#improbableresearch — Public Fediverse posts

Crap, today is the 30th annual and final Dead Duck Day with @keesmoeliker retiring.

I'd love to attend, but I already committed to going to a concert tonight with a friend, and going from there to the concert would mean that just a single missed connection has me arriving pretty much as the concert starts (might not even be allowed in after the start). It would also involve about 2.5h additionally on public transport, would mean eating on the go as I won't have time for dinner, and that all on a day I'm already tired, just to attend a 20 minute event.
It normally would have been a no-brainer to go, but the timing is very unfortunate; between the concert and this week having been very draining, I just don't think I have the energy to stress about missed connections tonight.

If you however are near Rotterdam and don't feel stressed thinking of getting to and from the Museum of Natural History, you can find tickets to the event on their website: https://www.hetnatuurhistorisch.nl/bezoek/activiteiten/activiteit/dead-duck-day-voor-de-laatste-keer-bij-het-museum-5-juni-2026/ For more info also see the site of Improbable Research: https://improbable.com/2026/06/03/dead-duck-day-celebration-friday-june-5/
#DeadDuckDay #ImprobableResearch #IgNobel

Si dice spesso che gli accademici sono specializzati nello 'spaccare il capello'. Ma adesso, David Taylor a Feedback lo hanno dimostrato scientificamente!

«Beh, quest'anno io e il mio team abbiamo fatto proprio questo. Abbiamo costruito una macchina che può letteralmente spaccare un singolo capello da un'estremità all'altra»

@scienza

#ImprobableResearch

(segnalato da @MarcAbrahams)

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26335004-300-do-academics-really-split-hairs-at-work-they-certainly-do-now/

Of course, Improbable Research would feature this. 🙂

"Yuri Nakahashi, a student at Hosei University, Japan, wrote a thesis about sleeping with a cat night after night in locations chosen by the cat."

https://improbable.com/2022/03/19/sleeping-next-to-the-cat-wherever-the-cat-chooses-to-sleep/

#ImprobableResearch #Cats

Not satire. This is from Improbable Research.

"“DentalSlim Diet Control is an intra-oral device fitted by a dental professional to the upper and lower back teeth. It uses magnetic devices with unique custom-manufactured locking bolts. It allows the wearer to open their mouths only about 2mm, restricting them to a liquid diet, but it allows free speech and doesn’t restrict breathing.”"

https://www.improbable.com/2021/06/28/jaw-locking-tooth-locks-as-a-weight-loss-panacea/

#ImprobableResearch #Diets

Good to know. 🙂

"“Beer Mats Make Bad Frisbees,” Johann Ostmeyer, Christoph Schürmann, Carsten Urbach, arXiv 2106.08238, 2021. (Thanks to Mason Porter for bringing this to our attention.)"

https://www.improbable.com/2021/06/15/do-beer-mats-make-bad-frisbees/

#Research #Humour #ImprobableResearch #BeerMats #Frisbees

It seemed to happen without any further notice, but one day before the #bigbrotherawards, the #improbableresearch has announced the 2020
#ignobelprices. For the first time online, not in #cambridge.

This is also the 11th anniversary of Elena Bodnar's @[email protected] - an invention, literally half of the mankind to survive (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dlkpBABDU8).

Find more information about the IgNobile prices and the this years awards on https://www.improbable.com/ig-about/the-30th-first-annual-ig-nobel-prize-ceremony/

This is real improbable research. 😃

"Catching up with recent research, possibly the only research, on using ketchup to polish glass: A new study takes the process to new levels of precision."

https://www.improbable.com/2020/07/24/high-precision-glass-polishing-with-ketchup/

#Science #Research #Glass #Polishing #Materials #ImprobableResearch

Okay. Cockroach oil is out. :-) Improbable Research on research looking at cooking oil produced by "yellow mealworms (Tenebrio molitor), lesser mealworms (Alphitobius diaperinus), house crickets (Acheta domesticus) and Dubia cockroaches (Blaptica dubia)."

#Research #ImprobableResearch #Cooking #Food

https://www.improbable.com/2019/07/04/cockroach-oil-found-to-be-sub-optimal-for-cooking-new-study/

The usual pot of funny but serious research featured in this year's Ig Nobel Prize winners:
- getting rid of kidney stones by riding roller coasters
- human flesh isn't as nutritious as other flesh
- human saliva is a good cleaning agent for some dirty surfaces
:-)

#Research #Funny #IgNobel #Prizes #Science #ImprobableResearch

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-45513012