OK, the snakes are not supposed to be there, and the mice are not suffering from or enjoying the drugs because it's Tylenol and they're dead anyway. The brown tree snake is native to Australia, but hitched a ride to Guam after World War II and became so invasive that some native wildlife species were driven to extinction. The government has tried many methods to control the snake population, but nothing has worked well so far. Now they are planting dead mice with 80 milligrams of acetaminophen stuffed inside in the jungle areas of Guam. Brown tree snakes will scavenge dead animals, unlike most snakes, and even a child's dose of acetaminophen will kill one.
In the U.S. government-funded project, tablets of concentrated acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, are placed in dead thumb-size mice, which are then used as bait for brown tree snakes.
In humans, acetaminophen helps soothe aches, pains, and fevers. But when ingested by brown tree snakes, the drug disrupts the oxygen-carrying ability of the snakes' hemoglobin blood proteins.
"They go into a coma, and then death," said Peter Savarie, a researcher with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services, which has been developing the technique since 1995 through grants from the U.S. Departments of Defense and Interior.
Some of the mice are equipped with radio transmitters, so the success of the program can be tracked. Link-Thanks, Marilyn Terrell!
It won't turn you into a werewolf (we don't think), but you might find a real difference in beer brewed by the light of a full moon. A Belgian brewery is producing a beer called Paix-Dieu in just that way.
"We made several tests and noticed that the fermentation was more vigorous, more active," explained Roger Caulier, the owner of Brewery Caulier, which began in the 1930s when his grandfather started selling homemade beer from a handcart.
"The end product was completely different, stronger, with a taste lasting longer in the mouth," he said.
The full moon speeds up the fermentation process, shortening it to five days from seven, which adds extra punch to the beer without making it harsh, according to connoisseurs.
The resulting beer is 10% alcohol, which is not unusual in Belgium. Link
Celebrity chefs wear more than one hat, figuratively, because they cook for real restaurants in addition to cooking on TV (that's how they got those TV jobs in the first place). You might recognize the chef, but would you know where to go to enjoy their food? Find out how much you really know about celebrity chefs in today's Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss. Link
The 2010 Ig Nobel Prizes will be awarded this Thursday, September 30th, at Harvard University's Sanders Theater. Tickets are sold out, but the ceremonies will be streamed live for your entertainment beginning at 7:30 Eastern time.
Meanwhile, here is a mini-opera that was performed at the 2007 ceremonies. The theme for the awards that year was "Chicken", but the opera was edged out in the post-publicity for the awards due to winner Dan Meyer's demonstration of his research on sword-swallowing.
Chicken versus Egg
A mini-opera in three acts Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Words by Marc Abrahams
Original Cast
Hen: Gail Kilkelly Egg: Maggie McNeil Other eggs: Nobel Laureates Roy Glauber, Dudley Herschbach, William Lipscomb, Craig Mello and Robert Laughlin Pianist: Scott Nicholas Opera Director: Margot Button
ACT 1
NARRATOR: Tonight’s opera is called “Chicken versus Egg.” It’s about a chicken sitting on an egg, and you can probably guess where it goes from there. The chicken is played by Gail Kilkelly. We will meet her in Act 2. The egg is played by Maggie McNeil. The two singers are, like the characters they play, mother and daughter.
Here’s some background. The hen has been sitting on the egg for quite a while now. The egg is getting awfully bored. Let’s join her now as she complains to her mother.
[MUSIC: “Voi Che Sapete” from “The Marriage of Figaro” by Mozart.]
[The EGG sings this. Her manner is that of a petulant, bored teenager. As the EGG sings, she sometimes looks upward, in the direction of the sitting hen.]
EGG: Mother! Oh, Mother! Please stop sitting on my head. Did you he-ar, Mother de-ar? Did you hear what I just sa-ai-aid?
You’re overprotective. It’s total envelop-ment. Don’t keep me tucked away— Teach me to play Well with others. Your love smothers Your child’s develop-ment.
