If you like to drop things because you want to measure what happens to them, consider using the drop tower at the University of Bremen, Germany. Pertinent info abounds. Read Geoff Manaugh’s essay in Gizmodo (“This Tower Exists Solely for Dropping Things“). Read the tower authority’s attractive brochure, if you like — read that in German (“Experimente unter Schwerelosigkeit”) […]
Tag: Fish
Crap typo (fish)
Our Typo Evaluation Committee informs us that this is likely to be a typo: On the effect of agricultural chemicals upon fish – I. Changes of chemical components in serum and liver of crap exposed to organophosphate compounds. Sakaguchi, H Bull. Jap. Soc. Sci. Fish. Vol. 38, no. 6, pp. 555-560. 1972.
Fish on Fish, fished from the files
This old newspaper clipping [the ultimate source of which we do not know] shows Fish — the famous Fish of Fish & Mowbray, authors of the book Sounds of western North Atlantic fishes; a reference file of biological underwater sounds (Fish, M.P. & Mowbray, W.H., 1970, Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Press). Fish is on the right. […]
Killer Whales – the tax implications of
As our informed readerbase will know, Killer whales (Orcinus orca ) are not fish. What then are the tax implications for ‘owners’ of killer whales – given that US tax law has specific regulations which differ considerably according to whether one owns a killer whale (a mammal), or a large fish, say a Great White […]
Fish: Dolphins ‘dolphin-kick’ better than humans
Dr. Fish of Westchester University not only specialises in manta rays and whales, [see previous post; Dr. Fish, Dr. Watts and their cetacean tubercules] he also investigates dolphins. In collaboration with Alfred von Loebbecke, Rajat Mittal and Russell Mark, Dr. Fish examined : ‘Propulsive Efficiency of the Underwater Dolphin Kick in Humans’ (Journal of Biomechanical […]
Dr. Fish, Dr. Watts and their cetacean tubercules
“Major discoveries always come with a story: Newton had his apple, Archimedes had his bath tub, and Dr. Frank E. Fish, while shopping for a gift, examined a sculpture of a humpback whale in a shop and issued a fatefully inaccurate observation: ‘Look at that. The sculptor put the bumps on the wrong side of the flipper.’ […]
The title translates awkwardly: Piano Music from Tropical Fish
Sometimes a study’s title translates awkwardly from one language into another. Here is such a case, with Chinese making an awkward transition into English: “On The Creation Of Piano Music For Children From Tropical Fish By Zhao Xi,” Jing Zhang, Huangzhong-Journal of Wuhan Music Conservatory, January 2003. “The paper show the writer’s opinions on creation […]
CONCEPTS: FISH | BANANAS
Philosophers are sometimes faced with tackling the complex issues of ‘concepts’. Over the years, as an aid towards a better grasp of ‘concepts’, various standard examples have been developed. Take, for instance, PET FISH and MONSTER BANANAS (Note: the use of SMALL CAPS is traditional in the philosophical literature when dealing with CONCEPTS). Although their […]
Magnetic Alignment of Fish in a Barrel
If you put all your fish in one barrel, they might be inclined to align themselves, if they are not too far from the magnetic north pole or south pole, suggests this study: “Magnetic Alignment in Carps: Evidence from the Czech Christmas Fish Market,” Vlastimil Hart [pictured here with a non-magnetically aligned dog], Tomas Kusta, […]
Horrors: ‘Art’ in Artificial (Intelligence) Poetry
William Topaz McGonagall who died in 1902, is widely regarded as the writer of the worst poetry in the English language. As an example, see this video featuring Terry Jones (of Monty Python fame) interpreting the poem ‘Stirling Castle’. McGonagall has now become one of the very few famous poets to have a computer programme […]