11.22.07
Posted in Cooking, Such People at 1:38 pm by CMonster
It follows that if chopping an onion into large chunks induces some tears, then putting that same onion into a blender is a terrible idea.
Guess what I did today?
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, then, I thought I’d pass on a little of the science behind why onions make us cry more than, say, a disney movie. It starts with an array of sulfur-containing compounds that, when released, irritate the eyes- and tears well up to flush them out. The good news, however, is that the process runs its course within around five minutes.
Despite an array of myths on how to get rid of the problem, one interesting possibility is the suggestion that the irritating chemicals are localized to specific parts of the plant (in the comments section of this link; I don’t know what the bit with lolling your tongue is all about. Kooky.) If that’s the case, a careful cut could solve all sorts of problems… I’ll have to try it the next time I have an onion handy!
Until then, I thought I’d leave everyone with a list of the most bizarre science experiments ever done, in which we learn where baby turkeys come from. Coming in at #7, researchers have discovered that a balsa wood mockup of a female turkey head is enough to get the old hormones flowing. (Perhaps this discovery was an inspiration to the 2005 Ig Nobel winners in their study of mallards?)
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11.15.07
Posted in Tools, technology at 5:33 pm by CMonster
In the spirit of the recent article describing Russia’s newest tactic for dealing with media critics (charge them with software piracy!), I thought I’d respond by sharing a few of the esoteric software tools that I use every day- many of them free.
Sure, I could draw your attention to pre-made compilations of handy software, such as Ubuntu Linux. That includes a lot of useful utilities, and the “run from CD” option gives you a chance to try it out before committing.
But dangit, Jim, this is a science journal. Go find your free operating systems, or word processors or photo editors, elsewhere. What about the esoteric little tidbits that really make science tick?
Read the rest of this entry »
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11.01.07
Posted in Blogs, technology at 1:26 pm by CMonster
There’s a recent poll making the rounds which suggests that some people have taken internet dating a little too literally- and that nowadays, people are finding that special companionship with the internet itself.
But of course, we can do better than highlighting facebook and Myspace, now can’t we?
Over in the land of science, people are taking their online personas to the logical extreme, with virtual scientific poster sessions (this in Second Life, a sort of virtual world I’ve never specifically tried).
That said, the logical extreme is somewhat different for non-scientists- companies are already having to deal with sex crimes (like the theft of virtual sex toys for virtual people, or even a rape case). I’m not sure what watching low-res pixels getting it on provides, but apparently something.
On a less intimidating note, some people interact on the internet in a much more anonymous fashion- if they don’t feel safe putting themselves online directly, social communities exist where people have formed surprisingly deep connections while blogging as their pets. Sort of social networking by proxy.
…Whatever the route, one thing I’ve always found to be true is that when you control every aspect of how you present yourself, it’s hard not to be so much cooler online. (Even the ending of that one was downright fun)
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