Then there’s my posture and my growth. Also my deportment. A small bustline! A twi-isted spine! It looks like I’ll have both.
But your most nasty cut, Mother, you brute, Is that your keeping me beneath your butt Might smoosh my suit!
Mother dear, Here is what I fear: Mother, Mother! You will smother My modeling career!
I have... the most perfect suit One could possess. It’s really cu-u-u-ute. Y es! Yes! Yes!
Look! The color is a perfect shade of eggshell! And the shape’s a perfect ovoid! It looks swell! But when you sit on me, my clothes will go to hell. All this you know... perfectly well!
Mother! Oh, Mother! Please stop sitting on my head. Oh, what a crying shame! Don’t play this game! Mental slaughter Of your daughter! I’ll never be the same!
Mental slaughter Of your daughter! I’ll never be the same!
ACT 2
NARRATOR: Since our first visit with the chicken and the egg, not a whole lot has happened. The egg has continued to be an egg, and the chicken has continued to sit on it. Here in Act 2, the chicken has grown weary of her egg’s incessant whining. Let’s join the mother hen now as she tells her daughter some facts of life.
[The HEN holds an egg in her hand, and sings this song to it. She is fed up with the egg’s attitude.]
HEN:
You little egg, you listen to your mother! Listen to Mother! Sit still, and cock an ear. Now then, my dear... I’ve heard enough! Enough about your feeling and your passions. Enough about your shape-revealing fashions. My ovoid nitwit, Put a lid on it!
Your foolish rot Has really made me hot! Ho-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-t! Baking, frying, roasting in foil! Ho-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-t! You watch it, kid—an egg is easy to boil.
Your simpering seems human, But you—you’re just albumin. [pronounced “al-BYOO-min”] You act like I’m a doormat. I will not stand for that.
But I know That you know I can’t stop you. Okay! Stand up, and go! Oh, ho, ho-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!
Your demands are quite a joke. Settle down. Have lunch. Relax, and eat your yolk. Ha! Ha! Ha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a! I’m your mother. There... I’m glad we spoke.
ACT 3
NARRATOR: It’s time for the thrilling conclusion to our opera. After nine months—er, um, nine weeks—uh, uh... or however long it takes an egg to hatch—the magic moment is about to arrive. The hen and her favorite egg are reallllllllllly excited.
You may notice some other eggs here on the stage, played by the Nobel Laureates and the other scientists. These other eggs, too, are eager to hatch—but they’re not going anywhere right now. Their stories will have to be told some other time.
Now let’s join the mother hen as her favorite egg breaks out of its shell, and becomes a chick.
[Sung by HEN and EGG. At the beginning, the HEN is giving encouragement and instruction to the EGG, who is tentative and a bit frightened. In the middle, after EGG has hatched, both HEN and EGG grow progressively more excited and happy. The HEN is evermore proud and relieved and happy—but the EGG grows progressively more dismayed once she realizes she has become just like her mother. By the very end of the song, the hen is radiantly joyful, but the egg is in near-panicked despair.]
[The scientists all play the part of OTHER EGGS. They hold whatever we are using as simple egg costumes—perhaps a few pieces of paper taped together, and they say “peck, peck, peck, peck, peck” when the singers are singing the “peck, peck...” part, and at such other times as the mother HEN may direct them to.]
[Music: “Pa-pa-gena! ... Pa-pa-geno!” from “The Magic Flute” by Mozart.] EGG: Peck! Peck, peck! HEN: Peck! Peck, peck!
[The EGG’s shell breaks, and she becomes a chicken.]
HEN: That was a tightly-fitting dress! EGG: Oh, such a tightly-fitting dress! HEN: I can imagine your distress! EGG: You can imagine my distress! BOTH: Oh, what distress! Oh, what distress!
HEN: You felt peckish? You felt squeezed? EGG: I felt peckish. I felt squeezed! HEN: Bottle-neckish, almost tweezed? EGG: Bottle-neckish, almost tweezed!
