Last week’s column on laughter, inspired by John Tierney’s column in the New York Times, mentioned that rats make a high-pitched squeak when tickled. Tierney’s blog has had several laughter-related posts since his column appeared. Here’s another one, specifically about rat-tickling–complete with a link to a rat-tickling video! (And how often can one say that?)
Category: Science Columns
Tanning junkies
Everyone has heard by now that too much sun is bad for your skin, yet you still see normally pale-skinned people who stay nut-brown all year long—even in the depths of winter. In the summer, they lie in the sun. In the winter, they lie in a padded coffin and have themselves irradiated. The danger …
"There are these two muffins, see, and…(snort, guffaw)…I’m sorry, I just can’t go on."
John Tierney, whose New York Times column and related blog post on laughter inspired and informed my Leader Post science column this week, has a follow-up blog post on a “shocking and unexpected development.” It seems “readers reported laughing out loud at the muffin joke“!
That’s not funny…so why am I laughing?
Whenever an election is about to occur, we see stories of the “gender gap,” the difference in voting patterns between men and women. But there’s another gender gap that perhaps hasn’t had as much attention: the difference in laughing patterns between men and women. I’ve written before about laughter, but since I’ve noted sadly before …
Decisions, decisions
Life is one long series of decisions. Today, for instance, I had to decide on a topic for this column—and decided to write about the science of making decisions. Despite what we’d like to think, research continues to show that rational thinking often has little to do with our decision-making process. As Jerry Adler pointed …
Rise of the ray-guns
“Set phasers on stun!” Captain Kirk used to order his crew, the usual preference of the United Federation of Planets being to avoid killing aliens, no matter how bad their make-up, if at all possible. Alas, in the real world, we don’t always have that option. Aside from the Taser, which zaps people with an …
The irrationality of political beliefs
Monday was Family Day in Saskatchewan, and probably more than one family that got together that day set a dinner-time rule: “Don’t talk about politics.” Political disagreements, unlike run-of-the-mill disagreements, tend to turn hot very quickly. And that’s just one way they’re unusual, says Michael Huemer of the University of Colorado in Boulder. In “Why …
Why won’t you do what you’re told?
As a child, I always did what I was told. (Mom, stop laughing, I’m trying to make a point here.) But I can’t say I didn’t resent certain restrictions. And I’m not alone. Most people hate being told not to do something, and if they can’t see a good reason for it, may well go …
The fire down below
The surface of our planet is nice and cool. (A little too cool, this time of year.) But not all that far beneath us, it’s anything but. In fact, says Chris Marone, Penn State professor of geosciences, enough heat emanates from the interior of the planet to make 200 cups of hot coffee per hour …
Lazarus, Elvis, zombies and Jimmy Hoffa
Elvis lives! Well, kind of. Way back in 1991 I wrote a column on taxonomy–which is not, as you might suppose, the scientific study of taxes. (And yes, I used that same joke 16 years ago.) It’s just barely possible you don’t remember that original column, so first, a quick taxonomy refresher. Taxonomy is the …
Dual-task interference
You can see them a kilometer away. You notice the car driving a) slowly or b) erratically or c) both. And then you get closer…and can see the cellphone glued to the driver’s ear. Everyone pays lip service to the notion that cellphoning while driving is a bad idea…and yet some people still do it. …
Vitalogy
Due to a mix-up, the Regina Leader Post failed to run my science column last week. Which means they’re running it this week. Which means I didn’t write a new one this week. Instead, I offer a blast from the past (five years ago) that came to mind because I’ve been poking around the amazing …
My latest live walk and vlog
Buy Autographed Books
