Science papers with double meanings

Jacks of Science has collected a list of "Unintentionally inappropriate science papers" which includes:

• AN Oraevsky, Spontaneous emission in a cavity, PHYS-USP, 37 (4), 393-405 (1994)
• D. Vlassopoulos, et al. From hairy balls to hairy rods : Using macromolecular chemistry to bridge the gap between polymers and colloids, The Journal of Rheology (2000)
• S. Tanveer, Surprises in Viscous Fingering, J. Fluid Mech. vol. 409, pp. 273–308 (2000)
• W. Likos, N. Lu. Automated Measurement of Total Suction Characteristics in High-Suction Range: Application to Assessment of Swelling Potential, Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Vol. 1755 119-128 (2001)

To this I can add:

Pinto, RMN. (1962). Sex and acoustic trauma: audiologic study among 199 Varig Airlines (Brazil) Flight-Stewards and Stewardesses. Revista Brasileira de medicina. 19(6): 326-327.

Unfortunately not as interesting as it sounds, because by "sex" they mean "gender". And also:

Carbaugh, BT, et al. Effects of morphological variations of chicken models on sexual responses of cocks. Animal Behaviour. 10: 235-238.

Posted By: Alex - Tue Oct 14, 2008 - Comments (3)
Category: Science, Sexuality

Name That List #2

It's time again to play "Name That List." Identify where the items in this list come from. Googling is cheating.


Answer on the comments page and in extended.



More in extended >>

Posted By: Alex - Tue Oct 14, 2008 - Comments (4)
Category: History, Quizzes, Name That List

Follies of the Mad Men #37

[From Life magazine for June 9 1952.]

We saw how the advertising industry created the concept of "B.O." for "body odor." Here, less successfully, they tried to triple the problem. Note how coyly the term "other personal odors" is used to refer to farting.

Is there any scientific proof that chlorophyll tablets do anything in the human body?

And don't you just love the look of disgust on that gal's face?

Posted By: Paul - Mon Oct 13, 2008 - Comments (12)
Category: Body, Business, Advertising, Products, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Hygiene, Medicine, Obsessions, 1950s

Bombs that Lurk in Mid-air, Elephants That Text

and The Rest of the Weird News Cycle for Monday
[Ed.: Scroll down for the first news post of the day]

It says here that in Trinidad, this dog pulled the man safely out of the burning building (and went back inside, maybe looking for anyone else to rescue, but, alas . . .). Associated Press via Yahoo

A virgin birth (in the state of "Virginia," of course)! (By a shark, but still, no males in sight.) Reuters via Yahoo

This race-car driver set a world record, 192 mph in a Lamborghini Gallardo. Well, it's a world road record for a blind person, anyway. Agence France-Presse via Yahoo

Ordinary run-of-the-mill assault on a police officer, er, using a dildo. The Australian

Elephants in Kenya very helpfully announce which villages they'll be raiding next, via text message. CNN

This F State couple posted a reward for help in finding their missing pet (Bonus: $10,000) (Double Bonus: The pet is a deer) Palm Beach Post

The British military says it plans to deploy "lurker bombs" in Afghanistan—rockets that once fired, can linger in the air for up to 10 hours and be guided down onto targets when needed. Daily Mail (London)

Happy "Nat'l Toilet Tank Repair Month" (which was big news Saturday in Killeen, Tex.) Killeen Daily Herald

Professor Music's Weird Link o' the Day
Behold, Mr. John French's Moist Towelette Online Museum, in which he carefully, lovingly describes the best damned moist towelettes he's come across. http://moisttowelettemuseum.com/

Monday's Newsrangers: Steve Wettlaufer, Geoff Egan, Paul Music, Jessica McRorie, Kathryn Wood, Don Schullian, H.Thompson
Comments on The Rest of the Weird News Cycle for Monday?
Comments 'cycle_081013'

Posted By: Chuck - Mon Oct 13, 2008 - Comments (0)
Category:

A Buttocks Embed, the Rambo-dressed Tranny, the Dignity of Plants

and the Rest of Chuck's News of the Weird Daily for Monday

Two more great news-story ledes
(1) "Anderson County Sheriff's deputies are investigating a Saturday-morning incident that left one man with something—no one is sure what—embedded in his buttocks"
(2) "A sex-change woman who threatened to kill a taxi driver with a hunting knife after torching her flat dressed like Rambo has been jailed"
Greenville (S.C.) News /// Yorkshire Evening Post
Comments 'story_ledes'

Switzerland has not only that animal-rights regulation that leads off News of the Weird this week but a similar constitutional requirement for the "dignity" of plants
So now researchers, in order to make any kind of progress at all with genetic-modification, are having so explain how screwing up a plant's genes will somehow be dignified. Well, one project was OK because its modification was actually to protect a plant from fungus. But then, is there such a thing as genocide of fungi? Denialism blog via ScienceBlogs.com
Comments 'plant_dignity'