BOTH: Well, at first I [you] tried to make do. Then at last I [you] had a breakthrough. I [you] got rid of that thing quick. I’m [You’re] a chick! I’m [You’re] a chick!! I’m [You’re] a chick!!! Yes, I am [you are] quite a stylish chick! Yes, I am [you are] quite a stylish chick!!
HEN: Now! Now at last! You are a chicken! EGG: Now! Now at last! I am a chicken! HEN: Now! Now at last! You are a chicken! EGG: Now! Now at last! I am a chicken! HEN: You’re a chicken! EGG: I’m a chicken! HEN: You’re a chicken! EGG: I’m a chicken!
BOTH: I’m [You’re] a chicken! I’m [You’re] a chicken!
EGG: Do you know what I want to do? HEN: Yes, I know what you want to do! EGG: To lay an egggggggggggg! HEN: You’ll lay an egg and be a mother!
BOTH: Lay an egg and be a mother! Lay an egg and be a mother! lay an egg and be a mother, mother, mother, mother, mother!
To lay an egg! To lay an egg! HEN: Yes, that IS just what I would do! EGG: Oh, no! That’s just what YOU would do! HEN: I’d lay an egggggggggggg! EGG: I’ve become just like my mother! I’ve become just like my mother! I’ve become just like my mother, mother, mother, mother, mother!
BOTH: I’m [You’re] just like her [me]! I’m [You’re] just like her [me]! Like my [your] mother! Like my [your] mother! Like my [your] mother, mother, mother, mother, mother! Well, well, well! Well, well, well, well! Like my [your] mother! Like my [your] mother! Like my [your] mother, mother, mother, mother, mother! Put me back into my [You have come out of your] shell! Put me back into my [You have come out of your] shell!! Put me back into my [You have come out of your] shell!!! EGG: I’ve become just like my mother!!!! HEN: You’ve become just like your mother!!!!
This is the opening paragraph, where I tell you about a scientific study in as few words as possible to get you interested. I also need to gather up and condense any information that isn't contained in an easily-copied quote.
This paragraph elaborates on the claim, adding weasel-words like "the scientists say" to shift responsibility for establishing the likely truth or accuracy of the research findings on to absolutely anybody else but me, the journalist.
If the quoted paragraphs are from different parts of the article, I will put a sentence here to separate them.
In this paragraph I will reference or quote some minor celebrity, historical figure, eccentric, or a group of sufferers; because my editors are ideologically committed to the idea that all news stories need a "human interest", and I'm not convinced that the scientists are interesting enough.
You rarely see candy cigarettes for sale anymore because someone got the idea that it's not a good idea to give children candy that resembles something they should never, ever ingest. Therefore, I think it would be best to reserve these biohazard candies for adults only. Andrea Newberry was inspired by the TV show Dexter to adapt a lollipop recipe into edible medical slides containing blood samples! Yes, these are homemade, and she has complete instructions for making them at Forkable. Link -via Rue the Day
Popular Science has a gallery of articles the magazine published during Prohibition addressing alcohol, the laws against it, and the ways people got around those laws. Some read like "how to" guides, and some detail law enforcement methods as if warning people how to avoid getting caught. This "scientific" look at how stills work was full of disclaimers, of course, warning about the illegality of distilling spirits or even owning parts of a still. http://www.popsci.com/science/gallery/2010-09/archive-gallery-future-alcohol -via TYWKIWDBI
Shirley Sirivong was put on bed rest during her pregnancy and has to follow a strict diet for gestational diabetes. Her husband Gat took special care to liven up her dull breakfasts first by creating funny faces, and then more elaborate scenes with her food. This breakfast depicts the iPhone game Angry Birds. See 19 of the meals she took pictures of before eating. http://www.parenting.com/new/blogs/show-and-tell/alina-parentingcom/husband-creates-food-art-prego-wife-bed-rest -via Nag on the Lake
From the "Dustbin of History" files, here's the pungent tale of two midwest states whose pride and honor were once challenged...by a slab of stinky cheese.
