Investigator Val Eklund writes: Do you now someone whose reasoning is not quite on target? The Journal of Approximate Reasoning (which you mentioned in mini-AIR) may be just what they need. And speaking of “not quite on target,” that journal is going to publish a study that explores a notoriously hit-or-miss activity: “A closer look […]
Year: 2008
Diet Coke Plus: Much more than a Fortified Snack
A snack can also be contraceptive — failure to appreciate this fact may be the unspoken story behind a December 24, 2008 Bloomberg news report: FDA: Diet Coke Plus violates rules Coca-Cola Company’s claims that Diet Coke Plus contains vitamins and minerals violate US regulations, the Food and Drug Administration said in a letter to […]
New study: Children still indifferent to Santa
A new study by John Trinkaus shows that children are still, more often than not, indifferent to visiting Santa Claus at shopping malls. (This is the same Professor Trinkaus who won the 2003 Ig Nobel Literature Prize winner for publishing nearly 100 academic studies about things that annoy him). The new study is called “Visiting […]
The scientific weirdness competition
Alan Boyle’s Cosmic Log web site is running its annual Weird Science Awards competition: How do you follow an act like glow-in-the-dark kitties? The competition for our second annual Weird Science Awards includes an ample helping of animal weirdness, ranging from see-through fish to a four-eared feline. But 2008 saw plenty of all-too-human oddities as […]