There are many crazy experiments, extroidinary studies and puzzelling space facts. In this thread i and anyone else can post any weird science news, to kick it of here is some of the modern day constellation, from the Ig Noble magazine.

Link (http://improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume14/v14i1/v14i1.html)



http://improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume14/v14i1/v14i1-web-images/constellation_fig_1_P1_opt.jpeg
http://improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume14/v14i1/v14i1-web-images/constellation_fig_2_P1_opt.jpeg

Constellation Reformation
by Ursula Majors

A constellation is a group of stars that form a particular pattern. The celestial sphere is traditionally divided into 88 such constellations. Most are arranged to resemble characters from Ancient Greek mythology, and all have Latin names. Examples include Aries, Cygnus, Pisces and Virgo.

These archaic descriptors and their associated myths are usually lost on today’s youth. Adolescents have difficulty relating to outdated objects such as harps, herdsmen and flying horses, as they are enamored with modern-day conveniences such as cars, computers and coffee shops. It should come as no surprise that fewer and fewer young people show any interest in astronomy.

I have devised a comprehensive restructuring of constellation naming conventions as a means of attracting more students. Along with radical design changes, it also forsakes Latin names in favor of modern English.

For example, consider Cassiopeia, which depicts the mythological queen sitting in a chair. I believe that this constellation would be much more palatable to today’s youth if it were reoriented and renamed Handgun, as illustrated in Figure 1.

Two additional examples are Taurus refurbished as Electric Guitar (Figure 3) and Leo modernized to become Motorcycle (Figure 4). These are but a few of the possibilities. If my constellation reformation is embraced by the scientific community, I will supply others.

False Heartbeat to Attract Mosquitoes

U.S. patent #5241778 was granted to Ron D. Price of Pasadena, Texas on September 7, 1993 for a “method of attracting and eradicating insects comprising attracting insects to a heartbeat sound.”

Mr. Price writes writes: “The present invention is based on the concept that insects, and particularly female mosquitoes, are attracted to an animal as a food source by the acoustic sounds of the animal’s heartbeat.... Research has suggested that mosquitoes are particularly attracted to the acoustic sounds simulating a human heartbeat operating at an above-normal frequency and/or to the heartbeat of a sick individual.”

http://improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume14/v14i1/v14i1-web-images/false-heartbeat-1_P_5i_opt.jpeg

Ron D. Price invented this device to attract mosquitoes by electronically generating the sound of a human heart beating. The drawing here shows the sound generator, and also an “eradication unit... comprising a sensor 50, toxic gas container 52, solenoid valve 54, spray nozzle 56, and converter 58.”

read www.fark.com/geek/ and you can find tons of these daily.

Thanks, i've also found some other good sites, including the Ig Noble website.

I'll put stuff up each weekend.

Aren't "constellations" as a concept kind of irrelevant in modern astronomy anyways? I mean, the stars don't really have that much in common with each other, except that they look close together when viewed from earth (light years away).

And when we have telepathy and laser eyes, the Cell Phone and the Revolver will be silly and quaint names that are meaningless to the youth of 2150x.

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT: Kisses

"Sex Differences in Romantic Kissing Among College Students: An
Evolutionary Perspective," Susan M. Hughes, Marissa A. Harrison,
and Gordon G. Gallup, Jr., Evolutionary Psychology, vol. 5, no.
3, 2007, pp. 612-31. The authors report:

"This study provides a descriptive account of kissing behavior in
a large sample of undergraduate college students and considers
kissing in the context of both short-term and long-term mating
relationships.... A total 1,041 college students completed one of
three questionnaires measuring kissing preferences, attitudes,
styles, and behaviors. Results showed that females place more
importance on kissing as a mate assessment device and as a means
of initiating, maintaining, and monitoring the current status of
their relationship with a long-term partner. In contrast, males
place less importance on kissing, especially with short-term
partners, and appear to use kissing to increase the likelihood of
having sex."

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT: Kisses

"Sex Differences in Romantic Kissing Among College Students: An
Evolutionary Perspective," Susan M. Hughes, Marissa A. Harrison,
and Gordon G. Gallup, Jr., Evolutionary Psychology, vol. 5, no.
3, 2007, pp. 612-31. The authors report:

"This study provides a descriptive account of kissing behavior in
a large sample of undergraduate college students and considers
kissing in the context of both short-term and long-term mating
relationships.... A total 1,041 college students completed one of
three questionnaires measuring kissing preferences, attitudes,
styles, and behaviors. Results showed that females place more
importance on kissing as a mate assessment device and as a means
of initiating, maintaining, and monitoring the current status of
their relationship with a long-term partner. In contrast, males
place less importance on kissing, especially with short-term
partners, and appear to use kissing to increase the likelihood of
having sex."

