A Gummy Tribute to the 2021 Ig Nobel Ecology Prize Winners

Lavie Tridhar writes, in Nature, a gummy tribute of sorts to the 2021 Ig Nobel Ecology Prize winners, Leila Satari, Alba Guillén, Àngela Vidal-Verdú, and Manuel Porcar, who used genetic analysis to identify the different species of bacteria that reside in wads of discarded chewing gum stuck on pavements in various countries. Tridhar’s tribute begins: […]

Podcast Episode #207: “The Psychoanalysts’s Nose”

The Psychoanalyst’s Nose, the Year of Lint, the Impact of Cold Wet Underwear, Boys Will Be Boys, the Pride of the Pride (of Lions), Hair (and Hare) Research, Social Dilemmas from the Not-So-Distant Past, Chewing on Knowledge, and Fold When Wet (If Naked Underwater). In episode #207, Marc Abrahams shows some unfamiliar research studies to […]

Jaw power (new patent)

“As electronics devices become increasingly powerful and smaller, powering these devices has become a significant concern. It may be troublesome to find compatible power sources when a user is frequently mobile and devices often require multiple recharges per day.” There’s now a new energy-harvesting solution to the problem – the chew-powered fake-tooth piezoelectric generator. It’s […]

Food-chewing-noise patent application

“Successful dieting requires long-term behavior modification in terms of eating and physical activity. A diet plan is only one part of the solution. Sticking to the plan requires behavior modification that is generally beyond the ability of most people to implement without external assistance.” An invention, designed to provide assistance on such occasions is proposed […]