Does the anticipation of medical treatments, financial investments and leisure time activities sometimes make you anxious? Have you thought about taping your face up? A new research project from the Niedenthal Emotions Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US, investigated whether the nervous anticipation of a balloon-popping task and a jack-in-the-box spring* might to some extent […]
Tag: shock
The farmer, his neuropathic pain and the cow fence
Documented improbable electrical treatments for pain relief are not restricted to shocks from the Nile Catfish. ‘An interesting Case’ is described by Professor Jock Murray of the Division of Neurology, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada, in which he relates the bespoke treatment that a Canadian farmer had developed for alleviating constant pain in his leg. […]
Shocking fish therapy for hemorrhoids (and other ailments)
If you were unfortunate enough to be suffering from hemorrhoids, would you consider applying 350 volt electric shocks to the affected area – supplied via an electric fish? Improbable though it may seem, such practices were well known in Roman times – predating modern TENS machines by some 2000 years. “Ecclesiastes 1:9 states that there is […]
Shocking rice pudding technique (report)
“Currently, consumers’ concerns and consciousness about safety and nutritiousness of food consumptions are increasing. Fresh and fresh-like products have become more attractive in the market than the same kind of products produced by heat process.” But heating isn’t the only method to preserve, say, rice pudding – you could pulse 33,000 volts though it instead. […]
Shocking Mushrooms Technique (report)
“The SPLG [pictured above] consists of four parts: a controller, connection cable, a high voltage generator, and a wheel electrode. The system is powered by rechargeable AA sized batteries. Lightening [sic] is generated by an epoch-making device which can be disassembled and used elsewhere.” The epoch-making lightning dispenser was developed by Ferzana Islam and Shoji […]
Head butting in whales – explanations for junk
“The immense forehead of sperm whales is possibly the largest, and one of the strangest, anatomical structures in the animal kingdom.“ Leading to the question: ‘What’s it for?’ Herman Melville’s famous novel Moby-Dick suggested that one purpose might be for large-scale head-butting, the practicalities of which are reviewed in a new paper for PeerJ PrePrints, […]
Rats! Curses! Automation!
This study, from one of the many golden ages of psychology, now supplies data for researchers who wish to try to analyze the psychology of researchers who developed an apparatus which allows for the thoroughly automated monitoring and recording of shock-elicited vocalization in rats: “An automated apparatus for recording shock elicited vocalization in the rat,” Hank […]
Phoning during a thunderstorm – Unrecommended
“Is it dangerous to make a landline phone call during a thunderstorm?” It can be. Background is provided by Emeritus Professor Mat Darveniza, AO, FTSE, BE, PhD, DEng, Hon DSc (Eng), FIEAust (Hon), FIEEE (life), FTSE, LIVA, from the University of Queensland Australia – who is a leading authority on lightning strikes. In Australia alone […]
Woman beset upon by plastic pink flamingos
WHDH-TV in Boston, Massachusetts reports an incident involving plastic pink flamingos. The plastic pink flamingo was created by Don Featherstone in the late 1950s. In 1996 Mr. Featherstone was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize in art, honoring that achievement. Now it’s all taken a shocking (to one person) turn. WHDH says: QUINCY, Mass. — What […]
Shocking: Cheating at math?
An eminent mathematician alerts us to this news report, and asks: “Would you want to receive a mild shock? Well if you were a college student failing math, and you read this report, you might. So the question then becomes: Is this considered cheating?” The report, by Charles Choi of Live Science, says: Zap, You’re […]