Unfertilized Eggs

It makes me wonder how much the world is different due to eggs, since they're a compact renewable protein source. If all eggs were fertilized, would we just have to eat them sooner?

Unfounded Claims

It bothers me when people say things like "I don't know if this is true, but I see X Y and Z happening," as it's frequently paired by a lack of empirical support. It reminds me of this scene from "Dorthy and the Wizard in Oz," in which the Dorthy's cat is on trial for eating a pet piglet. What follows is the entire prosecution:

... the Woggle-Bug, bowing. “I say I see the criminal, in my mind’s eye, creeping stealthily into the room of our Ozma and secreting herself, when no one was looking, until the Princess had gone away and the door was closed. Then the murderer was alone with her helpless victim, the fat piglet, and I see her pounce upon the innocent creature and eat it up—”

“Are you still seeing with your mind’s eye?” enquired the Scarecrow.

“Of course; how else could I see it? And we know the thing is true, because since the time of that interview there is no piglet to be found anywhere.”

“I suppose, if the cat had been gone, instead of the piglet, your mind’s eye would see the piglet eating the cat,” suggested the Scarecrow.

“Very likely,” acknowledged the Woggle-Bug. “And now, Fellow Citizens and Creatures of the Jury, I assert that so awful a crime deserves death...

Bag End

Tolkien's Aunt had a farm named "Bag End." I find this to be a great reminder that even the most fantastic imagination can draw from the every-day.

Sloshing Around in my Car

It's very strange to feel air sloshing around while driving. When making a hard turn with the heater on, the change of air currents is especially noticeable.

Watched Pots Boil More Slowly

The saying "a watched pot never boils" is obviously untrue, however, I realized that a watched pot will boil more slowly, all other things being equal.

Why is this? Your pupil appears black because very few photons are reflected out of the interior of your eye, especially compared to the iris and sclera. By watching a pot, you are allowing the maximum amount of photons from the pot into your pupil (compared to looking away). This, in turn, means that fewer photons are reflected back at the pot. Since the pot is not 100% reflective, it will absorb some of the photons which hit it and convert that energy to heat.

Therefore, a watched pot will receive slightly less energy, causing it to take an infinitesimally longer amount of time to boil.

Museums

Museums are encyclopedias with an emphasis on examples.

Klompen and Onomatopoeia

I love that "klompen" is both the name of dutch wooden shoes AND what you do when you wear them.

Is it really Onomatopoeia? Or do we just associate "clomp" with the sound, because of the name of the shoes? Does the sound inform the word or the word inform the sound?

Sadly

Sadly, sex sells -- substituting salacious stimulation simply subverts sophisticated study since someone so subjected seldom shows serious self-scrutiny.

Bars

I find it funny that the stereotypical place to meet people is where you can barely hear what is said and everyone's judgment is impaired.

The Infinite Baby Scenario

One of the most silly ramifications of a theory of an infinite number of universes finally made it sink in. You've likely heard of the Infinite Monkey Theorem, which states that "infinite monkeys typing on an infinite number of typewriters will eventually reproduce the works of shakespeare." You might also have heard of the Simulation Hypothesis, which argues that reality can be, and very likely is, merely a simulation in a sufficiently advanced computer.

The ramification of these two theories combined is that if there are an infinite number of universes, then there is a universe in which all of known reality is merely a simulation which has been created by babies typing randomly on keyboards.

The entirety of your existence is the result of a toddler banging on a typewriter. Life makes so much more sense now, doesn't it?

Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold

Andrew Jackson was one of the most extreme paper-currency-hating presidents we've had. He completely dismantled the national bank of his time, banned the use of paper currency to purchase land, and now? He's on the $20 bill.

That's over 8 billion little metaphorical middle fingers currently in circulation around the world, completely unbeknownst to most. It took almost a hundred years for the treasury department to get back at Jackson, but man, they got him good.

Knees and Toes Body Wash

P&G should make a body wash called "Knees and Toes" to go with their "Head and Shoulders" shampoo.

Alphabet

The word "Alphabet" comes from the Greek letters alpha and beta, the first two letters of their alphabet. Since we don't use the Greek letters, why isn't our alphabet just called the "Ab" or "Abe"?

Panhandling in a Post-Banknote Economy

Will begging die out when everyone only carries credit cards?

Tobacco Juggernaut

In 2010, the combined profits of the six leading tobacco companies was U.S. $35.1 billion, equal to the combined profits of Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and McDonald’s in the same year.

The Redundancy of Red Robin

Red Robin is a bit of a silly name, as all robins are red or reddish orange. It'd be like saying "Orange Orange Juice."