IT AIN'T EASY BEING CHEESY
It began in the winter of 1935 when a doctor in Independence, Iowa, prescribed an odd medicine to an ailing farm wife: Limburger cheese. The doctor figured the heavily aromatic cheese would help clear the woman's clogged sinuses. (If you don't know what Limburger smells like, give it a whiff the next time you're at the supermarket.) So the order was put through to Monroe, Wisconsin, to send some Limburger cheese-post haste.
Why Monroe? Swiss cheesemakers first arrived there in 1845. At the time, Wisconsin was in the depths of an economic depression and cheese helped pull them out of it.By 1910, Wisconsin had become the cheese-making capital of the United States, producing more cheese than any other state. And Monroe was the Limburger capital of Wisconsin.
THE BATTLE LINES ARE DRAWN
Monroe's postmaster, John Burkhard, approved the delivery and sent it on its way. But the mail carrier in Independence, Iowa, who delivered the Limburger was so offended by the stench wafting through his roadster that he refused to deliver it. Citing a postal rule that said mail would only be delivered if it "did not smell objectionable," Independence's postmaster, Warren Miller, concurred without examining or even smelling the cheese. He had it sent back to Monroe on the grounds that it could "fell an ox twenty paces."
Burkhard took it personally; to insult Limburger is to insult not just Monroe, but all of Wisconsin and its proud cheese heritage. So Burkhard rewrapped the package and sent it back to Iowa. Miller promptly returned it to Wisconsin. War was brewing.
THE BATTLE OF DUBUQUE
Burkhard took his gripe all the way to the United States Postmaster General in Washington, D.C. At first, he couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. So Burkhard sent him some Limburger. The Postmaster general then decided that, yes, the cheese smelled bad, but no, it wasn't hazardous. And the war was over, right? Wrong.
By this time the press had sniffed out the story. At a time when the nation was mired in the Great Depression and Hitler was rising to power in Germany, a story about smelly cheese was a breath of fresh air. And unwilling to give in, postmaster Burkhard challenged postmaster Miller to a "cheese-smelling duel"-if Miller could sit at a table and not wretch from the stench of freshly-cut Limburger, then he would never again raise a stink about Wisconsin and its cheese. Miller accepted. Dozens of people from each town-as well as a throng of reporters-showed up at the Julien Hotel in Dubuque, Iowa, on the cold afternoon of March 8, 1935, to witness the standoff.
A Duel to the Breath
The two sat across from each other at a table. While flashbulbs flickered and onlookers whispered, Burkhard placed a box on the table, unwrapped it, and produced a very strong sample of his state's pride and joy, praising not only its medicinal qualities, but boasting that nothing on Earth tasted better with beer. The tension was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Famed Milwaukee Journal reporter Richard S. Davis sent out a dispatch, calling it a "duel to the breath."
As Burkhard prepared to push the slab of cheese over to Miller, he offered Miller a clothespin and a gas mask. But Miller just shook his head and meekly surrendered. "I won't need that clothespin," he lamented, "I haven't any sense of smell."
The crowd gasped. The battle was over before it began. Burkhard was immediately declared the winner, and Miller had to agree to allow any and all Wisconsin cheese safe passage through Iowa's postal routes. The next day newspapers in 30 states ran a picture of the olfactorily-challenged Miller looking bewildered next to a piece of steaming Limburger. And now the war was over, right? Wrong. The final battle was yet to come.
THE BATTLE OF BEAVER DAM
While Burkhard was basking in victory, something he'd said about Limburger at that table in Dubuque-that nothing tasted better with beer-was churning through Miller's head. Every good Iowan knew that the best food to eat with beer was smoked whitefish, not some stinky piece of cheese. Miller just couldn't let it go. So he challenged Burkhard with another contest: a fight for the title of "Best Snack in the World." Once again the press got whiff of the food feud, and they convened at the neutral site chosen for the contest: the American Legion Hall in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.
