Improbable Research

The May issue of mini-AIR just went out. Topics include: Planetary Medical Stars; Bacteria and Evelyn Evelyn; Mask Wiggling; Theatrical Germs Poet; “Reality-Based Improv”; Jay’s Words Unclean; etc.

Mel [pictured here] says, “It’s swell.”

(mini-AIR is the simplest way to keep informed about Improbable and Ig Nobel news and events. Just fill in the wee form, and mini-AIR will be emailed to you every month)

Bathtubs
Methane build-up is not uncommon in sewage systems. Normally, a standard bathtub is substantially protected from methane back-leakage by the fluid-filled U-bend connected to the water outlet. But in case of failure, or excessive methane pressure, the gas can leak into the tub. Methane is highly flammable.

The occasional green sheen of sandwich meat is no mystery, according to Jane Ann Boles [pictured here, demonstrating meat slicing for her students] and Ronald Pegg. They wrote a guide called “Meat Color”,  for the Montana State University and Saskatchewan Food Product Innovation program:

Iridescence in Processed Meat Products
Iridescence is a common problem in sliced roast beef and ham products. The dominant color is frequently green and consumers sometimes confuse this with green myoglobin pigments associated with microbial growth. [This] is produced by a combination of the angle of incidence of the light on the muscle fibres and the wetness of the surface. If the fibres are pulled slightly out of alignment during slicing, the light strikes the fibre at an angle scattering light which appears as the rainbow or greenish color on the surface of the meat.

[UPDATE: Several paleontologists have written to express amused disgust at the reasoning ascribed to this research team, and to note that the team some time ago "left to pursue other opportunities". One correspondent also noted that the lead author once studied fossilized crab droppings from the Pierre Shale and published a study with the title "Pierre Feces".]

[An] intriguing and important scientific question — did dinosaurs pee? And, if so, where’s the evidence?

A husband-wife team from South Dakota Tech thinks it may have found the answer.

Cyril Alexander Walker (1939-2009) joined the staff of the British Museum (Natural History) in 1958, where he was to become an authority on fossil birds of the late Cretaceous and the Eocene period. He was appointed curator of fossil birds in 1972 and he is best remembered for his discovery of a new subclass of fossil birds, Enantiornithes (Nature 292: 51-53, 1981).

Dr Walker also developed an interest in fossil turtles, and discovered the earliest known herring (from the Cretaceous period), in Queensland. He regarded it as a part of the job to introduce colleagues to the delights of English beer.

The headline sends a mixed, if not stirring, message — “Put More Nitrogen into Milk, Not Manure” — in this May 28, 2010 alert from the USDA Agricultural Research Service. (Thanks to Dan Vergano for alerting the world to this alert.) Here’s a screen grab: