In his “Anti Gravity” column in the latest (November issue) Scientific American Steve Mirsky write rather mischievously, even zen mischievously, about recent food research “trivia”. The article contains this gem of a paragraph:
The journal Science reports that mathematicians from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University and the Free University of Brussels have igured out a better way to wrap spherical pieces of chocolate. There’s a lot of wasted material when wrapping spheres with square pieces of foil or paper. But our intrepid geometers found that by using equilateral triangles rather than squares, they could generate a savings of 0.1 percent. That’s one full square saved for every 1,000 pieces of triangle-wrapped chocolate you eat.
Doh? Well so what? Well let’s (very roughly) translate that into something meaningful.
Making some reasonable assumptions about wrapper size and weight … If every man, woman and child in the UK ate just 10 triangular wrapped chocolates this Christmas the savings in the wrappings would amount enough paper/foil to cover a full size football pitch. Can’t imagine Wembley Stadium covered in chocolate wrappers? OK. The weight of that saved wrapping is roughly equivalent to 1,000 ½lb boxes of chocolates! Now that’s a lot of over indulgence, even by my standards!
Oh and you can find the full Steve Mirsky article here.
This turned out, quite unexpectedly, as an interesting colour progression!
Questions & Answers: 1. What is your occupation right now? IT Project Manager 2. What color are your socks right now? Flesh, ‘cos I ain’t wearing any 3. What are you listening to right now? My ears 4. Who is the last person you talked to on the phone? Robin in India 5. What is the last movie you watched? I don’t do films, so I don’t have a clue 6. How do you vent anger? By swearing 7. Cherries or Blueberries? Cherries, every time 8. When was the last time you cried? When the Floss cat died 9. What is on the floor of your closet? Carpet 10. What did you do last night? Read 11. What are you most afraid of? Not having money and health 12. What is your favorite flower? Old roses
As I don’t drive (I never have and probably now never will) a slightly wacky, fantasy-esque, contribution this week. 🙂
The Questions & Answers: 1. What make or model was your first car? Pale blue Alfa Romeo Formula 1, circa 1960 2. What would be your dream vehicle? Magic carpet 3. What is your favorite color for a car? Metallic blue 4. What is your favorite speed to drive? Supersonic 5. Where is the stupidest place you’ve ever parked your car? In the village of War Drobe 6. Stick or Automatic? Robot-drive 7. What has been your favorite vehicle that you’ve owned? Tandem 8. How old were you when you got your drivers license? 4018 9. What is your favorite feature on a car/vehicle? Rotor blades 10. You’re going on a road trip – what vehicle would you rent if anything was available for you? MGA; and yes they did exist, quite some while before the much more famous MGB 11. Does your car have a name, if so what is it? Pegasus, unless you can think of a better name for a magic carpet!! 12. What one feature is a deal breaker in buying a car, ie: if the car doesn’t have it you won’t buy it? Wings; to go with the rotor-blades of course!
Yet another timely contribution from the “Feedback” column in this week’s New Scientist …
Saddle saw
MOST surprising paper title of the week has to be “Cutting off the nose to save the penis”. This article, by Steven Schrader, Michael Breitenstein and Brian Lowe appears in the August issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine. What could it possibly be about? The online journal Physorg.com’s report on the article makes things a little clearer: “No-nose bicycle saddles improve penile sensation and erectile function in bicycling police officers.”
It transpires that the traditional bicycle saddle, with its protruding nose, can cause deleterious health effects such as erectile dysfunction and groin numbness. A study of 90 bicycling police officers before and after using noseless bicycle saddles for six months found “significant improvements in penile tactile sensation” and “significant increases in erectile function”. Irwin Goldstein, editor-in-chief of the journal, found the article so rousing that he wrote an accompanying editorial entitled “The A, B, C’s of The Journal of Sexual Medicine: Awareness, Bicycle Seats, and Choices”.
You wouldn’t believe it if you hadn’t read it here first.
I stole this meme from Girl with a One-Track Mind and Troubled Diva because I liked it’s zen mischief potential. My objective is just to complete each of the following sentences. Your objective is to work out which are serious and which aren’t.
My uncle once: sailed the ocean blue
Never in my life: have I taken illegal drugs
When I was five: I looked like Prince Charles
High school was: much better than I realised at the time
I will never forget: and that isn’t the only resemblance I have to an elephant
Once I met: a man in a kilt
There’s this girl I know: who is unattainable
Once, at a bar: I met a Colonel with a dog
By noon, I’m usually: in need of lunch
Last night: I didn’t have sex on the beach
If only I had: the power and the glory, for ever and ever, Amen
Next time I go to church: I’ll be taking photographs
What worries me most: is politicians
When I turn my head left I see: something sinister
When I turn my head right I see: a right tit
You know I’m lying when: I keep quiet
What I miss most about the Eighties is: not very much
If I were a character in Shakespeare I’d be: a lion whelping in the street (Julius Caesar, Act II, Scene ii)
By this time next year: I might be retired
A better name for me would be: Zanzibar
I have a hard time understanding: why people need religion
If I ever go back to school, I’ll: be in a time machine (’cos neither of my schools exists any more)
You know I like you if: I kiss you
If I ever won an award, the first person I would thank would be: grateful
Take my advice, never: admit that you know
My ideal breakfast is: a full English
A song I love but do not have is: a John Mayall mouth-music track from the ’60s that I can’t now identify or find
If you visit my hometown, I suggest you: search out its history
Why won’t people: think
If you spend a night at my house: you’ll be solicited by a pussy (or two)
I’d stop my wedding for: a KitKat
The world could do without: religion and politicians
I’d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: do a bungee jump
My favourite blonde is: Michaela Strachan
Paper clips are more useful than: a grapefruit and Marmite sandwich
If I do anything well it’s: only to lull you into a false sense of security
I can’t help but: be a perfectionist
I usually cry: inwardly
My advice to my child/nephew/niece: if it harm none, do as you will
And by the way: there’s always toast at the end of the dragon
I’m not tagging anyone for this, but feel free to borrow (or steal) it if you like it. If you do use it, it would be nice if you left a comment here.
Connioseurs of 1970s UK police soap operas will remember the refrain “Let’s be ’avin’ you” when an arrest was about to be made. Our attention has been drawn to an example not of nominative determinism, but of locational determinism – the existence of a police facility on Letsby Avenue in the Yorkshire town of Sheffield (it’s right next to Sheffiled City Ariport). Sadly there is as yet no news of an “Onyer Way” or “Evenin Hall” in the vicinity.
The concept: a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search. b. Using only the first page, pick an image. c. Copy and paste the html into your blog or Flickr stream (the easiest way is to copy the URLs and then head over to the fd’s flickr toys link above and use the mosaic maker).
The Questions & Answers: 1. What makes you laugh? Cats 2. What makes you cry? Animal suffering 3. Who is the one person you trust the most in the world? My Mother 4. Who broke your heart? Jill (no, not you Mistress Weekes; long before that!) 5. Where was your first kiss? I really don’t remember 6. What body part do you love most (your body)? My mind 7. What body part do you love least (your body)? My fat 8. What candy fits your personality? Coffee creme chocolate 9. What color would you paint your room if you could pick any color? Magnolia 10. A word that makes you laugh? Merkin 11. What emotion do you express most often? Depression 12. Who inspires you? The Dalai Lama
Created with fd’s Flickr Toys. for the Flickr My Meme group.
OK so here, a bit late, is this week’s Friday Five …
1. Name one movie you wish everybody could watch.
None of them. I dislike movies and wouldn’t cry if they sunk without trace. Doesn’t mean other people shouldn’t watch them, just don’t expect me to or to share your enthusiasm.
2. Name two books you wish everybody could read.
Anthony Powell, A Dance to the Music of Time. Well it’s one novel in 12 volumes, so I’ll count it as one. Read it if only as a social history of England from 1914 to 1970. Oh come on, you expected me to say that, didn’t you?
Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland (by which I mean the two works Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass). Read them and think about the logical conundrums presented; now apply them and change the way you look at the world!
3. Name three goals you wish everybody could achieve.
True inner peace and happiness.
Reconciliation and friendship with their parents.
To always treat others as you would like to be treated yourself (it’s part of what the Dalai Lama calls “compassion”).
4. Name four people you wish everybody could know. I am going to assume the people don’t have to be alive now, but could come from any era. So I’ll nominate:
Richard Feynman; for his logic, his insights, his humour and his determination to overcome obstacles.
Galileo Galilei; a profound scientist who wasn’t afraid of standing up and being counted.
Leonardo da Vinci; another way out mind as well as a superb artist.
The present Dalai Lama; for his profound thinking, his happiness and his compassion.
That was hard! Four people I wish I knew would be easy, but to translate that into something for everyone is much, much harder.
5. Name five places you wish everybody could visit.
Rural England
Japan
A nudist community; to see just how it isn’t like everyone seems to think it is and to experience the freedom of life without clothes.
A small town in medieval England (or Europe at least) to see just what life really was like 600+ years ago and how far we have come.
Their special place. I believe we all have at least one place which is special and energises us (just as we have people who do this for us). It may be a town somewhere, or a country, or just a building (I know Stonehenge does it for some people, though not for me). Finding it is a whole different matter though.
The “Feedback” column this week’s New Scientist contains this item …
Thanks to Terence Dunmore for alerting us to a report in the 11 June issue of Professional Engineering about the UK’s new Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations (WEEE regulations). It warns readers: “If you are a producer of WEEE, you must make sure it is disposed of in an environmentally sound manner, including the treatment, reuse, recovery and recycling of components where appropriate.” Dunmore is puzzled. “Isn’t the local sewage department already doing just that?” he asks.
