The Fount of Useless Information
Your place for useless information that just might possibly be interesting.
How Republicans persuaded women to re-elect President Obama
For the activists of Emily’s List, working to improve women’s political representation, Republicans like Todd Akin were a gift
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/15/republicans-persuaded-women-reelect-obama
Yes of course my headline is a bit of hyperbole, but I …
Stone me! Spears show early human species was sharper than we thought
Evidence of hunting with spears 500,000 years ago suggests common ancestor of humans and Neanderthals was ‘very bright’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/nov/15/stone-spear-early-human-species
People way too often equate ‘things’ with intelligence. How …
High-Fiber Pepsi: The Choice of a New, Weird Generation
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/11/high-fiber-pepsi-the-choice-of-a-new-weird-generation/265094/
I know, lets take something that is good for you in one scenario, use it in a different scenario and ‘borrow’ the health benefits from first to get credulous customers …
A little radiation is good for mice
Low doses of radioactivity led to healthier pups
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/346280/title/A_little_radiation_is_good_for_mice
I lamented earlier about people’s lack of risk knowledge regarding radiation. In it I talked about the ‘incongruent’ information that low doses appeared to …
Study finds exercise extends life expectancy, including among people who are obese
http://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2012/11/study-finds-exercise-extends-life-expectancy-including-among-people-who-are-o
What would you give for an extra 3 years of healthy life? Would you get off your ass and go for a walk a few hours a …
America Gone Wild
The good news: Wildlife populations in the U.S. have experienced an astonishing resurgence. The bad news: All those animals are now our neighbors.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204846304578090753716856728.html
This article is very interesting in how it describes the ‘reforestation’ of the …
For those interested in some of the mechanics for why Sandy wound up being such a (comparatively) violent storm and some suggestions as to how likely it is to happen in the future…
How the Frankenstorm came to life
Sandy …
Plastic fantastic seals in speeding projectiles
Layered polymer nanomaterial wraps around penetrating particles
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/346099/title/Plastic_fantastic_seals_in_speeding_projectiles
To me this is really interesting, beyond the raw science, as a way to potentially build better shields for spacecraft. My understanding of current space craft …
I wasn’t going to comment on Sandy and its depredations along the coast but after seeing article after article (or perhaps the exact same article hawked at many places, I never actually read any of it) babbling about how Sandy …
Ozone hole at smallest size in decades
Warm Antarctic temperatures help preserve UV-protecting layer
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/346068/title/Ozone_hole_at_smallest_size_in_decades
Just like the thawing of the ice at the North Pole opens up huge lucrative shipping opportunities, the warming has resulted in a shrinking ozone …