Improbable Research

Bishop Steno, the canonized fossil hunter

Stephen Drew — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:02:16 +0000

“In 1659 he decided not to accept anything simply written in a book, instead resolving to do research himself,” says Wikipedia about the now-late Bishop Steno, and goes on to give other bits of his history:

Steno’s landmark theory that the fossil record was a chronology of different living creatures in different eras was a sine qua non for Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Another principle, known simply as Steno’s law, or Steno’s law of constant angles, states that the angles between corresponding faces on crystals are the same for all specimens of the same mineral, a fundamental breakthrough that formed the basis of all subsequent inquiries into crystal structure.

(Thanks to investigator Sylvie Coyaud for bringing this to our attention.)

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“Should Mary Smell Like Biscuit?”

Martin Gardiner — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:21:36 +0000

“The effect odor has on a consumer’s experience of the product is still not yet understood.” Prompting investigators at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands to set up two experiments in order to clarify the possible influences of odor on consumer goods. Their research took an unusual approach, centring around what they call ‘incongruent odors’ – perhaps simply described as merchandise with ‘the wrong smell’.
For example, a pair of plastic wellington boots (see photo) was treated with a ‘rose-like’ smell and, along with other incongruously odorised items, were then exposed to test subjects in various carefully controlled ways.
The experiments had turbulent and unexpected results – for although subjects generally didn’t like, say, the banana-flavoured alarm clock, several sniffers highly rated the ‘incongruent odor’ of the boots. Prompting the research team to observe: “The present outcomes might suggest that scent hardly contributes to product liking.”
Despite the unforeseen results, however, the authors caution against completely abandoning the idea that (product) smell matters. “Even though the effects of odor appropriateness or inappropriateness were not demonstrated in the present study, it would be unwise and premature to conclude that the scent of products is unimportant.”
Their article ‘Should Mary Smell Like Biscuit?‘ is published in the latest issue of the International Journal of Design, 3(3), 1-12.

Also see: a previous Improbable article Why they make products smell

Greensleeves, technologically

Marc Abrahams — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:02:58 +0000

Technology provides yet another way to play music:

Study: socks over shoes prevent falls

Marc Abrahams — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:02:35 +0000

Socks over shoes surpass shoes over socks for strolling on slippery city slopes, says a study done in New Zealand. In other words – in the words of the study itself – “wearing socks over shoes appears to be an effective and inexpensive method to reduce the likelihood of slipping on icy footpaths”.

Lianne Parkin, Sheila Williams and Patricia Priest did an experiment to test the wisdom of a local winter tradition. The trio, based at the University of Otago in Dunedin, published a report in the New Zealand Medical Journal.

They explain: “There are anecdotal reports that pedestrians who wear socks over the top of their footwear are less likely to slip and fall in icy conditions. Advocates of this practice include our local council (in Dunedin), which advises residents who prefer to walk (rather than drive) in icy conditions to ‘put a pair of old socks over your shoes to increase grip’”…

So begins this week’s Improbable Research column in The Guardian.

Students, DNA, and hot dogs

Marc Abrahams — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:44:00 +0000

Flora Lichtman of Science Friday interviewed “Brenda Tan and Matthew Cost, high school seniors from Trinity School in New York City, used a technique called DNA barcoding to find out what species were present in over 200 animal products.” A surprising finding: most street vendors’ hot dogs — at least the ones the students tested — contained only the kinds of meat they were supposed to contain.

Here’s the video.

The Mobius oyster perspective

Marc Abrahams — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:02:05 +0000

If you want a 19th century biology professor’s perspective on oysters, twisted or untwisted, you would do well to consult the works of Professor Karl August Möbius, especially his book Die Auster und die Austernwirthschaft.

NOTE: Do not confuse Professor Karl August Möbius with August Ferdinand Möbius, the man credited with discovering the Möbius strip.

Bodnar bringing bra to Britain

Marc Abrahams — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:46:01 +0000

Dr. Elena Bodnar writes, in The Guardian, about the soon-to-begin 2010 Ig Nobel Tour of the UK:

For the Ig Nobel award ceremony, I designed a hot pink Emergency Bra that has now been dubbed the Harvard model. I demonstrated it on Nobel laureates Wolfgang Ketterle (Nobel prize for physics, 2001), Orhan Pamuk (literature, 2006) and Paul Krugman (economics, 2008). Although they were not expecting it, they seemed to enjoy the demonstration.

During the forthcoming UK Ig Nobel tour this month, I will also demonstrate that the Emergency Bra is not only an effective, economical and readily available personal protective device but that, first and foremost, it is a beautiful piece of lingerie. Its additional function of personal protection does not interfere with its aesthetics or its main purpose.

I have no doubt my demonstrations will generate some laughs. However, I also look forward to addressing some serious questions from the British public….

Further pinpointing Mona Lisa’s elusiveness

Martin Gardiner — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:26:40 +0000

…although peripherally perceived facial expressions affect the appreciation of faces, Mona Lisa’s smile seems to constitute only part of her enigma. She keeps her mystery, even when one catches her smile.

Concludes the latest research into the elusiveness of the Mona Lisa smile, which has recently been published in the online version of the journal Psychological Science.
Researchers at the Department of Experimental and Neurocognitive Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, the Department of Psychology, University of Bamberg and the Department of Psychology and Center for Neurocognitive Research, Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg, showed photos of one hundred morphed female faces (each in a smiling and a neutral version) to 16 test subjects who were monitored via an eye-tracker system.
The subjects also answered questions regarding the attractiveness, trustworthiness and mysteriousness of the images. Subsequent analysis of the results confirmed an earlier proposal by Margaret S. Livingstone ( Science, 17 November 2000: Vol. 290. no. 5495, p. 1299, letters ) that :

‘‘…you can’t catch her smile by looking at her mouth. She smiles until you look at her mouth’’

see : Mona Lisa’s Smile–Perception or Deception?
Isabel Bohrn, Claus-Christian Carbon and Florian Hutzler
Psychological Science, published online 16 February 2010

Mobius money advice

Marc Abrahams — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:02:20 +0000

Would you welcome financial advice, twisted or untwisted, from a man named Mark Mobius?

