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 […]

Holes in donuts – the philosophical implications (part 2)

In 2001, professor Achille C. Varzi, of Columbia University, New York, very probably became the first philosopher to author a paper focusing specifically on the ramifications of holes in donuts (that’s ‘doughnuts’ in the UK), as we reported. But the paper wasn’t, in the literal sense, the last word on donut holes. In 2012 the subject […]

Holes in doughnuts – the philosophical implications (part 1)

Achille C. Varzi, who is Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University, New York, is interested in the philosophical implications of holes and voids, prompting a unique investigation into a special subset of hole-bearing entities – namely doughnuts (that’s ‘donuts’ US). “A doughnut always comes with a hole. If you think you can come up with […]

A poetical, time-centric film about fluid dynamics

Flora Lichtman produced another poetical video for Science Friday, this one about the mammal micturation duration research study that is garnering so much attention, and that will be discussed as part of a landmark session at the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, November 24, 2013: BONUS: Listen to Science Friday‘s radio […]

The prime minister’s (purported) pee principle

The British prime minister could benefit from studying the research that led to this year’s Ig Nobel Prize in medicine, suggests Leo Hickman, writing in The Guardian: Does David Cameron’s ‘full-bladder technique’ work? The prime minister conducted his EU negotiations while intentionally ‘desperate for a pee’, to achieve maximum focus. What do the experts think? […]