This confrontation was even more serious than the first-now there were judges. And with so much at stake, both sides used underhanded tactics; they bribed the judges with beer. The fish-heads bought a round, then the cheese-heads. And once all palates were properly whetted, the showdown began.
Carnage
First came the sliced Limburger with beer. Then the Iowans gave the judges smoked whitefish...and more beer. The battle raged on: Limburger and beer, whitefish and beer. Limburger and beer, whitefish and beer. Finally, when the judges could eat or drink no more, they sent the least-inebriated member of their panel to the podium: "The judgeth have reached a dethision. It was unamus... unans... they all said the same darn thing! Cheese'n beer s'wunnerful. Fishes'n beer s'wunnerful, too. But when you have Limburger cheese and smoked whitefish and beer, heck, it don't get no better than that!"
Both sides were declared victorious, Burkhard and Miller retained their respective states' honor, and Limburger cheese had risen from being referred to as "hazardous material" to holding the co-title of "Best Snack in the World."
VICTORY PARADE
That October, Monroe, Wisconsin, held its annual Cheese Day parade. All the press coverage from the Limburger cheese war made it the biggest Cheese Day ever. Fifty thousand people showed up to bask in the glory-including the farmer's wife (who had healed quite nicely). Warren Miller came all the way from Iowa and was given a place of honor in the parade-right next to his friend John Burkhard.
The 17th book in this the Bathroom Reader series is filled to the brim with facts, fun, and fascination, including articles about the Origin of Kung Fu, How to Kill a Zombie, Women in Space and more!
Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute had published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts.
A candle made out of an orange? I think I'd like to try this. The ingredients are things you probably have around the house now, and the instructions are so simple they are related almost completely in photographs at Snowhite Blog. Link-Thanks, Kittens Pet Team!
This is a perfect tool for teaching my kids their algebraic order of operations! Oh, they can do them, but I think this will help them understand the concept better. Find this "s'more formula" on a t-shirt at W00t. Link -via Laughing Squid
Here's a roundup of sixteen animals and how you can see them in their natural habitats. Some of these expeditions involve a lot of travel, depending on where you are already. Want to see a booby? Head to the Galapagos Islands!
A little more than 500 miles west of Ecuador lie the Galápagos Islands, a veritable treasure-trove of endemic wildlife. One of the islands’ most famous residents is the blue-footed booby, a seabird with distinctive turquoise-blue feet. While those colorful toes certainly catch the eyes of human fans, the birds are more concerned with impressing each other: Male blue-footed boobies show off their blue feet while “dancing” during courtship.
If growing a beard were only this simple in the real world! This stop-motion film by Ian Robertson looks as if a lot of time went into it, both in recording and editing. -via the Presurfer
A cat in Leatherhead, Surrey, England had to be rescued from a tree by the fire department. That in itself is not newsworthy, but the firefighters also rescued a rescuer! A 6-year-old Maine Coon cat named Jadis was 30 feet up in a fir tree, afraid to come down. So owner Mike Wall, after trying other methods with neighbor Michael Jordan, climbed a ladder to get her while his wife Chris watched.
Mr Jordan said: "It was really difficult getting the ladder up and then it twisted against the trunk, which made it awkward to get back down safely from that high."
With Mr Wall in the same predicament as Jadis, the fire brigade were eventually called to the rescue at about 2.40pm.
Mrs Wall said: "He wasn't very happy. He was up there for about 40 minutes, so it definitely wore him out."
Thankfully it didn't take much longer until both Mr Wall and Jadis were safely back on terra firma and the firefighters didn't go home empty handed.
Mrs Wall said: "The neighbours were wonderful and I kissed the fireman when he came down and then burst into tears. I hadn't any wine so I gave them a bag of cat biscuits as a small thank you because one of them had cats himself."
