Number 5. UPI. It really hurts to think, new study concludes
I could have told them that. I’ve been sitting here for a good 8 minutes concentrating really, really hard on what to write in the ANR this week, and it’s beginning to tax my brain.
Researchers at Radboud University in the Netherlands have decided, after careful study, that mental exertion trying to solve difficult problems leads to irritability and frustration. No kidding. I think a simple survey of my 7th grade Geometry class would have proven that.
As evidence, psychologist Erik Bijleveld points to the fact that people faced with hard questions will take shortcuts to get the answers. The idea is that, just like with physical activity, we all choose to avoid discomfort when possible. I know this is true, because when I watch TV in the evening, I want the popcorn bowl to be right under my hand, instead of on the coffee table where we can both reach it by leaning forward.
Actually, I just made that up. We never eat popcorn when watching TV, because (a) it would take effort to put it in the microwave, and (b) it would take work with a toothpick afterward. Which actually validates Professor Bijleveld’s thesis that we try to avoid hard things.
Where was I?
Anyway, to prove that people take the easy way out when thinking, not just when working, the professor reviewed 4,000 human subjects in 170 scientific papers, and concluded that thinking about complex issues produced actual feelings of exhaustion.
It strikes me as quite logical that the prof would use someone else’s research to draw his own conclusions about the negative aspects of doing one’s own research.
Number 4. Phys dot org. Researchers dig into stability of nuclear fusion using mayonnaise.
I would really like to tell you how Hellman’s Real Mayonnaise has helped scientists at Lehigh University understand how to produce energy from nuclear fusion, but I don’t understand even a little bit of this article.
Consider the following explanatory statements:
Inertial confinement fusion initiates nuclear fusion by rapidly compressing and heating capsules filled with hydrogen. When subjected to extreme temperatures and pressure, these capsules melt and form plasma, the charged state of matter that can generate energy.
At those extremes, millions of degrees Kelvin and gigapascals of pressure simulate conditions in the sun. One of the main problems is that the plasma state forms hydrodynamic instabilities, which can reduce the energy yield.
Personally, I have long suspected that too many gigapascals would lead to certain hydrodynamic instabilities. I think that’s what I ran into when I tried to stack a floor display of glass tomato juice bottles too tall in the grocery store when I was in high school. Boy, was that a mess. Talk about something hydrodynamically unstable!
Anyway, they say that Hellman’s Real Mayonnaise exists in two different states: It’s a solid, sort of, when you spread on the bread, but when you pressurize it, it reaches a flow state and acts like a plasma. We know this is true because we can see it at Subway when the girl says, “Mayo?”, and then squirts it on the tuna salad sandwich from a squeeze bottle.
And somehow this conversion from sort of solid to sort of plasma will help us understand how to make a fusion reaction think it’s on the sun’s surface and then produce unlimited supplies of free energy.
I hope this clears it up for you. You might want to read the original article for more information.
Number 3. Human Origins dot si dot edu. What does it mean to be human?
Well. It looks like we found Frodo’s earliest Baggins ancestors.
A joint Australian-Indonesian team of paleoanthropologists have discovered a nearly complete female skeleton of Homo floresiensis, a human species that thrived on the Indonesian island of Flores 100,000 years ago. Nicknamed The Hobbit, members of this race are said to have been 3-1/2 feet tall with tiny brains, large teeth, shrugged-forward shoulders and large feet.
This actually sounds more like Gollum than Frodo, but whatever.
Scientists consider that the Hobbits may have succumbed to a long-term form of dwarfism because of limited food resources on the island, or perhaps they were already small when they first arrived there.
Interestingly, archaeological digs on Flores have uncovered not only several other Hobbit skeletons, but also stone tools and skeletal remains of pygmy elephants showing signs of having been butchered.
What luck! Very short people landed on an island with very small elephants! What are the odds?
One of the directions of research is whether the Hobbits evolved on their own, or were an off-shoot from Homo Erectus.
Coming to this from a young-earth creationist perspective, I find studies like this really intriguing. How did it all work?
Number 2. USA Today. Dolce & Gabbana introduces fragrance mist for dogs.
Now THIS is a first-world story.
Dolce & Gabbana apparently make perfume. Like I would have known that. Now they have introduced a scented mist for your dog. The fragrance called Fefe (“feh-FAY”: the second e has an accent over it, but Substack is not up to the diacritical markings required) is named for the founder’s own pet… something.
The aroma is said to blend “fresh and delicate notes of Ylang Ylang, Musk and Sandalwood.” That’s good to know. I have no idea what Ylang Ylang is, and although it is probably only a mouse click away, that would require more thought on my part, and the earlier article has convinced me it would not be worth the reward of learning that new thing.
For only $108 US, you too can enjoy Fefe in “a sleek green lacquered glass bottle, adorned with a vibrant red metal cap and a precious 24-carat gold-plated paw.”
I have always wanted the caps on my perfume bottles to be made of vibrant red metal.
Number 1. The Spun dot com. NFL stadium selling “cotton candy burrito”
Arizona Cardinals fans will be able to ensure they get their full dose of sugar at home games this season. A limited number of refreshment stands will be offering the Cotton Candy Burrito along with 50 other new menu items at State Farm Stadium.
The Burrito includes:
Cotton Candy Flavored Ice Cream topped with Fruity Pebbles, Froot Loops, Marshmallows, Skittles, Mini M&M’s, Gummy Bears and Sprinkles all wrapped in a Melt-in-your-Mouth Cotton Candy Shell
I think I have gained 12 pounds just reading the description, and I feel suddenly lethargic. Sugar for a lifetime, all in one afternoon! Take your family and buy one for each kid!
This is nothing but child abuse.
And thanks for following The Alligator Blog on Friday, August 9, 2024. Don’t forget to share the episode. You never know who may have missed these important stories covering a wide variety of The Critical Issues for Our Time.
Have a good weekend! Think about the Cotton Candy Burrito, and brew yourself a cup of hot tea with no sugar. Because sugar does not have to be the boss of you!
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