“Not the Cat’s Meow? The Impact of Posing with Cats on Female Perceptions of Male Dateability” [by Lori Kogan and Shelly Volsche, published in Animals, vol. 10, no. 6, June 9, 2020, E1007] is a featured study in “Cats Research: Girls, and Men and Datability“, which is a featured article in the special Women (and Men) issue of […]
Here’s recorded video of last week’s event, the first in a collaborative series by The Conversation and Improbable Research. The goal in these: Two researchers, in different fields, explore each other’s worlds a little bit. “(Improbable) Conversation: Physics and Psychology of Cats“, with physicist (and Ig Nobel Prize winner, for exploring the question “Can a Cat Be […]
Join us this Thursday for the premiere of a new kind of conversation: Two researchers, in different fields, explore each other’s worlds a little bit. Marc Abrahams, editor of the Annals of Improbable Research, will compere. Here’s who and what: “(Improbable) Conversation: Physics and Psychology of Cats“, with physicist (and Ig Nobel Prize winner, for […]
What can one conclude from playing music for a few stressed cats? A new study suggests the answer: “Evaluation of Music Therapy to Reduce Stress in Hospitalized Cats,” Juliane Eg Paz, Fernanda Va da Costa, Luciana N Nunes, Eduardo R Monteiro, and Jenifer Jung, Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, epub 2021. The authors, at […]
Unlike dogs, cats, rabbits, bats, donkeys, zebras, gerbils and very many other mammals, most humans have great difficulty in independently orienting their outer ears ( pinnae ) towards sounds of interest. But what if we could? This study demonstrates that by opening and closing the human pinna, we can change the direction of […]
Some of the old experiments at or near the Air Force research labs in Dayton, Ohio, are on display in this video. The video comes with this info, added by someone somewhere at some time: Coverage of research at the Aerospace Medical Division HQ 657Oth Aerospace Medical Research Laboratories including scenes of F-104 seat ejection; […]
What are your pet fears? The review column “Cats Research: Do Cats Eat Human Remains?” is a but one of many featured items in the special Forensics issue of the Annals of Improbable Research. The article is free to download:
[NOTE: The paper was retracted, as described below—here is an updated link to a copy of it.] In the spirit of the Ig Nobel Prize-winning dead salmon study (and subsequent studies that went looking for fishy things) comes this new study about Covid-19, cat images, and some limitations of technology: “Can Your AI Differentiate Cats […]
The specific question of whether cats are where girls are is addressed in a new study: “Where There Are Girls, There Are Cats,” Yuhang Li, Yue Wan, Yigui Zhang, Zhaomei Gong, and Zhongqiu Li, Biological Conservation, epub 2020. (Thanks to Tom Gill for bringing this to our attention.) Here are details from the study: The […]
Is it safe to own a cat? A new paper suggests the answer may be Yes. Maybe Yes The new, possibly-pro-cat paper is: “Healthy cats provide more health benefits than risks to owners,” Michael Lappin, Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, vol. 21, no. 11, November 2019, pp. 1007-1007. The author explains: “In these 2019 […]