An October 5, 2009 Moneysense article implies that you should. It says:

APAFS Chairman, Gerard Cruz added, “Having Dr. Mobius speak about emerging markets is like having Bill Gates speak about the future of computer systems. Powerful people pay to listen to his advice, we are fortunate to have him address our group”.

NOTE: Do not confuse Dr. Mark Mobius with August Ferdinand Möbius, the man credited with discovering the Möbius strip.

Your machine as a rule of thumb

Marc Abrahams — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:32:34 +0000

If you don’t know how to build a machine that accomplishes as much as a Dr. Thomas Galen Hieronymus Machine — the all-in-one machine described here yesterday ‚ just get some ready-made plans. The self-noted inventor William D. Jenson has generously formulated a set of plans, which he placed on his web site along with additional plans for additional machines that may work fully as well as the Dr. Thomas Galen Hieronymus Machine. Mr. Jenson’s instruction manual begins with this caution:

“Only 1 person should use your machine as a rule of thumb.”

The manual does not specify what rule of thumb the machine should be used as. Nor does the manual specify whether other people should use your machine as anything other than a rule of thumb.

Nuclear energy: For the birds

Stephen Drew — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:02:27 +0000

If you have any doubt that nuclear power plants are good for the environment, see this quick, multimedia presentation by the Nuclear Energy Institute. It’s called “Nuclear Power Plants Are Good for the Environment”. Click on the image.

(Thanks to investigator Martin Gardiner for bringing this to our attention.)

March mini-AIR

Marc Abrahams — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:19:13 +0000

The March issue of mini-AIR just went out. Topics include: People Who Oscillate; Ig Nobel UK Tour; UK Pre-Tour Tweetup in London; A Double-Head of His Time; Test-Takers Who Fly Too High; Elephant Origin Poet; Dental-Use-of-Coconut Competition; Dangerous Eyebrows, and Cursors; Train Seating; Demented Rats; etc.

Mel [pictured here] says, “It’s swell.”

(mini-AIR is the simplest way to keep informed about Improbable and Ig Nobel news and events. Just fill in the wee form, and mini-AIR will be emailed to you every month)

Elephant origin limerick almosts

Marc Abrahams — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:50:21 +0000

Here are some runners-up in the Elephant Origin Limerick Competition, which asked for a limerick to honor the study “A Simple and Inexpensive Molecular Method for Sexing and Identification of the Forensic Samples of Elephant Origin,” Sandeep K. Gupta, Kumarasamy Thangaraj [pictured here], Lalji Singh, Journal of Forensic Sciences, vol. 51, no. 4, July 2006, pp. 805-7.

(The winner will be announced in the March issue of mini-AIR, which with any luck will come out some time in the next day or two.)

CHRIS STRUDWICK:
If all you discover is goo -
Is it tusker, or cow or gnu?
Just pull out our kit
And sample a bit
And we’ll mail back the answer to you!

TIMOTHY COLLINSON:
Molecular markers can try
to sex elephants after they die.
Although its of use
to stop poaching abuse;
it’s unlikely to make CSI.

SHAYNA KRAVETZ:
The elephants’ death will no more
go unmourned on the forest’s dank floor.
Though they rot, we’ll still find
from their remnants–refined–
markers telling us what genes they wore.

DAVID SHAPIRO:
—[Halfway-limericked prolog:]
—Tusks long gone, little’s left,
—Lady pachyderm’s bereft.
—What might science bring?
—Gupta, Thangaraj, and Singh,
—Unmasking ignoble theft.
Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust
So posit the poachers, so vast is their crust
They kill and dismember,
But bits still remember,
For this is the researchers’ thrust.

Lava lamp meets centrifuge

Marc Abrahams — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:15:00 +0000

Neil Fraser examined how a lava lamp behaves while accelerating (which is equivalent, so they say in a low chuckle, to being subject to higher gravity): “Would a Lava Lamp work in a high-gravity environment such as Jupiter? Would the wax still rise to the surface? Would the blobs be smaller and faster? With broad disagreement on the answers, I built a large centrifuge to find out.” (Thanks to investigator Lisa Wilcox for bringing this to our attention.) Fraser’s video:

The all-in-one machine

Marc Abrahams — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:21:26 +0000

Want an machine that does anything and everything, and looks impressive [see photo at right], too? Maybe you want a Hieronymous Machine. The LifeTechnology.org web site helpfully points out “Orthodox science cannot accept the way it supposedly works“. That site gives a few examples of the machine’s power:

1. In the Cumberland Valley a scientist from the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau put a photo of an insect infested field into the machine commonly called a “Black Box”. Along with it they put a tiny amount of insecticide. Forty-eight hours later, the insects in the infected field, many miles away, were all dead!

2. A scientist named George de la Warr, head of a huge of [sic] laboratory in Oxford, England put a piece of ordinary photographic film into an opening in the device and after a few minutes, removed a picture of his wife and himself on their wedding day, 30 years before.

3. Galen Heironymus himself used his psionic device to monitor the life support systems of the Apollo astronauts. He successfully recieved [sic[ all the correct data, before Nasa [sic] did.

(Thanks to investigator Al Teich for bringing this technology to our attention.)