureate William Lipscomb (Nobel Chemistry Prize, 1976) for a cup of coffee. Fisher had been unable to attend the […]
Direct translation
Investigator Abigail Tinker writes: Here is a phrase/acronym that I just learned: DRE. Maybe you are already familiar with this maybe not — either way I think it should come into frequent use. Let me relate the scene: We are in the conference room talking about a report that we have to submit in exactly […]
“Missing Steps” mystery identified and solved
Apparently, while people are watching television rather than walking around, they take fewer steps than they would if they were walking around rather than watching television. So claims a daring study published yesterday, July 27, 2006, online in the American Journal of Public Health. The report couches things in slightly technical language: In multivariable analyses, […]
Special delivery: babe
Childbirth can be slow and distressing. Inspired by elephants, a New York City couple designed an electro-mechanical device that accelerates the process. The method is simple: the pregnant woman is strapped on to a circular table; the table is then rotated at high speed…. So begins this week’s Improbable Research column in The Guardian.
Pommes neuf with hint of hay
The recipe for a new delicacy — pommes neuf with hint of hay — is revealed in Katharine Sanderson’s interview with Heston Blumenthal (the justly-celebrated chief molecular gastonomical chef), in the May 2005 issue of Chemistry World.
McClain-Furmanski moves his hair
Dennis McClain-Furmanski, a longtime member of the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists, informs us that he and his hair have moved to a new location and have a new title:. Dennis McClain-Furmanski Assistant Professor of Psychology School of Arts and Sciences Bluefield State College Bluefield, West Virginia, USA (Click on the photo to see […]
Jump yes, rope no
US patent #7,037,243, granted on May 2, 2006 to Lester J. Clancy of Mansfield, Ohio, is for An exercise apparatus is provided that simulates the effects of jumping rope, but does not utilize an actual rope. Two handles are provided similar in appearance to jump rope handles. At the end of the handle, where the […]