September 2009
61 posts
11 tags
Hysterical Strength →
Hysterical strength describes displays of extreme strength by humans, beyond what is believed to be normal. It is a speculative term that is not recognized in medical academia; the concept has only a small body of anecdotal evidence to support it. Some state the concept that a person in general situations uses no more than an average of 33% of the muscle fibers available despite being in...
15 tags
Phineas Gage →
Phineas P. Gage was a railroad construction foreman now remembered for his incredible survival of an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying one or both of his brain’s frontal lobes, and for that injury’s reported effects on his personality and behavior—effects said to be so profound that friends saw him as “no longer Gage.”...
12 tags
Paraprosdokian →
A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anticlimax. For this reason, it is extremely popular among comedians and satirists. An example by Groucho Marx is,...
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Moon Treaty →
The Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, better known as the Moon Treaty or Moon Agreement, is an international treaty that turns jurisdiction of all heavenly bodies (including the orbits around such bodies) over to the international community. Thus, all activities must conform to international law (notably this includes the UN Charter). (via @G_C_F)
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Taxicab Geometry →
Taxicab geometry is a form of geometry in which the usual metric of Euclidean geometry is replaced by a new metric in which the distance between two points is the sum of the (absolute) differences of their coordinates. The taxicab metric is sometimes known as Manhattan length which alludes to the grid layout of most streets on the island of Manhattan, which causes the shortest path a car could...
16 tags
Gruen Transfer →
In shopping mall design, the Gruen transfer refers to the moment when a consumer enters a shopping mall, and, surrounded by an intentionally confusing layout, loses track their original intentions. Spatial awareness of their surroundings play a key role, as does the surrounding sound and music. The effect of the transfer is marked by a slower walking pace and glazed eyes. (via dustinrjacobson)
10 tags
Logorrheoa →
Logorrhoea is defined as an “excessive flow of words” and, when used medically, refers to incoherent talkativeness occurring in certain kinds of mental illness, such as mania. Logomania is the medical condition and mania with the underlying symptom logorrhoea. The spoken form of logorrhoea (in the non-medical sense) is a kind of verbosity which uses superfluous (or fancy) words to disguise an...
11 tags
Münchhausen Trilemma →
The Münchhausen-Trilemma (after Baron Münchhausen, who allegedly pulled himself out of a swamp by his own hair), also called Agrippa’s Trilemma (after Agrippa the Skeptic), is a philosophical term coined to stress the purported impossibility to prove any truth even in the fields of logic and mathematics. It is the name of an argument in the theory of knowledge going back to the German...
5 tags
Snowclone →
A snowclone is a type of cliché and phrasal template originally defined as “a multi-use, customizable, instantly recognizable, time-worn, quoted or misquoted phrase or sentence that can be used in an entirely open array of different variants. An example of a snowclone is “X is the new black”, itself a version of the expression “X is the new Y”. X and Y may be replaced with different words or...
12 tags
Utah Teapot →
The Utah teapot or Newell teapot is a 3D computer model which has become a standard reference object (and something of an in-joke) in the computer graphics community. It is a mathematical model of an ordinary teapot of fairly simple shape, which appears solid, cylindrical and partially convex. (via J)
9 tags
Tobacco Smoke Enema →
The tobacco smoke enema, an insufflation of tobacco smoke into the rectum by enema, was a medical treatment employed by 18th-century European physicians for resuscitating drowning victims and other purposes. (via @revgeorge)
9 tags
The Hum →
The Hum is a generic name for a series of phenomena involving a persistent and invasive low-frequency humming noise not audible to all people. Hums have been reported in various geographical locations. A Hum on the Big Island of Hawaii, typically related to volcanic action, is heard in locations dozens of miles apart where local Hawaiians say it is most often heard by men. The Hum is most often...
11 tags
Valsalva Maneuver →
The Valsalva maneuver or Valsalva manoeuvre is performed by forcible exhalation against a closed airway, usually done by closing one’s mouth and pinching one’s nose shut. Variations of the maneuver can be used either in medical examination as a test of cardiac function and autonomic nervous control of the heart, or to “clear” the ears and sinuses (that is, to equalize...
