What comes up doesn’t go down well

The notion of "experimental limits" was recently given a subtle twist. Investigator Ron Josephson alerts us to a report in the March 8, 2005 issue of the [Greensboro, North carolina] Record: Teacher fired for making students vomit loses appealSMITHFIELD (AP) ? A teacher who encouraged students to drink milk until they vomited as a classroom […]

Chilled waste of dog

Waste disposal is a recurring process. A cheap, chilling method is now available for dog owners. The manufacturer describes it in simple terms: POOP-FREEZE? is a specially formulated aerosol freeze spray that, upon contact, forms a frosty film on dog poop (or cat poop) to harden the surface for easy pick-up. POOP-FREEZE is a great […]

Boys will be boys

The “Boys Will Be Boys” column in the March/April 2005 issue of the magazine presents another health collection of research by and for adolescent males of all ages. One of the highlights this time is a splendid whopping new survey of colorectal foreign objects that appeared, more or less serendipitously, in a hospital in South […]

Nuclear pullet surprise

British Military Planned Chicken-Powered NukeA once secret plan to build a nuclear landmine ‘run’ by live chickens has gone on public display for the first time at The National Archives, Kew, as part of the acclaimed Secret State Exhibition. Conceived during the Cold War, the seven tonne device was the size of small truck and […]

The press of smelly cheese

Dr. Stephen White of Cranfield University led a study to ascertain which is the world’s smelliest cheese. So says a press release issued not so long ago. Those who are so inclined can download a zip file of images pertaining to this disturbingly delightful concept. (Thanks to Mark Waldstein for bringing this to our attention.)

Sea monsters exposed

Here’s a pointer to the Archives of Natural History, where the sea serpent paper by 2002 Ig Nobel Prize winner Charles Paxton, Sharon Hedley and Erik Knatterud is scheduled to be published this week. (Knatterud is, among other things, the keeper of the Database of Norwegian Sea Serpents and Paxton of the history-packed Aquatic Sea […]

Effects of dandruff on climate

"Could dandruff be altering the world?s climate?" That is the provocatively-worded question used to begin a news report that is almost as interesting as its beginning, The article, in New Scientist magazine, is about new research on what’s floating around in the atmosphere.