Humor

Some readers may well feel themselves in the dark when it comes to the usage of the interjection ‘oh’ in English and its translation in Catalan. Thus they could find a 2007 article published in the Catalan Journal of Linguistics, (Vol. 6, pp 117-136) of he ...

Article - Martin Gardiner - Jun 3 2013 - 11:45am

Moore’s Law, The Origin Of Life, And Dropping Turkeys Off A Building

I’ve already mentioned the nonsensical paper “published” in (surprise, surprise) arXiv in which the authors claim that the origin of life occurred long before the origin of the Earth based on the application of Moore’s Law to DNA. I won’t go into all the ...

Article - T. Ryan Gregory - Jun 10 2013 - 6:00am

How To Eat Less (nuts)

A team from the School of Family and Consumer Sciences at Eastern Illinois University have discovered a reliable method of persuading people to eat up to 50% less pistachio nuts – just leave them in their shells. ...

Article - Martin Gardiner - Jun 8 2013 - 10:00am

Blirtatiousness: Studies In Blurting

“Converging evidence indicates that blirtatiousness is unique in its ability to amplify people’s qualities, making these qualities more readily observable to perceivers.” ...

Article - Martin Gardiner - Jun 11 2013 - 9:23am

Carbon Monoxide (may Be) Good For You (in Small Doses) (some Say)

Carbon Monoxide – dubbed “The Silent Killer” is a colourless and odourless gas – highly toxic to human beings. It’s a common pollutant in city air, coming mainly from vehicle exhaust emissions. But what if “CO, in small doses, is a boon to the well-being ...

Article - Martin Gardiner - Jun 17 2013 - 1:13pm

Artistotle’s Hunch About Pebbles — Upheld

It was no less than Aristotle himself who wondered “Why are the stones on the seashore which are called pebbles round, when they are originally made from long stones and shells?” In typical Aristotlean fashion, he not only asked the question, but went on t ...

Article - Martin Gardiner - Jun 21 2013 - 3:56pm

Jolts from Volts

Jolts from Volts I have almost finished my translation of Volta's original article on his pile and his crown of cups. Most of the article is a straightforward description of his experiments, but I thought I would highlight this rather humorous paragr ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - Jun 22 2013 - 12:56pm

The Urinal Problem- Minimized

“A man walks into a men’s room…” No, it’s not the beginning of a joke, it’s the beginning of a scholarly paper presented in Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2010, Volume 6099/2010, pp. 284-295. To continue: “A man walks into a men’s room and observe ...

Article - Martin Gardiner - Jun 27 2013 - 8:56am

Barbie® Studies

Academics have been examining Barbie® for more than a decade now. One of the first to do so was senior professor Albert Magro of Fairmont State University, who, in 1997 presented his paper ‘Why Barbie is perceived as beautiful.’ (Perceptual and Motor Skill ...

Article - Martin Gardiner - Jul 10 2013 - 1:18pm

Jellyfish-induced Lesions In Brazil

“The heart is a muscular organ that pumps the blood and makes it circulates in the body. Figuratively it refers to sensibility, affection and love.”- explain Maria do Carmo Araujo Palmeira Queiroz and Juliana Nascimento de Andrade Rabelo Caldas, the Br ...

Article - Martin Gardiner - Jul 11 2013 - 1:22pm