Humor

Is There An Optimum Solution To The Missing Sock Problem? Cosmic Embryo #7

It finally happened. One of the purple striped socks my daughter Lana had given me as a birthday present in Winnipeg a few years ago vanished at some stage while I was doing laundry in Los Angeles, after we gave a lecture at UCLA. ...

Article - Richard (Dick) Go... - Apr 1 2014 - 11:43am

Hairy Ball Theorem Updated

The Hairy Ball Theorem   (HBT) was first postulated (and then proved) by Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer in 1912. An informal statement of the theorem is that:               “One cannot comb the hair on a coconut”. ...

Article - Martin Gardiner - Apr 3 2014 - 10:56am

A Quantum of Political Entanglement

A Quantum of Political Entanglement If you like your science laced with humour, or your politics laced with (almost) science, then you will enjoy reading this scientific analysis of a politician. Friction, magnetism, relativity, quantum mechanics- all are ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - May 7 2014 - 3:13pm

R.I.P. Jean-Claude Bradley

Prof. Jean-Claude Bradley, a true open science pioneer, has passed away. Many people worked with him, he was willing to challenge the status quo and that means a lot of people wanted to be around him- he was one of the earliest scientists to sign up to hel ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - May 14 2014 - 2:02pm

Really Geek Humor: Computer Code Comments

Programmers may not be the guys with the best sense of humor around, but I found it quite entertaining to read a web page with a collection of source code comments arising a smile. The one I liked the most is the following- not even a comment, but the way ...

Blog Post - Tommaso Dorigo - Jun 2 2014 - 8:51am

A Fun Puzzle to Solve

The object actually appears as it is pictured. It is not an optical illusion. The image was not created using an “in camera” special effect (no special lighting, no filters other than the built-in infrared filter, no mirrors, or any other “in camera” spec ...

Blog Post - Steve Schuler - Sep 11 2014 - 11:13am

Solution to Last Week's Puzzle

Play the video below to see how to solve the puzzle I posted last week: The object actually appears as it is pictured. It is not an optical illusion. The image was not created using an “in camera” special effect (no special lighting, no filters other than ...

Blog Post - Steve Schuler - Sep 18 2014 - 8:31am

Proof That Everyone Makes Mistakes.

Cambridge University Press website mislabels and Astronomy text as an Astrology text.  I was looking for open access open source freely downloadable and good textbooks to use in my future Astronomy classes.  The City Colleges require a very good text, but ...

Blog Post - Hontas Farmer - Nov 16 2014 - 2:51pm

Christmas bells

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Blog Post - Robert H Olley - Jan 6 2016 - 6:39am

‘Get A Lovely Bust For Christmas’: 1930s Tips For How To Be A Festive Woman

Good Needlwork magazine shows you how to get better bosoms. Image: Dave Whatt By Jo Brewis, University of Leicester When my good friend and long-term collaborator Sam Warren was given a pile of women’s magazines from the 1930s by her grandmother Jane Fram ...

Article - The Conversation - Dec 19 2014 - 6:00pm