The sunshine-spreads-a-smile experiment

“[…] the effect of sunshine on one nonverbal expression that facilitates social relationships (namely, smiling) has never been studied.” Until now, that is. A new paper from professor Nicolas Guéguen at the Université de Bretagne-Sud, France describes a ‘Quasi Experiment’. “In a field experiment, men and women walking alone in the street were passed by […]

Nasal topsy-turvyism examined

More than one scientific investigator has examined the implications of misplaced facial attributes in drawings. [Example] But fewer have drawn attention to the implications of a facial attribute which actually is misplaced (rather than just in an illustration). What would happen for example, if one’s nose was upside down? This question was asked – and […]

More Weekend Rains, But Fewer Tornados & Hailstorms

In 1998 David M. Schultz [pictured here], then at the National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, Oklahoma, USA (and now at the University of Manchester, UK)  published an article called “Does It Rain More Often on Weekends?” (Annals of Improbable Research, vol. 4, no. 2) . Schultz concluded that: there is perhaps some validity to the hypothesis that certain […]

Improbable Research