Describing the levels of this and that of an earthquake

The Mercalli Intensity Scale describes, graphically, various levels of damage that result from earthquakes of various intensities. (The intensity of an earthquake is a different thing — and may or may not be intimately connected to the level of damage from the quake.) A simulator at Northern Illinois University puts this into visually graphic form: (Thanks […]

Lester’s Latest: “A scale to measure the desire to be dead”

Professor David Lester, one of the most prolific producers (more than 2500 publications so far!) of academic publications, is still reliably cranking out nuggets. This is one of his latest: “A scale to measure the desire to be dead,” David Lester, Omega, 2013;67(3):323-7. Professor Lester explains: “The aim of the present research was to develop […]

Rats Will Encounter Rat-Size People, and Vice Versa

Rats and people (or any two different size critters) can encounter each other on the same scale, virtually, under the scheme outlined in a new study. The image below demonstrates virtual rat-sized persons in a rat world. The study is: “Beaming into the Rat World: Enabling Real-Time Interaction between Rat and Human Each at Their […]

The BARF scale. You know… for kids!

A new study presents and evaluates a way for nauseated children to indicate their level of medical distress (thanks to investigator Neil Gaiman for bringing it to our attention): “Development and Validation of a Pictorial Nausea Rating Scale for Children,” Amy L. Baxter [pictured below], Mehernoor F. Watcha, William Valentine Baxter, Traci Leong and Matthew M. Wyatt, […]