I suspect many of you, at this point, are pretty damn confused about Bq, Sieverts, Curies and the like. I know most reporters, struggling with the Fukushima story, have no clue at all what these scientific terms mean. Let’s make you smart: Measures of How much radioactivity: The Becquerel. Radioactivity is when an unstable atom […]
Science!
Posted inHorrors
Will Radioactive Particles from the Leaking Reactor Reach the Pacific Northwest?
Dr. Jeff Masters at the Weather Underground (a meteorology site) ran a NOAA computer model to answer the question. The answer is yes—but, not in quantities to be of concern for human health. Dr. Masters links to a more refined model by the Austrian weather service, also showing the spread of the materials across Japan […]
Posted inScience!
Today in Pseudo Science: Sneezing Defines Your Personality
The internets are all excited about a new study that defines four types of sneezers. The research is by a woman who identifies herself as a spokesperson for Benedryl so… uh… it seems completely made up. Also, her final report has some glaring punctuation errors and includes advice like what atheists are supposed to say […]
Posted inSex
The Secret Love Lives of Noses
The New York Times says scientists at FSU conducted experiments in which they would observe young men assembling a Lego block puzzle with a 21-year-old woman. But the real experiment came later, when each man rated her attractiveness. Previous research had shown that a woman at the fertile stage of her menstrual cycle seems more […]
Posted inScience!
Extreme Rain Linked to Global Warming
As the planet heats up, we’re going to have more severe and crazy weather: Extreme rainfall was far more likely to appear in the computer simulations of our current climate than in a world without global warming, so they’re fairly confident in saying that the flooding was linked to global warming. The excessive rainfall is […]
Posted inCity Hall
Raising a Stink About the City’s New No-Stink Policy
I’m on record calling this a good idea (and so, apparently, is a cross-section of Blogtown readers who took our handy poll). And the Portland City Council agreed, unanimously supporting a new policy telling city workers, as assistant human resources director Anna Kanwit put it, to “wear your perfume at night and on weekends. You […]
Posted inScience!
Today in Internet Self Diagnosis: “Pedestrian Aggressiveness Syndrome”
I totally have this. For many people, few things are more infuriating than slow walkers—those seemingly inconsiderate people who clog up sidewalks, grocery aisles and airport hallways while others fume behind them. Researchers say the concept of “sidewalk rage” is real. One scientist has even developed a Pedestrian Aggressiveness Syndrome Scale to map out how […]
Posted inHorrors
Why Are We Afraid of Zombies?
There’s a cool piece on the Psychology Today blog that answers the eternal question: Why we are afraid of zombies? MD Stephen Schlozman says that it centers around pattern recognition and how humans use this process. A two-year-old can tell you a dog is a dog because it looks like a dog, even if she […]
Posted inSex
Could’ve Told You That
Science! Men are more than twice as likely to continue dating a girlfriend who has cheated on them with another woman than one who has cheated with another man, according to new research from a University of Texas at Austin psychologist. Women show the opposite pattern. They are more likely to continue dating a man […]
Posted inScience!
Dear Mercury Employees: If You Have Time to Mope, You Have Time to Mop
Ahem. ATTENTION ALL MERCURY EMPLOYEES: According to SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH as reported by the Daily Mail: An hour of pushing a mop across the floor and wringing it out in a bucket works off 238 calories, the equivalent of a chocolate bar or two small glasses of wine. The mop and bucket are in the supply […]
Posted inSex
Monogamy Is Natural
Science Daily: A new study of 434 young heterosexual couples ages 18-25 found that, in 40 percent of couples, only one partner says the couple agreed to be sexually exclusive. The other partner said there was no agreement. Remember, kids: monogamy is natural and normal and humans are a naturally monogamous species and we evolved […]
Posted inVideo Games
Zombies are Hard to Headshot
There’s a web series that recently started called Immersion. The conceit of the show is that they take video game logic and see if it translates to the real world. So far there’s been an episode on third-person driving (like in racing games) and an episode featuring a marine being a really good shot. It’s […]