A deep sea encounter between a crab and some apparently appetizing methane gas bubbles, documented on video: (Thanks to Upasana Sarraju for bringing this to our our attention.)
Tag: Gas
Prize-winning underwear that traps bad smells
A quick video visit with the winner of the 2001 Ig Nobel Prize for biology:
Philosophical disagreements on possible reason(s) ‘Why Flatulence is Funny’ – Professor Sellmaier v. Professor Spiegel
If you want a reliable method of raising a laugh, you can always resort to references of flatulence – a comedic ploy that goes back (at least) 2000 years. But the question as to why it’s considered funny, remains, to this day, a hotly debated subject. In 2013, Professor James Spiegel of the Philosophy Department at […]
‘JoyGuzzling’ – should one refrain? (new study)
“Our thesis is that there is no moral requirement to refrain from emitting reasonable amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs) solely in order to enjoy oneself. Joyriding in a gas guzzler (joyguzzling) provides our paradigm example” – explain Ewan Kingston and Walter Sinnott-Armstrong of the Philosophy Department, Duke University, Durham, NC, US, in a new paper […]
The nature and structure of crumpets [research studies]
Remarkably, given the extensive scientific literature on bread-making, there is very little recorded research on crumpet-making. If you’re not familiar with the crumpet, here is an introduction from one of the few formal crumpet studies, performed by Professor Pyle of Reading University, UK, c. 2005. “Crumpets are, it seems, a particularly British product. They are […]
High Altitude Flatus Expulsion (a.k.a. Rocky Mountain Barking Spiders)
One of the side effects of venturing to high altitudes (or any environment where the air pressure is lower than normal, say, for example inside a passenger airplane at cruising height) is an increase in the expellation of intestinal gases. As a number of our readers will no doubt be aware, the syndrome was first […]
Cow gas-extraction for automobile propulsion project
The cow-centric project, as reported by Ben Schiller for Fast Company, is as much performance art as state-of-the-art technology performance: “Each cow apparently passes enough gas to power a car or a fridge. Imagine the possibilities…. The project from Argentina’s National Institute of Agricultural Technology is only a proof-of-concept at this stage. But it is […]
Cow Catalyser Combats Climate Change (new patent)
Although hydrocarbon-burning factories and power stations belching CO2 might be first spring to mind when considering greenhouse-gas emissions, some say another kind of belching, from cows, causes even more damage. A newly patented (1st Dec. 2015) invention from Caldeira et al., entitled ‘Treatment of ruminant exhalations’ suggest that cows’ methane-loaded exhalations might be mitigated if […]
New brand of underwear: The newness smells suspicious
News reports in Britain and elsewhere tout a new British brand of underwear, named “Shreddies“, that uses a carbon filter to trap bad-smelling gasses. The manufacturer says the underwear is “award-winning“. This video compilation shows several recent TV accounts of it: But the basic product is not new, nor is it British. The original such […]
Fear of eating beans may be overblown
“People’s concerns about excessive flatulence from eating beans may be exaggerated.” That conclusion emerges loud and clear at the end of a study published recently in the Nutrition Journal. Donna Winham [pictured here], of Arizona State University, and Andrea Hutchins, of the University of Colorado, call their report Perceptions of Flatulence From Bean Consumption Among Adults in […]