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'Why Banana Skins Are Slippery' Wins IgNobel
gbjbaanb writes: This year's Ig Nobel prize was won by Japanese researchers investigating why banana skins produced a frictionless surface compared to apple and orange peels. (Apparently, "The polysaccharide follicular gels that give banana skins their slippery properties are also found in the membranes where our bones meet," so its not all fun and jollity). Other prizes were awarded for noting that dogs only defecate when aligned with north-south magnetic fields, and that "night owl" people are more likely to be psychopaths than early risers. Yes, that probably includes you.
"Other prizes were awarded for noting that dogs only defecate when aligned with north-south magnetic fields"
So when you're lost in a forest, watch which way your dog is pointing when it poops.
I'm sure I can market "Compass Dogs" as a new thing.
- Don't do what I do, it's probably not healthy nor safe. -
So what I just understood is that if I line my yard with east-west rows of low chicken wire fencing such that the neighbors' dogs can't face north or south while on my property, they will not poo in my yard.
BRILLIANT!
When I was in school I worked at a grocery store for 7 years. I never once saw somebody slip on a banana in the produce department. I did however see many people nearly break their necks slipping on grapes. Those things are slippery when stepped on. But then again, it was rare there was just a peel of a banana on the ground verses a whole banana. Grapes are very slippy, that's why you often see carpets on the ground around them in grocery stores.
Who the hell do you know is a morning person? That one dude at the office? How many people are awake like, "Ugh, fuck, too early for this shit, coffee..."?
They say it's DSPD. You won't sleep like a normal person, you stay up late, then you don't get up until 10 or 11. Yeah, right. And normal people enforce a bed time, drag their asses out of bed groggily, then come in and futz around for a few hours until about lunch, and suddenly become active.
Guess which behavior's normal?
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"night owl" people are more likely to be psychopaths than early risers.
If you stop waking us up at ungodly hours of the morning, maybe we wouldn't be so stressed out. Did you ever think of that Mr Be-at-work-at-Nine-or-you're-fired?
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Chuck Jones, call your office.
Disinfect the GNU General Public Virus!
Woosh ?
Why won't anyone think of the clowns?!
Loads of folks don't RTFA.
Some don't even RTFS.
It's a special sort that can't even properly RTFT.
I gave 2 shits this morning but that, apparently, had more to do with corn than any banana.
Can't tell if trolling...
None the less...
"The Ig Nobel Prizes are a parody of the Nobel Prizes and are given each year in early October for ten unusual or trivial achievements in scientific research. The stated aim of the prizes is to "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think." The awards are sometimes veiled criticism (or gentle satire), but are also used to point out that even the most absurd-sounding avenues of research can yield useful knowledge."
This isn't the Nobel Prize... It's a parody-ish award.
The neuroscience prize seems to have won because of a tongue-in-cheek title more anything else. I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't some neurological activity than couldn't be correlated to instances of pareidolia. If a specific set of neurons is responsible for recognizing facial patterns, it stands to reason that same area would be active when a face is recognized in something that isn't a face.
This kind of research clearly is done by none-dog-owners. Otherwise they'd know that this is nonsense. And that dogs very much dream.
That didn't used to be the criteria. Back in the old days (you young punk...), nearly all the IgNobels were given for completely daft yet published works. Like the Japanese fella who claimed to find microscopic homuncula, or the folks who sold DNA-free fragrance in a double-helix bottle, or measuring people's brainwave patterns while they chewed different flavors of gum.
Nowadays it's all "wait, that actually makes sense after all!" What's the fun in that?
https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
Jaroslav Flegr, Jan Havlíek and Jitka Hanuova-Lindova, and to David Hanauer, Naren Ramakrishnan, Lisa Seyfried, for investigating whether it is mentally hazardous for a human being to own a cat.
My favorite research paper of the year:
"Quantification of Pizza Baking Properties of Different Cheeses, and Their Correlation with Cheese Functionality,"
Maybe next year.