10 tags
Uncanny Valley →
The uncanny valley hypothesis holds that when robots and other facsimiles of humans look and act almost like actual humans, it causes a response of revulsion among human observers. The “valley” in question is a dip in a proposed graph of the positivity of human reaction as a function of a robot’s lifelikeness. (via Ivan)
9 tags
Nyotaimori →
Nyotaimori, often referred to as “body sushi,” is the practice of eating sashimi or sushi from the body of a woman, typically naked. This subdivision of food play is originally an obscure Japanese practice that has attracted considerable international media attention. As a result of being served on a human body, the temperature of the sushi or sashimi comes closer to body temperature....
6 tags
Chess Boxing →
Chess boxing is a hybrid sport which combines the sport of boxing with games of chess in alternating rounds. Chess boxing fights have been organized since early 2003. The sport was started when Dutch artist Iepe Rubingh, inspired by fictional descriptions of the sport in the writing of Enki Bilal, organized actual matches. The sport has become increasingly popular since then. (via iamyihan)
10 tags
Dutch Oven →
Dutch oven is a fart chamber created by pulling a blanket over someone’s head and farting. The phrase is a slang description based on the cooking action of a Dutch oven where food is cooked and steamed inside a closed chamber. Performing a Dutch oven creates an area of smelly gaseous air in an enclosed space that must be breathed in. This is done as a prank or by accident to ones sleeping partner....
16 tags
Leck Mich Im Arsch →
Leck mich im Arsch is a canon in B-flat major composed by Mozart, with lyrics in German. It was one of a set of at least six canons probably written in Vienna in 1782. Sung by six voices as a three-part round, it is thought to be a party piece for his friends. An idiomatic translation would be “Kiss my arse”. The scatological title and lyrics have been used as evidence to support the...
9 tags
Placebo Button →
A placebo button is a push-button that appears to do something, but actually has no effect, like a placebo. In other cases a control like a thermostat may not be connected. Although non functional they can give the user an illusion of control. In some cases the button may have been functional, but may have failed or been disabled during installation or maintenance. Only in relatively rare cases...
14 tags
Colonization of Mars →
The colonization of Mars by humans is the focus of speculation and serious study, as the surface conditions and availability of water on Mars make it arguably the most hospitable planet in the solar system other than Earth. While the Moon has been proposed as the first location for human colonization, unlike Earth’s moon, Mars has an atmosphere, giving it the potential capacity to host human...
10 tags
Isinglass →
A substance obtained from the gas bladders of fish, isinglass is a form of collagen used mainly for the clarification of wine and beer - including “real ales” such as Guinness - leading some vegetarians to avoid such beverages. It is also used for the preservation of parchment. (via @davidlantner)
8 tags
Sexuality of Abraham Lincoln →
The sexuality of Abraham Lincoln is a topic of debate. Lincoln was married to Mary Todd from 4 November 1842 until his death on 15 April 1865. They had four children. C. A. Tripp has commented that Lincoln’s problematic and distant relationship with women stood in contrast to his more warm relations with a number of men in his life and that two of those relationships had arguable homosexual...
8 tags
Homeless World Cup →
The Homeless World Cup is an international football tournament, where teams made up entirely of people who are homeless compete. The event is held annually and, as of 2008, is in its sixth year. The Homeless World Cup 2009 is due to be held in Milan, Italy in September 2009. (via Dmack)
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Drake Equation →
The Drake equation was devised by Dr. Frank Drake in 1960, in an attempt to estimate the number of extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way (our galaxy) with which we might come into contact. Best current estimates for the parameters of the Drake equation result in a value of 2.31 civilizations. (via @revgeorge)
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Exploding Head Syndrome →
Exploding head syndrome is a condition that causes the sufferer to occasionally experience a tremendously loud noise as originating from within his or her own head, usually described as the sound of an explosion, roar, waves crashing against rocks, loud voices or screams or a ringing noise. This noise usually occurs within an hour or two of falling asleep, but is not the result of a dream and can...
