Friday June 5th, 2015 is the 20th edition of Dead Duck Day, arriving precisely one year after last year’s Dead Duck Day. At exactly 17:55 h [Rotterdam time] we will honor the mallard duck that became known to science as the first (documented) ‘victim’ of homosexual necrophilia in that species, and earned its discoverer the 2003 […]
“… it does not exceed the precision of an upholsterer”
The non-scientific mind has the most ridiculous ideas of the precision of laboratory work, and would be much surprised to learn that, excepting electrical measurements, the bulk of it does not exceed the precision of an upholsterer who comes to measure a window for a pair of curtains. —Charles S. Peirce (1908) No doubt Charles Sanders […]
Dead Duck Day details (in Dutch)
The full schedule for Dead Duck Day [June 5] has just been made public, in Dutch. An English translation is imminent. Dead Duck Day commemorates the incident that was documented in the Ig Nobel Prize-winning study “The first case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard Anas platyrhynchos“.
Bungee jumping : the math(s)
If the physics and mathematics of bungee jumping are amongst your interests, you are, as they say, spoilt for choice. There are quite a number of readily accessible academic studies at your disposal. Might we suggest (in no particular order)… • Understanding the physics of bungee jumping by A. Heck, P. Uylings, E. Kędzierska • […]