Your Daily Loser
Artemio Sanchez, 30, was arrested in Naples, Fla., after he (allegedly) accidentally rammed a police patrol car that was stopped, with its lights flashing, occupied by a cop who was writing a ticket for another guy. Sr. Sanchez allegedly then careened into the other car before spinning 180 degrees to the other lane. Possibly, alcohol was involved. Naples Daily News
Comments 'artemio_sanchez'

People Whose Sex Lives Are Worse Than Yours
Those would be anyone from Chattanooga, Tenn., who has to pay for sex (if this collection of mugshots is any indicator). The Chattanoogan
Comments 'chattanooga_prostitutes'

Your Daily Jury Duty
[no fair examining the evidence; verdict must be based on mugshot only]
Does Dennis McCloskey look like the kind of person who would engage in domestic violence (especially if his girlfriend were disabled)? Tampa Tribune
Comments 'dennis_mccloskey'

More Things to Worry About on Monday

Japanese man said he's "sorry" for putting two tons of garbage on the sidewalk in front of his home. Mainichi Daily News

Mexican marijuana growers have 5,000 sites located in national parks in Mex—no, wait, not parks in Mexico—parks in California! And they're treating the plants with yummy Mexican pesticides. Associated Press via ABC News

Leading Economic Indicator: Before I pull that aching tooth, I'm gonna need to see some cash, and better hurry it up, before your novocaine wears off. Daily Mail (London)

Ladies and gentlemen, wanna see a photo of man who is actually gonna go to hell one day (caught in the act stealing from a couple who both have cerebral palsy). Journal Times (Racine, Wis.)

In Spain, debt collectors succeed by publicly shaming people (e.g., send a bagpiper to play in front of your home). (When the father of the bride found out the debt collector sent invoices to the list of wedding guests, for portions of the father's bill, he paid up pronto!) Wall Street Journal

Chicago's Mayor Daley said "never mind" to that ordinance about people forfeiting their cars if they get pulled over for hands-on use of cell phones. Reason: An alderman got caught doing it. (In March, another got in a similar pickle about re-registering his handgun, and now that law's no good anymore, either.) Chicago Sun-Times /// Chicago Reader

What financial crisis? San Francisco OK's spending $40 million for netting on the Golden Gate Bridge, to force its two dozen jumpers a year to find some other method to Take The Only Way Out. Los Angeles Times

The civic-minded Kenneth Carter had that child porn but only because he was earnestly trying to match victims to a local girl by that face-match software he's been seeing in the movies. Guelph (Ont.) Mercury

Comments on More Things to Worry About on Monday?
Comments 'worry_081013'

Editor's Note
The Rest of the Weird News Cycle for Monday, along with Today's Newrangers, will be along in a few hours.

Posted By: Chuck - Mon Oct 13, 2008 - Comments (0)
Category:

Snail Caviar

De Jaeger is one of the few companies in the world that sell snail caviar. And the stuff ain't cheap. It goes for around $300 a jar. Some of the terms the company uses to describe the taste include:

undergrowth, angelica, horseradish, fresh dew, the sensation of a walk in the forest after the rain, mushrooms and oak leaves, the scent of humid moss peat, a journey through autumn aromas.

Sorry. Doesn't tempt me.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Oct 12, 2008 - Comments (4)
Category: Food

Chow Mein Sandwiches

I was talking about food recently with a friend, and he mentioned enjoying Chow Mein Sandwiches while growing up in Fall River, Massachusetts. Chow Mein Sandwiches? I had never heard of such a thing.

Chow Mein Sandwiches are a Fall River specialty, and there's not many other places you can find them. Even in Fall River, they're becoming increasingly rare. According to Flavor & Fortune magazine, a Chow Mein Sandwich is:


The key is that the noodles have to be crunchy. In other words, you can't slop Chow Mein from your local Chinese restaurant on a bun and expect it to taste like a real Chow Mein Sandwich. If you want to try one, and you don't live in New England, your only option seems to be to mail-order the "Original Hoo Mee Chow Mein Mix" from the Oriental Chow Mein Company in Fall River, and prepare your own.

The thumbnail is from Wikipedia.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Oct 12, 2008 - Comments (1)
Category: Food, Regionalism

Follies of the Mad Men #36

[From Playboy magazine for May 1980.]

Because satyriasis and nymphomania are such funny hooks with which to pitch a lubricant.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Oct 12, 2008 - Comments (5)
Category: Addictions, Sex, Business, Advertising, Products, Technology, 1980s

Follies of the Mad Men #35

Yes, in the 1950's every husband and father had to be emasculated in every possible way. Imagine trying to conduct some kind of Tennessee Williams-inspired affair with your local Liz Taylor of the suburbs while wearing these. The laughter would be heard from one end of the motel to the other!