I wouldn't go to that link if I were you. My office system warned me of a malicious exploit there: "A known bad file was blocked from opening." Program: winners[1].htm(Exploit)
Might be a false alarm .. but then again, maybe not.
To paraphrase Feynman, all accurate science is good science because despite how meaningless you may think your findings are, someone in the future may come along and do something wonderful with them. Keep asking 'why'.
If it isn't mozz, get it the fuck off my pizza!
that the article didn't mention...
Now there are whole journals dedicated to crackpots that were disgruntled about not getting published in mainstream journals. If you want completely daft, you can get a regular subscription to dozens of such stories each month and not wait for an annual award. At some point, some of the crazier such articles, which are published somewhere, become more sad than funny. Stuff that might actually still contribute somewhere or actually make sense but seem very weird is much easier to find a humorous side to. There is a difference between giving the award to someone who will laugh upon receiving it and might even join in some publicity antics while having fun, versus someone who will be pissed off to hear they got the award and even considering suing over it.
It would be nice service for the human kind to create an artificial, easy to replenish, self organizing joint membrane to replace all those joint stiffening surgeries.
Slippery banana peels remind me of a favorite scene from The Wizard of Speed and Time.
-kgj
Dogs only poop magnetic fields if you feed the dogs magnetized shavings. Which I do.
-kgj
I have 4 dogs, 3 different breeds, and none of them align themselves on a compass line. Either that or my home has no magnetic fields present.
me as your on the computer at 3am psychopath overlord who has to get up at 7am.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
You never know, brainwave patterns might be another way of getting useful feedback from taste testers.
These prizes should go to people who contribute to the scientific community in such a way as to better humanity. no one gives 2 shits about why banana peels are slippery.
Somewhere right now, someone is posting an outraged message on Facebook about how scientists got a Nobel Peace Prize for research on banana peels, and suggesting that we cut all science funding.
"Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
Big-Mike bananas vs Cavendish's. I've heard that the old Big-Mike strain (that was wiped out, hooray monocultures) was far far more slippery than the Cavendish we enjoy today. anyone know more?
Mozzarella should be the primary cheese, but there's nothing wrong with adding a bit of gorgonzola, parmesan, fontina, pecorino, provolone or scamorza for a bit of added flavor.
Eat the rich.
If it isn't mozz, get it the fuck off my pizza!
This man gets it.
Pizza needs one fucking cheese and it's mozzarella. Everything else is pure fucking shit functionally.
To paraphrase Feynman, all accurate science is good science because despite how meaningless you may think your findings are, someone in the future may come along and do something wonderful with them. Keep asking 'why'.
To quote Whitman: That you are here–that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you have to watch this fucking obnoxious iPhone commercial again. That the powerful play goes on and you have to watch this fucking obnoxious iPhone commercial again.
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I was in London underground recently. There was a banana skin on the ground and a pile of vomit close by. Sure enough, just as in a cartoon, someone slipped on the banana skin and splashed into the pile. Very funny.
They wouldn't give an Ig Nobel price to someone for reading a speech about world peace. That would be a joke.
and that "night owl" people are more likely to be psychopaths than early risers.
The same thing we do every night, Pinky ...
It seems like a silly thing to research until a coating is developed for artificial joints that makes them last twice as long... made from polymers designed to have surface characteristics derived from banana peels.
Science is funny like that. You take something with no real practical purpose like a silicon carbide crystal and a cat's-whisker detector, and 60 years later you have the LED. It is foolish to look at an avenue of knowledge and declare that it is a waste. Without being able to see into the future, it is impossible to know what knowledge will end up being useful.
Actually comments like that are more Youtube-level.
I am pretty sure that Sara Palin, Michelle Bachman, and Ted Cruz are already campaigning on that platform!
Idiocracy at its best
A funny example of facial miss recognition when talking about software is the way Picasa recognizes electrical outlet as a face. We have a word for an "easy" woman which correspond to that miss recognition, namely "jakorasia" (Sharing box). Apparently for some people, the wall socket causes similar activation of the brain areas.
(Footnote 1) Research sponsored by the Italian council for the promotion of Mozzarella cheese"