`The table is derived from the National Safety Council’s data on accidents. There are four columns:
Column 1: Manner of injury
Column 2: Total number of deaths nationwide due to the manner of injury for the year 2000
Column 3: Odds of dying in one year due to the manner of injury [i.e. 1 in 46,901 chance of dying as a Pedestrian]
Column 4: Odds of dying over the course of a lifetime due to the manner of injury [i.e. 1 in 610 chance of dying as a Pedestrian]’
`Experimenters burst water balloons in the low-gravity environment produced aboard a NASA Glenn DC-9 aircraft.
The tests were conducted in part to develop the ability to rapidly deploy large liquid drops by rupturing an enclosing membrane. As can be seen from the experiment footage, the initial rupture process is nearly ideal, but the finite size of the balloon material eventually ejects a spray from the drop surface. Then, when the balloon material leaves the drop entirely, it causes a large deformation of the drop (blob) which oscillates throughout the remainder of the test. Calculations suggest that such oscillations will continue for hours before the drop eventually becomes spherical. Highspeed photographs of punctured Water Balloons in a Lab were also taken.’
`Research into medieval Icelandic gender and sexuality has found that even the heroes of Viking Age sagas were troubled by the thought that size really does matter.
Dr Carl Phelpstead of Cardiff University’s School of English, Communication and Philosophy presented a paper: ‘Size Matters: Penile Problems in Sagas of Icelanders’ to the International Medieval Congress, held in Leeds last week.’
`This is not a guide for wusses whose aim is merely to wipe out humanity. I can in no way guarantee the complete extinction of the human race via any of these methods, real or imaginary. Humanity is wily and resourceful, and many of the methods outlined below will take many years to even become available, let alone implement, by which time mankind may well have spread to other planets; indeed, other star systems. If total human genocide is your ultimate goal, you are reading the wrong document. There are far more efficient ways of doing this, many which are available and feasible RIGHT NOW. Nor is this a guide for those wanting to annihilate everything from single-celled life upwards, render Earth uninhabitable or simply conquer it. These are trivial goals in comparison.
This is a guide for those who do not want the Earth to be there anymore.’
`The world’s population will increase by 40 percent to 9.1 billion in 2050, but virtually all the growth will be in the developing world, especially in the 50 poorest countries, the U.N. Population Division said.
In a report Thursday, the division said the population in less developed countries is expected to swell from 5.3 billion today to 7.8 billion in 2050. By contrast, the population of richer developed countries will remain mostly unchanged, at 1.2 billion.’
`Gay men employ the same strategies for navigating as women – using landmarks to find their way around – a new study suggests.
But they also use the strategies typically used by straight men, such as using compass directions and distances. In contrast, gay women read maps just like straight women, reveals the study of 80 heterosexual and homosexual men and women.
“Gay men adopt male and female strategies. Therefore their brains are a sexual mosaic,” explains Qazi Rahman, a psychobiologist who led the study at the University of East London, UK. “It’s not simply that lesbians have men’s brains and gay men have women’s brains.”‘
`A toxic chemical used to make rocket fuel was found in every sample taken in a new study of the milk of nursing mothers.
But Texas Tech researchers said it’s too early to know whether the perchlorate levels are dangerous. [..]
The review found that every sample of breast milk contained perchlorate, and only one sample of dairy milk contained no detectable levels. The concentration of the chemical in the breast milk samples was on average five times those detected in dairy milk pulled from grocery stores.’
`The active ingredient in marijuana may stall decline from Alzheimer’s disease, research suggests.
Scientists showed a synthetic version of the compound may reduce inflammation associated with Alzheimer’s and thus help to prevent mental decline.
They hope the cannabinoid may be used to developed new drug therapies.’
`An Italian sex researcher claims he can tell a woman’s personality from the size and shape of her breasts.
According to German newspaper Bild sexologist Piero Lorenzoni said: “A woman’s breasts denote a woman’s character, just like her star sign.”
He has categorised breast types according to fruits and says men can draw up their own horoscope-type chart that indicates what a woman’s chest size says about her.’
‘The following table lists potential future Earth impact events that the JPL Sentry System has detected based on currently available observations. Click on the object designation to go to a page with full details on that object.
Sentry is a highly automated collision monitoring system that continually scans the most current asteroid catalog for possibilities of future impact with Earth over the next 100 years. Whenever a potential impact is detected it will be analyzed and the results immediately published here, except in unusual cases where an IAU Technical Review is underway. For more information on impact monitoring and risk assessment see our Impact Risk Introduction and Frequently Asked Impact Risk Questions.’
`US scientists are quietly starting work on a new generation of nuclear arms meant to be more rugged and reliable than warheads in the existing arsenal.
About nine million dollars have been allocated so far for weapons designers at the three US nuclear weapons laboratories, the New York Times reported Monday, citing government officials and experts.
The initiative is expected to grow and could produce finished designs in five to 10 years.’
`Semen makes you happy. That’s the remarkable conclusion of a study comparing women whose partners wear condoms with those whose partners don’t.
The study, which is bound to provoke controversy, showed that the women who were directly exposed to semen were less depressed. The researchers think this is because mood-altering hormones in semen are absorbed through the vagina. They say they have ruled out other explanations.’