More in extended >>

Posted By: Paul - Sat Oct 11, 2008 - Comments (7)
Category: Business, Advertising, Fashion, Humor, Jokes, Public Indecency, Husbands, 1950s

Chuck’s Hand-Picked Overnight Weird News for Saturday

Editor's Note
Remember, ladies and gentlemen, Weird Universe's daily news feed will become "new" (the name and format, anyway) and "improved" (editor upping his dosage of Zoloft) starting Monday, and be released in two parts every weekday (roughly, morning and afternoon, Eastern time). Boring explanation here.

In the F State, we take our lawns seriously
Joseph Prudente, 66, reported to jail in Pasco County (the next county up from Weird News Central), where he'll sit for a while, with no bail possible. Crime? His lawn is ugly. (Well, technically, it's because the homeowners association sued, and a judge ordered, and Prudente failed to comply.) On the other hand, his mortgage payments just ballooned up $600 a month, his car was repossessed, and his daughter and two young granddaughters had moved in because of their own hard times. If Prudente can somehow squeeze "resodding the lawn" onto the budget, the judge will spring him. St. Petersburg Times
Comments 'prudente_lawn'

Cambodian couple splits, divides their stuff (including their actual house)
The couple (in a village about 50 miles from Phnom Penh) had decided to divorce after 40 yrs, and neither thought it was a good idea to continue to live in the same house. Husband's friends came over, moved the wife's stuff to one side of the house, then helped him saw off the other half and relocate it to the other side of the village (and yes, there's a photo). [Ed.: Two yrs ago, a New York City couple walled off their townhouse so they could continue to share it, but sawing it in half is hard-core.] Daily Telegraph (London)
Comments 'split_house'

The "phantom limb" sensation among amputees (they feel like that arm's still there) applies to dickectomies, too
Neuroscientists have known for years that after amputation of an arm or leg or finger, it takes the brain a while to rewire the new configuration, so amputees report still feeling like the limb is still there. Now, doctors report that this 52-yr-old woman, who was just recently a 52-yr-old man, continues to think she's getting erections. Neurotopia via ScienceBlogs.com
Comments 'phantom_limb'

Faith-based politics
We were set to make fun of Sarah Khaen, a member of the Norwegian parliament who has just announced her resignation for an addiction to guidance from psychic hotlines, but then . . police in Cobb County, Ga. (suburban Atlanta) said a county commissioner, Annette Kesting, passed two bogus checks (total: $3k) to Ms. George Ann Mills (that's "George"), who happens to be a voodoo high priestess. Mills says the payments were for her to put a death spell on Woody Thompson, who had just beaten Kesting in August in the Democratic primary. Mills said she earned that $3k by sacrificing three hens and a rooster and asking her 14 gods to take over Kesting's request (which Mills said was for "cancer" or a "car accident"). Kesting denied the death stuff, but apparently she did owe Mills $3k for something. Agence France-Presse via Yahoo (Khaen) /// The State (Columbia, S.C.) (Kesting) /// Update on Kesting from Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Comments 'kesting_voodoo'

Your Daily Loser
The robber, in his 20s, strong-armed a guy on the street and forced him to hand over his $50, but then the victim fought back, retook the $50 and then forced the robber to cough up $30 of his own money. (He got away, so it wasn't a total loss.) Macomb Daily
Comments 'robber_robbed'

People Whose Sex Lives Are Worse Than Yours
Muskegon, Mich., pastor Jerry DePoy Jr, 33, who says he's now "a very broken person, desperately in need of grace," after he foisted nude cell phone pictures of himself and his wife upon the gaze of a parishioner, whom he was unwantedly sex-counseling in a restaurant. Muskegon Chronicle
Comments 'jerry_depoy'

Your Daily Jury Duty
[no fair examining the evidence; verdict must be based on mugshot only]
Gregory Torres, 19, Sheboygan, Wis., might be the kind of fella who's so clever that, when trying to lie his way out of a "didn't-click-it" traffic ticket, commits enough misdemeanors to qualify for eight yrs in the slammer. Sheboygan Press
Comments 'gregory_torres'

More Things to Worry About on Saturday
Economic tsunami? OK, we'll deal with that, said the Massachusetts legislature, but first, what should be our state's "state book"? . . . . . This guy is way-mentally ill, which is unfortunate because he does have an explanation for the financial-system meltdown that's much easier to follow than any we've heard this week (i.e., CIA stole all the banks' money). Today's Newsrangers: Emory Kimbrough, Pete Randall, Bruce Townley, Kathryn Wood, Scott Langill
Comments 'worry_081011'

Posted By: Chuck - Sat Oct 11, 2008 - Comments (0)
Category: