These two items came over the transom here within minutes of each other. Presumably there is no connection between them. ITEM A) How to Calculate Pi by Throwing Frozen Hot Dogs. ITEM B) US patent #7,147,609 B2, “Penile volumetric measuring device,” granted to Jason E. Turner of Washington, D.C. (Thanks to investigator Martin Gardiner for […]
Month: March 2007
The tastiest Ezine
Investigator Richard Wassersug writes: “I just learned that the word “ezine” has more than one meaning.” Investigator Wassersug refers to this newly published study: “Sensory Characteristics of Ezine Cheese,” Yonca Karagul-Yuceer, Muge Isleten and Cigdem Uysal-Pala, Journal of Sensory Studies, vol. 22, no. 1, February 2007. Ezine cheese is a full-fat, white pickled cheese ripened […]
Calculating the value of prostitution
There are many theories about prostitution. The theory devised by Marina Della Giusta, Maria Laura Di Tommaso and Steinar Strom is one of the few that involves partial differential equations. Sure, they could, if they wished, describe prostitution in words. But for scholars who want to explain prostitution, differential calculus may be the clearest language. […]
The Prof. Touyz clinical charts
The use of the Clinical Charts for History, Treatment Plan and Special Investigations is a guide to assist establishing a definitive diagnosis, as opposed to a presumptive diagnosis. The type of Oral Malodor, or combinations thereof, should be defined. So says the official guide to using the special charts prepared by Dr. Louis Touyz, the […]
Ig in London tonight
Tonight’s Ig Nobel Tour event at the Guardian Newsroom & Archive in London, at 60 Farringdon Road. NOTE: Yes, it’s possible that a very few sets will become available tonight, at the door, just before the show starts at 6:30 pm.
Lotte Fog, Raelene Nelligan, Wendy Tuckwell join the LFHCfS
Lotte Fog, Raelene Nelligan and Wendy Tuckwell have joined the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists. They say: We are Medical Physicists, working at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in South Australia. Sometimes, we get up very early in the morning to shampoo, condition, brush, mousse, style, dry and hair-spray to maintain our Luxuriantly Flowing Hair, […]
The virtue in virtual victims
Lacking human subjects, researchers torture virtual females for science Back in the 1960s, the hot new research was Stanley Milgram’s tests on human behavior that involved subjects who thought they were administering electrical shocks to female victims for failing to answer test questions correctly. Some participants could hear their “victim” scream in response to the […]
The physics of squirrels
Automatic Squirrel-Ejecting Bird Feeder This is the bird feeder that automatically spins when a squirrel’s weight rests on the feeder, gently but firmly flinging the squirrel safely away without harm and discouraging return visits (see the Bird Feeder in action). The mechanism is sensitive enough to allow finches, chickadees, and other lightweight songbirds to feed […]
Howard Stapleton and his Ig Nobel Prize
This photo shows Howard Stapleton, the 2006 Ig Nobel Peace Prize winner, holding his Ig Nobel Prize. Stapleton was honored for inventing an electromechanical teenager repellant — a device that makes annoying high-pitched noise designed to be audible to teenagers but not to adults; and for later using that same technology to make telephone ringtones […]
Slimme blondjes
There has been scientific research (independent of the thousands of bad jokes) on the subject of blondes. Kees Moeliker surveys the highlights, such as they are, in the March issue of Nieuw Rotterdam.