Sufficiently small animals cannot be hurt in a fall from any height: A monkey is too big, a squirrel is on the edge, but a mouse is completely safe. The mouse-sized people in Dr. Cyclops could have leapt off the tabletop with a cry of “Geronimo!” secure in the knowledge that they were too small […]
Month: October 2006
Canada’s fascination with Dasani
Why is Dasani – the British bottlers of which were honored with the 2004 Ig Nobel Chemistry Prize — now on the lips of so many Canadians, in name if not in substance? Perhaps it has to do with the combination of this July 17, 2006 headline in the Toronto Globe and Mail: Dasani, IPO […]
Correction question
Investigator Chris McManus writes: How’s this for a correction from this week’s Nature? All that number of authors and they still managed to leave 13 off… And can those thirteen be authors of the correction saying, “We inadvertently omitted the names of the following authors”. Is it possible to inadvertently omit one’s own name from […]
Mankind’s greatest achievements
Philosopher-Accountant James Mahoney writes: I used to think that mankind’s greatest achievements were narcotic pain relief (physical pain is horrible) and air conditioning (being cool and dry when it’s hot and humid is wonderful). Now I’m starting to think it’s the modern supermarket. What do you think? UPDATE: Investigator Robert Bendesky responds: In 1976, Viktor […]