Taking Children's Songs (Way Too) Literally - Down by the Bay

The song "Down by the Bay" is quite sad, when you think about it. The lyrics are as follows:

Down by the bay,

Where the watermelons grow,

Back to my home,

I dare not go,

For if I do,

My mother will say

Did you ever see [some ridiculous object/animal performing a ridiculous action]

What a horrific childhood - a child, terrified to return home because of their mother. Is this fear really caused by the mother's ridiculous questioning or is the questioning merely the tip of the far darker insanity which truly petrifies the child? Children are frequently receptive to concepts which adults might consider to be nonsense, as is evinced by the popularity of this very song. It would be very strange indeed for silly questions alone to cause such a deep-seated fear that a child would feel driven away from the primary place most children find safety and comfort: the home.  

Further investigating the song's relation to the home, I am struck by more subtle train of thought running through this song. What is the significance of the home's proximity to watermelons and to a bay? Watermelons typically grow in sandy soil; is this an indication of a house built on literal unstable ground or merely a metaphor for the emotional instability which underlies the child's household? Geographically, the relation to a bay indicates that the household is barely above water, perhaps inexorably sliding into the bay due to erosion of the sandy soil upon which it is built. When viewed alongside the more obviously threatening figure of the mother, this song's true purpose crystallizes. "Down by the Bay" is clearly a cry for help from a child who has no other means of expressing their plight but through cheerful song.

Indeed, the song relates increasingly ridiculous situations in an effort to grab the attention of adults who might otherwise tune out a child's requests. By couching the cry for help in such an absurd manner, the child is hoping that any adult confused by the propositions presented might notice the twisted situation underlying the entirety of the song. Truly, the fact that our culture has accepted this cry for help from an abused child as merely another fun playtime activity shows the depravity to which we have all become numb.

Fake Facebook Friends

I bet there's a ton of fake profiles made by people researching Facebook's algorithms. Whole groups of non-existent people who are friends only with other non-existent people.

Happy Pi Day!

Happy Pi Day from 3-14-15 9:26:53 AM

Autism, Education, and Engineering

I hadn't heard of either of these purported links to autism yet.

Apparently, incidents of autism are higher among people whose fathers are engineers than other professional careers. I don't find the paper terribly convincing because of the low sample size (sub 1k), but it is quite an anomaly (24% versus 17%).
http://docs.autismresearchcentre.com/papers/2001_Wheelwright_BC.pdf

However, that study ties into another, more convincing, study in which parents with higher education levels had much higher rate of autistic children. Because this study controlled for age of parents and many other factors, and used a much larger sample size (9,900 autistic births out of 2.45 million), I find it much more useful. This research can alternatively be explained by parents with higher education more often taking steps to obtain a diagnosis of autism
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4071143/pdf/nihms580503.pdf

And yet other studies have shown that incidents of autism are higher among higher-educated individuals, controlling for parents' active involvement. "Compared to all 8-year-old children in the study areas, those with ASD were less likely to reside in census block groups classified as poverty areas, and more likely to be male and live in block groups with higher adult educational achievement and a higher MHI" (Median Household Income).
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0011551

Fascinating, if not terribly useful.

Not Aspirin

I saw a box of acetaminophen labelled "Not Asprin." Out of the total set of things that could be contained in a box, this is not a very helpful descriptor.

Presidents Day Sale

Let's celebrate our political leaders by selling cheap consumer goods!

City Street Naming Conventions

Here in Denver, city blocks are a tenth of a mile. This means that 20th street is a mile away from 10th street. Very nice and convenient; they even skip road #s if they're more than a tenth of a mile apart.

Fart Proudly

Our esteemed founding father Benjamin Franklin wrote an essay entitled "Fart Proudly," thus showing that even the most juvenile can accomplish prestigious things.

Even Odds

Calling balanced odds "even odds" seems a bit odd.

70% Pure, 30%?

Had an Izze soft drink yesterday. The label advertised that it was "70% pure fruit juice." To my mind, this implies that it is 30% impure. However, I can't think of a concise way to effectively phrase their intent.

Habits of Orientation

I noticed today that it feels weird to stand in the shower with the water hitting my left shoulder instead of my right shoulder. The feeling is similar to that felt when crossing your arms the "wrong" (non-standard) way. Unlike crossing your arms the "wrong" way, my body's position doesn't change, only its orientation to the outside world.

Can Anti-Austerity Save Money?

I don't see how electing an Anti-Austerity government helps get your country out of debt. (In re January 2015 Greek Elections)

Clear as transparent mud

Since scientists have developed transparent soil, "clear as mud" doesn't have quite the same meaning.
http://www.insidescience.org/content/see-through-soil-could-improve-crops/788

Coughing on your own food

I've found that I habitually cover my mouth and turn away if I need to cough when preparing or eating food... even when I'm the only one who is going to consume it. Apparently the strength of habit supersedes common sense.