Improbable Research

“The effect odor has on a consumer’s experience of the product is still not yet understood.” Prompting investigators at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands to set up two experiments in order to clarify the possible influences of odor on consumer goods. Their research took an unusual approach, centring around what they call ‘incongruent odors’ – perhaps simply described as merchandise with ‘the wrong smell’.

Technology provides yet another way to play music:

Socks over shoes surpass shoes over socks for strolling on slippery city slopes, says a study done in New Zealand. In other words – in the words of the study itself – “wearing socks over shoes appears to be an effective and inexpensive method to reduce the likelihood of slipping on icy footpaths”.

Lianne Parkin, Sheila Williams and Patricia Priest did an experiment to test the wisdom of a local winter tradition. The trio, based at the University of Otago in Dunedin, published a report in the New Zealand Medical Journal.

They explain: “There are anecdotal reports that pedestrians who wear socks over the top of their footwear are less likely to slip and fall in icy conditions. Advocates of this practice include our local council (in Dunedin), which advises residents who prefer to walk (rather than drive) in icy conditions to ‘put a pair of old socks over your shoes to increase grip’”…

So begins this week’s Improbable Research column in The Guardian.

Flora Lichtman of Science Friday interviewed “Brenda Tan and Matthew Cost, high school seniors from Trinity School in New York City, used a technique called DNA barcoding to find out what species were present in over 200 animal products.” A surprising finding: most street vendors’ hot dogs — at least the ones the students tested — contained only the kinds of meat they were supposed to contain.

Here’s the video.

If you want a 19th century biology professor’s perspective on oysters, twisted or untwisted, you would do well to consult the works of Professor Karl August Möbius, especially his book Die Auster und die Austernwirthschaft.

NOTE: Do not confuse Professor Karl August Möbius with August Ferdinand Möbius, the man credited with discovering the Möbius strip.

Dr. Elena Bodnar writes, in The Guardian, about the soon-to-begin 2010 Ig Nobel Tour of the UK:

For the Ig Nobel award ceremony, I designed a hot pink Emergency Bra that has now been dubbed the Harvard model. I demonstrated it on Nobel laureates Wolfgang Ketterle (Nobel prize for physics, 2001), Orhan Pamuk (literature, 2006) and Paul Krugman (economics, 2008). Although they were not expecting it, they seemed to enjoy the demonstration.

During the forthcoming UK Ig Nobel tour this month, I will also demonstrate that the Emergency Bra is not only an effective, economical and readily available personal protective device but that, first and foremost, it is a beautiful piece of lingerie. Its additional function of personal protection does not interfere with its aesthetics or its main purpose.

I have no doubt my demonstrations will generate some laughs. However, I also look forward to addressing some serious questions from the British public….