Weird Research

Being in a Cocoon is Like Getting Drunk, Kinda

2011-10-20T18:05:00.001-04:00

Warning: this study includes insect torture. Weird insect torture. Retention of Memory through Metamorphosis: Can a Moth Remember What It Learned As a Caterpillar. Author:Blackiston, Douglas J.; Silva Casey, Elena; Weiss, Martha R. Publisher:Public Library of Science Shockingly adorable. If you wanted to figure out whether certain creatures remembered experiences and these creatures did not

Girl Monkeys Prefer Dolls, Boy Monkeys Prefer Their Balls

2011-06-29T16:00:00.001-04:00

Sorry for not having posted in a while. Sometimes I do other things than reading quantitative data spreads about president name sounds. Sometimes. As I was researching edible toys (<------- worth the read), I came across a bizarre study that will likely rancor some of my readers. The researchers put “a ball, a police car, a soft doll, a cooking pot, a picture book and a stuffed dog,” (469)

How the Sound of Your Name Can Win You the Presidency

2011-06-14T21:26:00.003-04:00

What’s in a name? Well, possibly the Presidency. This study shows how certain rhythmic and aural traits of the last names of Presidential candidates show a statistically significant correlation to which candidate gets elected. Credit: Kim Raff/The News & Advance Taking the name pairings for candidates from every Presidential election from 1842 (when the popular vote began to be recorded) to

The History of Bedwetting

2011-06-14T14:13:00.001-04:00

This latest article is an uncomfortable narrative of enuresis, more commonly known as bed-wetting. If you are wondering why anyone would be in need of a history of something we would all rather forget, you may find it worthwhile to read the full article on Ziddu. Hint: it's a Foucauldian treatment of the issue. Luckily, this contraption is now longer in common use. Memorable Quotations:

Why Super Mario Bros Is Fun

2011-06-09T21:35:00.004-04:00

In honor of Ninetendo's upcoming release of Wii U, we are returning to the original reason for Nintendo's success: Super Mario Bros. Before reading further, I suggest you play a few rounds. This awesome study offers empirical evidence for what makes SMB fun and perhaps even more awesome shows how this process can be used to optimize the fun-factor of automatically generated game content. The

Grading Olympic Mascots

2011-06-07T21:16:00.003-04:00

Which are the three best (and worst) mascots? The results of the study (yes, studying this question) are at the bottom of the post.See if you can guess! A study of cognitive human factors in mascot designSource: International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 23 (1999) Author(s): Rungtai Lin, P.C. Lin, K.J. Ko If you’re a sports fan (or alternatively someone who likes to get drunk and

Imaginary Bad Breath

2011-06-07T13:22:00.004-04:00

Apparently, it’s not always clear whether someone actually has bad breath, even to doctors. So things like this have been invented. Though note the Wikipedia page on the Halimeter®: it is “an adjunct method for determining halitosis (bad breath, oral malodor) levels, alongside human assessment of odor levels (the latter is considered the gold standard).” In other words, the nose knows. The

Must There Always Be These Colors?: Hendrix and His Psychedelic Code

2011-06-07T02:46:00.001-04:00

As Martin Mull (and many others) have said, "Talking about music is like dancing about architecture." The journal Popular Music, then, is this. But it's filled with tons of weird articles. The recent issues have contained articles entitled "'This little ukulele tells the truth': indie pop and kitsch sensibility" and "'How do you know he's not playing Pac-Man while he's supposed to be DJing'?:

Inauguration, Ludic Reading, and Why Novels are Addictive

2011-06-07T00:25:00.003-04:00

Welcome to Weird Research, a blog dedicated to collecting, reviewing, and lampooning actual, peer-reviewed research across all academic disciplines. The only criterion is that they must be weird. It does not matter if the weirdness is found in the methodology, the assumptions, the subject, the language, or the results. The Psychology of Reading for Pleasure: Needs and GratificationsAuthor(s