8 tags
Möbius Strip →
The Möbius strip is a surface with only one side and only one boundary component. If an ant were to crawl along the length of this strip, it would return to its starting point having traversed both sides of the strip, without ever crossing an edge. (via @tanderson1812)
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Monty Hall Problem →
The Monty Hall problem is a probability puzzle based on the American television game show Let’s Make a Deal. The name comes from the show’s host, Monty Hall. The problem is also called the Monty Hall paradox, as it is a veridical paradox in that the result appears absurd but is demonstrably true. (via @sks06c)
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Infinite Monkey Theorum →
The infinite monkey theorem states that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type a given text, such as the complete works of William Shakespeare. Popular interest in the typing monkeys is sustained by numerous appearances in literature, television, radio, music, and the Internet. In 2003, an experiment was performed with six...
11 tags
Witzelsucht →
Witzelsucht, from the German witzeln, meaning to joke or wisecrack, and sucht meaning addiction or yearning (sucht means searching), is a set of rare neurological symptoms characterized by the patient’s uncontrollable tendency to pun, tell inappropriate jokes and pointless or irrelevant stories at inconvenient moments. The patient nevertheless finds these utterances intensely amusing. (via...
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Wrap Rage →
Wrap rage, also called package rage, is the common name for heightened levels of anger and frustration resulting from the inability to open hard-to-remove packaging, particularly plastic blister packs and clamshells. Consumers suffer thousands of injuries per year, such as cut fingers and sprained wrists, from tools used to open packages and from the packaging itself. Some companies are now coming...
9 tags
Russian Woodpecker →
The Russian Woodpecker was a notorious Soviet signal that could be heard on the shortwave radio bands worldwide between July 1976 and December 1989. It sounded like a sharp, repetitive tapping noise, at 10 Hz, giving rise to the “Woodpecker” name. The random frequency hops disrupted legitimate broadcast, amateur radio, and utility transmissions and resulted in thousands of...
11 tags
Boston Molasses Disaster →
The Boston Molasses Disaster, also known as the Great Molasses Flood occurred on January 15, 1919, in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. A large molasses storage tank burst, and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. It took over 87,000 man hours to remove the molasses from the...
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The Glass Delusion →
The glass delusion was an external manifestation of a psychiatric disorder recorded in Europe in the late middle ages (15th to 17th centuries). People feared that they were made of glass “and therefore likely to shatter into pieces”. One famous early sufferer was King Charles VI of France who refused to allow people to touch him, and wore reinforced clothing to protect himself from...
8 tags
Weißwurstäquator →
The Weißwurstäquator (literally: white sausage equator) is a humorous term describing the (supposedly) very different culture and dialect of the Southern part of Germany, especially Bavaria, as opposed to its other parts. The term refers to the fact that Weißwurst is a favorite dish in Southern Germany, but seldom served in the other regions.
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The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime →
“The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime” is a controversial paper by John Donohue of Yale University and Steven Levitt of University of Chicago. The paper, published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics in 2001, offers evidence that the falling United States crime rates of the 1990s were in part caused by the legalization of abortion due to the Roe v. Wade court decision of 1973....
7 tags
Planogram →
A planogram is a diagram of fixtures and products that illustrates how and where retail products should be displayed, usually on a store shelf in order to increase customer purchases. Planograms differ significantly by retail sector. Fast-moving consumer goods organizations and supermarkets largely use text and box based planograms that optimise shelf space, inventory turns, and profit margins....
9 tags
Traumatic Insemination →
Traumatic insemination, also known as hypodermic insemination, is the mating practice in some species of invertebratesin which the male pierces the female’s abdomen with his penis and injects his sperm through the wound into her abdominal cavity. The sperm diffuse through the female’s hemolymph, reaching the ovaries and resulting in fertilization. The process is detrimental to the female’s health....
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Erdős–Bacon Number →
A person’s Erdős–Bacon number is a concept which reflects the small world phenomenon in academia and entertainment. It is the sum of one’s Erdős number—which measures the “collaborative distance” in authoring mathematical papers between that person and Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdős—and one’s Bacon number—which represents the number of links, through roles in films, by which the individual is...