` The disc is to be taped or glued to the bottom of your car’s gas tank. Promoters say it significantly increases gas mileage and improves air quality. They don’t say how it works, beyond claiming it sends “holographic frequencies into the gas tank and changes the molecular structure of the gasoline.”
“It doesn’t work,” says Dr. Terry Parker, a physics professor at the Colorado School of Mines. Parker and graduate student John Dane of the chemistry department tested the device for 9News.
“It’s clear that it’s just a sticker and nothing else,” Dane said.’
`Most bizarre among the plans was one for the development of an “aphrodisiac” chemical weapon that would make enemy soldiers sexually irresistible to each other. Provoking widespread homosexual behaviour among troops would cause a “distasteful but completely non-lethal” blow to morale, the proposal says.
Other ideas included chemical weapons that attract swarms of enraged wasps or angry rats to troop positions, making them uninhabitable. [..]’
More on biological weapons at The Sunshine Project.
`Astronomers are highly confident that they’ve taken the first photograph of a planet outside our solar system.
Make that two photographs.
A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope confirms with a high degree of confidence a picture made previously by astronomers at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and reported by SPACE.com in September.’
‘The average Australian woman is a size 16 and weighs 8kg heavier than her American counterpart, according to authoritive new international research.
Australian men are also 3kg heavier than American males, the joint study by the University of Adelaide and US researchers shows.’
`Mesylation of One’s Face.
Mesylation of human skin may be accomplished by the application of methanesulphonyl chloride, in a dichloromethane-aerosol. [..]
Upon Cleaning Glassware: Chromic Acid or “Smash-it-and-bin-it”?
Chromic acid is often the last resort for stubborn contamination on glassware. However, the option of smashing the apparatus, and disposing of it as waste glass, is often overlooked. The merits of both techniques are discussed in this communication.’
`Measurements of CO2 in the atmosphere have been continuous for almost 50 years at Mauna Loa Observatory, 12,000ft up a mountain in Hawaii, regarded as far enough away from any carbon dioxide source to be a reliable measuring point.
In recent decades CO2 increased on average by 1.5 parts per million (ppm) a year because of the amount of oil, coal and gas burnt, but has now jumped to more than 2 ppm in 2002 and 2003.’
`A study showing the link between country music and suicide has taken one of the top prizes in this year’s Ig-Nobel awards – the humorous alternative to the Nobel prizes.’
With more on the Ig-Noble prizes.
`He believes the carp is able to carry on normal cardiac pumping without oxygen by ridding itself of lactic acid – the stuff that produces a burning sensation in human muscles after exercise – by converting it to ethanol, an alcohol, which is much less harmful.
A regular heartbeat may ensure that ethanol is circulated to the gills, where it is excreted to the surrounding water. “Otherwise you’d have an intoxicated fish,” he said. ‘
‘Scientists warn that Mount St. Helens could erupt within 24 hours, and with more force than previously expected.’
The more force the better, I figure. I’m on the other side of the world, afterall. :) No doubt we’ll get some good webcam pictures.
There’s been recent earthquake activity recorded at Mount St. Helens. Here’s the live camera of the mountain, so we can all watch and wait for disaster. It’s just static at the time of post. :)
see it here »
`The World Health Organization said yesterday it was “suspecting human-to-human transmission” of bird flu had occurred in northern Thailand, marking what could be the first such transmission of the lethal virus. [..]
The WHO fears H5N1 could mutate into a highly contagious form that triggers a global human flu pandemic.
When asked if a confirmed viral leap between humans in the Thai cases would mark the first step in such a feared mutation, Rai said “I think so.”‘
`Saving Energy Without Derision (5 mb PDF) is a new (and free) e-book by former Sandia National Laboratories senior scientist Dr. Alan P. Zelicoff. This book is intended to be a real-world, no-nonsense, thoroughly documented collection of easy-to-implement recommendations to help the average thoughtful person to pick the ‘low-hanging fruit’ of conservation and renewable energy.’
This looks interesting but it’s offline at the moment.
‘Convinced he needed discipline, David’s father, Ken, felt the solution lay in a goal that he didn’t himself achieve, Eagle Scout, which requires 21 merit badges. David earned a merit badge in Atomic Energy in May 1991, five months shy of his 15th birthday. By now, though, he had grander ambitions.
He was determined to irradiate anything he could, and decided to build a neutron “gun.” To obtain radioactive materials, David used a number of cover stories and concocted a new identity.’
`In every single one of the 173 cases, both parents scored at least twelve points lower on the second IQ test [compared to a test taken before conception], with the majority of parents losing twenty or more IQ points.
“This explains why every parent thinks their child is the smartest kid in class or the best athlete, even if that child is as dumb as a box of rocks or needs a calendar to time their forty-yard dash. People who before were intelligent and open-minded turn into raving lunatics who want to blame a teacher or coach every time their mediocre child fails,” said [some scientist].’
`[..] clean, green biodegradable plastic bags made from animal excrement or food waste could replace traditional plastic at Australian supermarket checkouts [..]
Scientists with the Sydney-based Environmental Biotechnology Co-Operative Research Centre happened on a technique for turning organic waste into a green alternative to plastic bags quite by accident, the company’s executive director, David Garman said.’
