Category:
Science

Blue Jay Emetic Unit

As defined by biologist Lincoln Brower, a "blue jay emetic unit" is the amount of cardiac glycosides (a type of poison found in plants such as milkweeds) that will make one blue jay vomit. Brower determined the exact amount by putting cardiac glycosides into gelatin capsules which he force-fed to blue jays.

The point of this was that various butterflies ate milkweeds and then became poisonous to the blue jays which, in turn, ate them. Knowing the exact amount of poison needed to make a blue jay vomit allowed Brower to rank each butterfly by its number of blue jay emetic units:

The experiments showed that a monarch that has eaten Asclepias humistrata contains enough poison to make approximately eight blue jays vomit; a butterfly reared on Calotropis procera contains 4.8 blue jay emetic units; one that has eaten A. Curassavica, 3.8 units, and one that has eaten Gomphocarpus, .8 unit. In other words, there is a palatibility spectrum, and the most unpalatable butterfly is at least 10 times as emetic as the most palatable one.

Source: Brower LP (Feb 1969). "Ecological Chemistry." Scientific American 220(2): 22-29.

"barfing blue jay" (picture by Lincoln Brower. Source: ScienceFriday.com)

Posted By: Alex - Wed Oct 03, 2018 - Comments (3)
Category: Nature, Science, Experiments

The Initials Effect

Found by psychologist Nicholas Christenfeld. The effect is that if the initials of your name spell out something positive (such as J.O.Y. or G.O.D.) you'll likely live longer than someone whose initials spell out something negative (B.A.D. or A.S.S.).

From his article in the Journal of Psychomatic Research (Sep 1999):

One's attitude about oneself, and the treatment one receives from others, might be affected, in some small but measurable way, by stigmatic or salutary labeling due to one's name. If names affect attitudes and attitudes affect longevity, then individuals with “positive” initials (e.g., A.C.E., V.I.P.) might live longer than those with “negative” initials (e.g., P.I.G., D.I.E.). Using California death certificates, 1969–1995, we isolated 2287 male decedents with “negative” initials and 1200 with “positive” initials. Males with positive initials live 4.48 years longer (p<0.0001), whereas males with negative initials die 2.80 years younger (p<0.0001) than matched controls. The longevity effects are smaller for females, with an increase of 3.36 years for the positive group (p<0.0001) and no decrease for the negative. Positive initials are associated with shifts away from causes of death with obvious psychological components (such as suicides and accidents), whereas negative initials are associated with shifts toward these causes. However, nearly all disease categories display an increase in longevity for the positive group and a decrease for the negative group. These findings cannot be explained by the effects of death cohort artifacts, gender, race, year of death, socioeconomic status, or parental neglect.


San Francisco Examiner - Mar 28, 1998

Posted By: Alex - Wed Sep 05, 2018 - Comments (4)
Category: Odd Names, Science, Psychology

Making a silk purse from a sow’s ear

Back in 1921, the chemist Arthur D. Little took it upon himself to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Or rather, he figured out a way to produce a silk-like thread out of sows' ears and wove a purse from this.

Actually, he made two purses. The Smithsonian has one of them. MIT now has the other. (Little was an MIT grad).

The picture of the purse (below) looks nothing like the illustration of it. I wonder what happened. Did the dye fade, or something?

More info: MIT Museum, MIT Library







Pittsburgh Press - Dec 28, 1975

Posted By: Alex - Sun Aug 19, 2018 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Science, 1920s

Chilling big toe cures runny nose

As reported by Israeli scientists Dr. Menahem Ram and Aladar Schwartz at a 1971 joint meeting of the Society for Cryobiology and the International Conference of Refrigeration:

Sudden temporary chilling of the big toes almost immediately brings about a lowering of the normal body temperature within the nose because, they said, the big toes and the nose are nervous system "reflectors" of one another in their response to external stress. And this nasal temperature-lowering—along with humidity-lowering—"dries up the nostrils," thereby "curing" the cold, they said.


Newport News Daily Press - Sep 3, 1971

Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 16, 2018 - Comments (6)
Category: Mad Scientists, Evil Geniuses, Insane Villains, Medicine, Cures for the common cold, Science, 1970s, Feet

Does seltzer water help plants grow?

In 1980, Canfield's natural seltzer launched a campaign to promote its product as being great for watering house plants. It printed on its labels: "We recommend our natural seltzer for house plants."

Could there have been any truth to this claim? Is seltzer water actually good for plants? Well, the only vaguely scientific study I can find addressing this claim (after, admittedly, only a brief search) was a student project conducted at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2002. The student researchers concluded, "Plants given carbonated water not only grew faster but also developed a healthier shade of green in comparison to plants given tap water."

So, maybe Canfield's was onto something. However, if you're thinking of treating your plants to some seltzer water, I imagine you'd want to use water at room temperature, not refrigerated. Cold water might shock their systems.

Marysville Journal-Tribune - June 9, 1980



Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer - May 19, 1980

Posted By: Alex - Thu Jul 19, 2018 - Comments (12)
Category: Nature, Science, Environmentalism and Ecology, Experiments, 1980s

Urine crystal bling

Fashion student Alice Potts has hit on the idea of adding some bling to clothes by embellishing them with crystals formed from bodily excretions such as sweat and urine. She says, "Instead of using plastic accessories to maybe embellish garments ... we can start like growing onto our garments these new materials and more natural materials."

Her website: http://www.alicepotts.com
More info: Huff Post





I'm assuming she must have made the crystals using a technique similar to the one outlined in the video below. She just added urine or sweat in addition to the other ingredients.

Posted By: Alex - Wed Jul 11, 2018 - Comments (2)
Category: Fashion, Science

Lawyer consumption rates of Tyrannosaurus rex

A science question inspired by the scene in Jurassic Park in which the T rex ate the lawyer:

How many lawyers would it take to properly feed a captive T rex for an entire year?

The answer: if the T rex is warm-blooded it will need to eat 292 lawyers a year. If cold-blooded, only 73 lawyers.

From The Complete Dinosaur, edited by James Orville Farlow, M. K. Brett-Surman.





The Complete Dinosaur

Posted By: Alex - Tue Jan 23, 2018 - Comments (3)
Category: Law, Science, Dinosaurs and Other Extinct Creatures

Service for smiles

Given an equal choice, will a store clerk first serve a smiling or a frowning customer?

Science provides the answer. Clerks go toward the smiler.

Maybe this is why it's so hard to ever get help in Home Depot. I need to be grinning more.

Elmira Star Gazette - Dec 11, 1972

Posted By: Alex - Thu Nov 30, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Science, Psychology, Shopping

A Is for Atom PSA



Dr. Atom is a hideous abomination of nightmare fuel.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 29, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: PSA’s, Science, 1950s

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Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes.

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