“Until now the full capacity of horse facial expressions to convey a range of information has been largely overlooked.” This lack of capacity was addressed by the most recent (2015) addition to the AnimalFACS system. (FACS stands for Facial Action Coding System) EquiFACS which is “a scientific observational tool for identifying and coding facial movements […]
Tag: horse
Effects of Cashew Gum and Nanoparticles on Cooled Stallion Semen
The number of published research studies about the effects of cashew gum and nanoparticles on cooled stallion semen has increased by one, with the arrival of this new study: “Effects of Cashew Gum and Nanoparticles on Cooled Stallion Semen,” Kahynna Cavalcante Loureiro, Isabel Bezerra Lima-Verde, Anders Johannisson, Theodoros Ntallaris, Alessandro Jager, Petr Štěpánek, Marcelo da […]
Reinventing the ‘Dandy Horse’ [patent]
A ‘Dandy Horse’ was the colloquial name given to a primitive pedal-less bicycle which was a fashionable mode of transport in Europe around 1819. Fast forward to 2008, when a US patent was granted for an ‘Apparatus for Shifting Weight from a Runner to a Wheeled Frame ‘ – which, at first glance seems remarkably similar. […]
Pocket-Sized #1008: “Horse Calculus”
Horse Calculus In this Pocket-Sized episode #1008, Marc Abrahams shows an unusual research study to Mason Porter. Dramatic readings and reactions ensue. The research mentioned in this episode is featured in the special Mathematics issue (Vol. 16, #4) of the Annals of Improbable Research Magazine. Remember, our Patreon donors, on most levels, get access to each podcast episode before […]
Why Is This Painting Not More Famous?
This painting of George Washington with a horse’s ass is not as widely known and celebrated as other portraits of George Washington painted by the same painter, Gilbert Stuart. The painting hangs on a wall in Faneuil Hall in Boston, Massachusetts. A copy hangs on a wall in Mechanics Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts. Perhaps other copies […]
A look back at the remains of Oregon’s exploding whale, and Other Carcass Demolition
Reporters look back, more or less fondly, in this video, at the most famous exploding whale incident of the 20th century. As the video in this video shows, a dead whale washed up on a beach, and local authorities tried to dispose of the remains by using dynamite. The result was more fervent than they […]
The Lure of Horse-Computer Interaction : an ethographic approach
Dr Steve North and colleagues at the University of Nottingham, UK have developed a new study-area methodology, and have coined a new word for it : “Ethographology“ (derived from ‘ethnographic’ and ‘ethology’). “The ethnographic elements of ethographology describe practices, reasons, cultures, and competencies. By way of contrast, the ethology components of ethographology are more concerned […]
Introducing the Horse Gyro (new patent)
Attention horse owners/riders: Does your horse sometimes have the inclination to lean the ‘wrong’ way when ridden? Have you thought about fitting it with a set of gyroscopes? Inventor Greg Collier, of Lubbock, Texas, has been granted a new US patent which might go some way towards alleviating equine equilibria insufficiencies. “This disclosure relates generally […]
Urination-duration Ig winner: physics of animals keeping clean
David Hu, 2015 Ig Nobel physics prize winner (together with several colleagues, for testing the biological principle that nearly all mammals empty their bladders in about 21 seconds, plus or minus 13 seconds ) has a new paper out, written with colleague Guillermo Amador. Their institution, Georgia Tech, describes it: A CAT’S SURFACE AREA IS EQUAL […]
Horses and the effects of flying
“Horses are the only species other than man transported around the world for competition purposes.” – say investigators Domingo Tortonese, Julie Townsend, Cathy Fuller, ‘Twink’ Allen and Roger Short in ‘Jetlag in the horse: Neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying the effects of transmeridian flying on equine performance.’ “Changes in the 24h light:dark cycle, such as those associated […]