And they be good for ye teeth too

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT: Kisses

"Sex Differences in Romantic Kissing Among College Students: An
Evolutionary Perspective," Susan M. Hughes, Marissa A. Harrison,
and Gordon G. Gallup, Jr., Evolutionary Psychology, vol. 5, no.
3, 2007, pp. 612-31. The authors report:

"This study provides a descriptive account of kissing behavior in
a large sample of undergraduate college students and considers
kissing in the context of both short-term and long-term mating
relationships.... A total 1,041 college students completed one of
three questionnaires measuring kissing preferences, attitudes,
styles, and behaviors. Results showed that females place more
importance on kissing as a mate assessment device and as a means
of initiating, maintaining, and monitoring the current status of
their relationship with a long-term partner. In contrast, males
place less importance on kissing, especially with short-term
partners, and appear to use kissing to increase the likelihood of
having sex."

I'm going to have to say: Duh!!! It's not that hard to comprehend.

It is estimated that 1.5 to 2 million people worldwide keep marine aquariums with 600,000 households in the United States alone. Although the American Association of Poison Control Centers estimates 40,000 to 50,000 marine envenomations occur worldwide each year, the actual number of envenomations that result from home aquarium specimens is unknown.

This paper reviews the presenting symptoms and treatment options for envenomations from the most common and deadly marine specimens aquarists are likely to encounter. How lack of regulatory control over the marine ornamental industry places potentially dangerous marine specimens at the hands of the general public is also explained.

The strikingly patterned lionfish accounts for most envenomations of home aquarists. Although death is rare, many specimens are capable of producing incapacitating pain of the affected limb. Lack of regulatory control over the marine exotic trade and the growing popularity of home aquariums may contribute to increasing envenomations among hobbyists, unsuspecting adults and children.

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2004/s2227.htm


So says the report “Marine Envenomations Among Home Aquarium Hobbyists,” Edward P. Monico, Arthur Calise and Dean Nottingham, Internet Journal of Emergency and Intensive Care Medicine, vol. 10, no 1, 2007.

Yahoo sinks pirates without a trace

STRUGGLING search engine Yahoo has removed links to the world's largest source of file-sharing tools, The Pirate Bay, from its search results.

A search on Yahoo for the words "pirate bay" returns a list of websites that mention The Pirate Bay, such as Wikipedia, but no direct mention of the popular file-sharing website itself.

The Pirate Bay is a major target for anti-piracy bodies the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

The website is currently facing legal action in Sweden, where it is based, for cataloguing links to "torrent" files which are used to share illegally-copied material.

Torrent files contain the information needed to share large files such as movies and music with other people using a peer-to-peer (P2P) protocol called BitTorrent.

The Pirate Bay administrators say they cannot be held responsible for material listed on their website, claiming that the service is similar to a search engine.

"Only torrent files are saved at the server," says a statement on the website.

"That means no copyrighted and/or illegal material (is) stored by us. It is therefore not possible to hold the people behind The Pirate Bay responsible for the material that is being spread using the tracker."

"Any complaints from copyright and/or lobby organisations will be ridiculed and published at the site."

About 30 minutes after a request for information was sent to Yahoo Australia by NEWS.com.au, The Pirate Bay reappeared in the company's search results.

It does not appear in the search results of Yahoo US, Yahoo UK or Yahoo Asia.

Other BitTorrent trackers such as MiniNova and IsoHunt are still directly linked from Yahoo search results.

Yahoo has recently been at the centre of a takeover battle between search giants Microsoft and Google.

Sources close to Microsoft indicate that the company may be planning a hostile takeover after Yahoo rejected its offer to be bought out.

With Reuters



Link (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23246129-2,00.html)

First off: its too bad that google still has results, and that most pirates already know about the site.

Second off, how the hell is the info about Yahoo being bid for by M$ relevant..

Crime rates can be much lower than they are.

A study by the Pew Center on the States says that more than one percent
of the U.S. adult population is in prison. The study suggests that the
high cost of running a gigantic-and-growing prison system make it hard
for the country to fund its other needs.

A February 28, 2008 New York Times article says: "But Paul Cassell, a
law professor at the University of Utah and a former federal judge,
said the Pew report considered only half of the cost-benefit equation
and overlooked the 'very tangible benefits ? lower crime rates.'"

Professor Cassell is overly cautious. The crime rate can be further
reduced by incarcerating more U.S. citizens. Prudence (and a healthy
fear of crime) dictates that if 100% of all U.S. adult citizens were
put in prison, the crime rate would drop to a level acceptable to
almost everyone.

The Pew Study:
< http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/One%20in%20100.pdf >
The times article:
< http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/us/28cnd-prison.html?hp >