11 tags
Nocebo →
The adjective nocebo is used to label the harmful or unpleasant reactions that a subject manifested as a result of administering a placebo drug, where these responses had not been chemically generated, and were entirely due to the subject’s pessimistic belief and expectation that the inert drug would produce harmful, injurious, unpleasant, or undesirable consequences. The term nocebo (Latin...
6 tags
Streisand Effect →
The Streisand effect is an Internet phenomenon where an attempt to censor or remove a piece of information backfires, causing the information to be widely publicized. Examples of such attempts include censoring a photograph, a number, a file, or a website (for example via a cease-and-desist letter). Instead of being suppressed, the information receives extensive publicity, often being widely...
9 tags
Inedia →
Inedia is the alleged ability to live without food, which has been dismissed by the scientific community. Breatharianism is a related concept, in which believers claim food and possibly water are not necessary, and that humans can be sustained solely by prana (the vital life force in Hinduism), or according to some, by the energy in sunlight. The terms breatharianism or inedia may also refer to...
8 tags
Project Alpha →
Project Alpha was an elaborate hoax orchestrated by the stage magician and skeptic James Randi. It involved planting two fake psychics, Steve Shaw (known as Banachek) and Michael Edwards, into a paranormal research project. During the initial stages of the investigation, the researchers came to believe that the pair’s psychic powers were real. However, more formal experiments, as well as...
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Jedi Census Phenomenon →
The Jedi census phenomenon is a grassroots movement that was created in 2001 for citizens of a number of English-speaking countries to record their religion as “Jedi” or “Jedi Knight” on the national census. The campaign was loosely organized by circulating e-mails claiming that if enough people entered “Jedi”, it would be recognized as an official religion by...
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Online Disinhibition Effect →
The core concept of the online disinhibition effect refers to a loosening (or complete abandonment) of social restrictions and inhibitions that would otherwise be present in normal face-to-face interaction during interactions with others on the Internet. Because of the loss of inhibition, some users may exhibit benign tendencies; people may become more affectionate, more willing to open up to...
10 tags
The Turk →
The Turk was a fake chess-playing machine constructed in the late 18th century. From 1770 until its destruction by fire in 1854, it was exhibited by various owners as an automaton, though it was explained in the early 1820s as an elaborate hoax. With a skilled operator, the Turk won most of the games played during its demonstrations around Europe and the Americas for nearly 84 years, playing and...
7 tags
The Onion →
The Onion is an American “fake news” organization. It features satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news as well as an entertainment newspaper and website known as The A.V. Club. Upon occasion, the straight-faced manner in which The Onion reports non-existent happenings has resulted in outside parties mistakenly citing Onion stories as real news. For...
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Alice In Wonderland Syndrome →
Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AIWS, named after the novel written by Lewis Carroll), also known as Todd’s syndrome, is a disorienting neurological condition which affects human perception. Sufferers may experience micropsia, macropsia, and/or size distortion of other sensory modalities. A temporary condition, it is often associated with migraines, brain tumors, and the use of psychoactive...
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Bloop →
The Bloop is the name given to an ultra-low frequency underwater sound detected by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration several times during the summer of 1997. The source of the sound remains unknown. According to scientists who have studied the phenomenon it matches the audio profile of a living creature but it would reportedly have to be several times the size of the largest...
13 tags
Tsutomu Yamaguchi →
Tsutomu Yamaguchi (born March 16, 1916), a Japanese man, is one of the few people who survived both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. He had already been listed as a hibakusha (explosion-affected person) of the August 9 Nagasaki bombing, but on March 24, 2009 the government of Japan officially certified that he had also been in Hiroshima on a business trip during the first atomic...
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Hotel Toilet-Paper Folding →
Hotel toilet-paper folding is a common practice performed by hotels worldwide as a way of assuring guests that the bathroom has been cleaned, and sometimes, with more elaborate foldings, to impress or delight guests with the management’s creativity and attention to detail. (via @yjon)