“Trichobezoar,” Ronald M. Levy and Srinadh Komanduri, New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 357, no. 21, November 22, 2007, p. e23 (http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1056/NEJMicm067796). (The authors, at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, report (accompanied by photographic evidence): A previously healthy 18-year-old woman presented with a 5-month history of pain in the left upper quadrant of the […]
Month: August 2008
Constellation Reformation: The Next Generation
In a previous issue of this journal (vol. 14, no. 1, January-February 2008), I called on the scientific community to institute a comprehensive restructuring of constellation naming conventions as part of an effort to attract more students… galvanized by a renewed sense of purpose, I present four additional alterations. First, I propose transforming Corona Borealis, […]
Small bellows to mimic big animals
An elaborately crafted book uses small bellows (bellowses?) to mimic the sounds of big animals. (Thanks to the Automaton / Automata blog for bringing this to our attention.)
Zero Effect for Zeros
“Does “000,000” Matter? Psychological Effects of Turkish Monetary Reform,” Sonia Amado, Mert Teközel, Yurdal Topsever, Rob Ranyard, Fabio Del Missier and Nicolao Bonini, Journal of Economic Psychology, vol. 28, no. 2, April 2007, pp. 154-69 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2006.05.003). The authors, who are variously at Ege University and Izmir University in Turkey, at Bolton University in the U.K, […]
Why teenagers get right up your nose
As the 21st century arrived, two distinguished psychiatrists offered mankind proof, written proof – in a study called A Preliminary Survey of Rhinotillexomania in an Adolescent Sample – that most teenagers pick their noses. Dr Chittaranjan Andrade and Dr BS Srihari, colleagues at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Bangalore, India, were […]
A Penny’s Not Going to Kill You
Although people say that “a penny’s not going to kill you,” that’s not strictly true. Sometimes a penny will kill you. There are several cases on record where ingesting a penny has killed a child,1 but, this report deals only with adult misadventures. Four hundred sixty-one pennies can kill you. Investigators at the Los Angeles […]
Peer Review: Donut Innards
Dr. Morhard and colleagues from the Campus Grosshadern of Munich University, Germany, tackle the problem of how to avoid the disgusting experience of eating a mustard filled donut. “Die DiagnostischeWertigkeit von Dual-Energy-CT und 3 Tesla-MRT in der Diagnose von Faschingskrapfen (Berliner Pfannekuchen) “Wo ist die Marmelade, wo der Senf und wo der Pudding?,” (The Diagnostic […]
Jan or Johann Josef Loschmidt joins LFHCfS
Jan or Johann Josef Loschmidt (March 15, 1821 – July 8, 1895) has joined as a historical member of the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists. Dr. Siegfried Peer, who nominated him, says: He was the first to determine the number of molecules of an ideal gas in 1 cm3. This is now known as […]
Ernst Mach joins LFHCfS
Ernst Mach (February 18, 1838 – February 19, 1916) has joined as a historical member of the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists. Dr. Siegfried Peer, who nominated him, says: He described how passing the sound barrier compressed air in front of bullets and shells. Some people think that he discovered this principle when he […]
Economics Lesson: The value of cash
The economist John Kenneth Galbraith was fond of observing that, although people enjoy it when their plumbers, politicians, and other professionals make jokes, “no one wants a funny banker.” He expressed this more formally in the book Money: Whence It Came, Where It Went: Money is, to most people, a serious thing. They expect financial […]