Further fiery adventures of adventurous 25 year old male students (chapter the next)

Yet another medical report concerning fiery exhuberance in young adults: “Acute Unintentional Intoxication with Paraffin in a 25-Year old Patient — Clinical case report,” Andon Chibishev and Natasa Simonovska, Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, epub May 10, 2014. (Thanks to investigator Ivan Oransky for bringing this to our attention.) The authors, at University Clinic […]

Curiously worded: Vegetable Parenting

Vegetable parenting begins to creep into the scientific literature: “A Model of Goal Directed Vegetable Parenting Practices,” Melanie Hingle, Alicia Beltran, Teresia O’Connor, Deborah Thompson, Janice Baranowski, Tom Baranowski. Appetite 58 (2), April 2012, pp. 444–449. The authors, at Baylor College of Medicine and at the University of Arizona, write: “The aim of this study […]

Carrots, carrots, carrots, in a man

Another slight boost for the metaphor “you are what you eat”: “Carrot man: A case of excessive beta-carotene ingestion,” Randy A. Sansone [pictured here, in black-and-white] and Lori A. Sansone, International Journal of Eating Disorders, epub March 19, 2012. The authors The authors, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, report, about their report: “In this […]

Fire Eating and Good Health

A new medical report demonstrates how to tell a story: “Severe Pneumonitis After Fire Eating,” Daniel Franzen [pictured here], Malcolm Kohler, BMJ Case Reports 2012;10.1136/bcr-2012-006528. The authors, at University Hospital of Zurich, Switzerland, begin their report with eight words that, by themselves, provide a wealth of information: “A 38-year-old, previously healthy fire eater…”

An effect of colorful, carefully placed potato chips

Ig Nobel Prize winner Brian Wansink (honored in 2007 for exploring the seemingly boundless appetites of human beings, by feeding them with a self-refilling, bottomless bowl of soup) has conducted an experiment with potato chips. The Cornell Chronicle (with this photo taken by Robin Wishna) reports: red chips were interspersed at intervals designating one suggested serving […]

The World’s New Center of Pancake Research

With publication of the new study “Pancake Flipping is Hard” by three researchers at the University of Nantes, the city of Nantes becomes the de facto international capital of pancake research. Details of the study are given below. First, here is a Google map showing primary sources of pancakes in the city: The study is: “Pancake Flipping […]