Category:
Science
Science
The Mechanics of Stabbing
In a paper recently submitted to arXiv.org, researchers describe an attempt to determine the exact amount of force required to stab someone. No, they didn't stab real people. They stabbed synthetic materials such as polyurethane, foam, and ballistic soap. But oddly, no one had previously determined the exact amount of force needed for stabbing. Forensic scientists had simply used qualitative terms such as "mild force" or "severe force".Some of their findings: 1) The best household knife to stab someone with is a utility knife:
Four different commonly available household knives (cook’s, utility, carving and kitchen knives) were tested. The utility knife required the least amount of force or energy to penetrate the skin and was associated with the smallest amount of out of plane skin displacement, while the cook’s knife required the greatest force, energy and out of plane displacement.
2) However, not all knives are created equal. Even two identical knives by the same manufacturer can vary greatly in sharpness and ability to penetrate skin:
Evidence suggests that the quality control processes used to manufacture knives fail to produce consistently uniform blade points in nominally identical knives, leading to penetration forces which can vary widely...
the penetration forces associated with nominally identical knives, even virgin knives, can vary by as much as 100%.
the penetration forces associated with nominally identical knives, even virgin knives, can vary by as much as 100%.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 01, 2008 -
Comments (7)
Category: Science, Experiments
Bernie Krause
The musician Bernie Krause has had an arguably weird and fascinating career. He's gone from being a minor pop star to being a scientist in the field of bio-acoustics, or the noises of the natural world. Along the way he came up with the concept of "biophony," short for the biological symphony that each ecosystem makes.The first clip below shows him at work, while the second is a trailer for his concepts.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 29, 2008 -
Comments (1)
Category: Music, Nature, Science
LIFE Photo Archive
Google recently announced it's struck a deal to host the entire photo archive of Life magazine. Millions of photos (including many previously unpublished ones) will be made freely searchable online. If you're the kind of person who likes to browse through archives searching for weird stuff, it's pretty much a goldmine.Only about 20% of the archive is online so far, but I've already had fun browsing through it. Below are a few photos I found doing a search for bird experiments.
The LIFE captions are pretty dry. I thought they could be improved by coming up with new captions in the style of LOL Birds. I'm sure the WU readers can come up with better captions than I was able to.
LIFE caption: Visual perception experiment on chickens, showing chick wearing a rubber helmet with prisms in the eyepieces, 1953.
My caption: "Mommy told me to wear my safety helmet!"
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LIFE caption: A vision experiment being done on pigeons at Maryland University, May 1962
My caption: "I'm watching you!"
My caption: "I'm watching you!"
LIFE caption: Chicken playing baseball during an animal experiment, October 1948.
My caption: "Canz I play too?"
My caption: "Canz I play too?"
Posted By: Alex - Wed Nov 19, 2008 -
Comments (5)
Category: Photography and Photographers, Science, Experiments
Shrimp on a Treadmill
Scientific researchers placed a shrimp on a shrimp-size treadmill in order to measure its speed and endurance. This information, they say, "will give us a better idea of how marine animals can perform in their native habitat when faced with increasing pathogens and immunological challenges." Luckily for us, they videotaped the experiment.The video has become hugely popular on the internet, spawning numerous remixes. For instance, witness Shrimp Jamming to Muzak:
There are so many of these remixes you could probably spend an entire day watching them.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Nov 11, 2008 -
Comments (8)
Category: Animals, Nature, Science, Experiments, Video
Fonzarelli Syndrome
A 77-year-old man presented with a 1-year history of upper limb rest tremor, rigidity, and bradykinesia. He reported focal dystonia affecting the right thumb over the preceding 7 years, resulting in a constant "thumbs up" gesture reminiscent of the fictional television character Arthur Fonzarelli. Subsequent levodopa therapy reduced his bradykinesia and rigidity, but did not ameliorate the dystonia.
While foot dystonia is a common feature in late Parkinson disease (PD), dystonia may precede the development of PD by several years. Writer's cramp has been described as an early manifestation, with extension of the great toe also noted (the striatal foot).
While foot dystonia is a common feature in late Parkinson disease (PD), dystonia may precede the development of PD by several years. Writer's cramp has been described as an early manifestation, with extension of the great toe also noted (the striatal foot).
Posted By: Alex - Thu Nov 06, 2008 -
Comments (19)
Category: Medicine, Science, Television
Guess the Scientist, #3
What famous sixteenth-century scientist does this passage describe? Answer is in extended (and in the comments)._________ relates in one of his autobiographies (he wrote three) that he was completely impotent from the age of twenty-one until his marriage at the age of thirty-one; but that after he wed, the union resulted in three children, two boys and a girl...
_________ also suffered from an amazing array of physical problems and ailments, including: stuttering; chronic hoarseness; nasal discharge; heart palpitations; hemorrhoids; indigestion; malaria; gout; chronic itching; hernia; colic; insomnia; dysentery; and a malignant growth on his left nipple. He also had some truly odd physical problems. He wrote that "in 1536 I was overtaken with an extraordinary discharge of urine; and although for nearly forty years I have been afflicted with this trouble, giving from sixty to a hundred ounces a day, I live well."
More in extended >>
Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 03, 2008 -
Comments (3)
Category: Quizzes, Guess the Scientist, Science
Bjork and Her Television
I really think the beloved and utterly unique Bjork should be the official spokesgal for WEIRD UNIVERSE.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 21, 2008 -
Comments (5)
Category: Aliens, Science, Television, Foreign Customs
Guess the Scientist, #2
What scientist wrote the following passage? The answer is in extended (and on the comments page).A small experimental room was fitted with a bed and other items conducive to a normal sexual response. The bed was placed directly against a wall through which an opening was made. Both sides of the opening were covered with a thick sheet of foam rubber. Slits were made in the foam rubber so that the leads to the instruments could be passed to the recording room while still maintaining the privacy of the experimental room. All of the subjects were married and were between the ages of 22 and 30.
To record the heart rate four electrocardiographic leads, fashioned from wire mesh attached to an elastic bandage, were fastened to the upper thighs and the upper arms. With this technique the ECG was readable even during the periods of greatest muscular activity. During foreplay, records were taken each minute on two Sanborn direct writing electrocardiographs. During coitus continuous recordings were made, and after withdrawal records were again made a 1-minute intervals. Three tests were performed on each of three couples.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Alex - Mon Oct 20, 2008 -
Comments (9)
Category: Quizzes, Guess the Scientist, Science, Experiments
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)
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
A Sleeping Dog
In 1965 the French neurophysiologist Michel Jouvet operated on 35 cats, creating lesions in a part of their brainstem called the locus coeruleus. The operation caused no visible difference in their waking behavior, but their behavior while sleeping changed dramatically. They would stalk, leap, and pounce on imaginary prey -- while completely asleep. Jouvet concluded that the locus coeruleus is responsible for suppressing muscle activity during sleep. Damage it, and you act out your dreams.That's the scientific explanation of the phenomenon, which is a long way of introducing this video of a dog "running" while asleep. Evidently the dog doesn't have a fully functioning locus coeruleus.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Oct 05, 2008 -
Comments (3)
Category: Animals, Science
| Who We Are |
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| Alex Boese 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. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |