Eureka!

Daily discoveries for the scientifically bent
September 28, 2006

'True facts'
Three Mile Island is 2.5 miles long.
The Giant Gippsland earthworm of Australia (Megascolides australis)
averages 3 feet in length and can stretch up to 9 feet.

Horology is the science of measuring time.

Just asking
Why are wrong telephone numbers never busy?

Anthropology 101
The Algonquin and Huron Indians of North America used to marry their
fishing nets to young girls. It was thought that married nets were
happier and more likely to catch fish.

Prime numbers
134340 - The asteroid number assigned to Pluto after it was recently
  demoted to "dwarf planet" status
168 - Number of new nuclear reactors worldwide expected to start up
  by 2020
20 - Number in the United States
2.5 - Number of years the rover Opportunity has been operating on Mars
3 - Number of months it was designed to operate
  Sources: Minor Planet Center, International Astronomical Union;
  World Nuclear Association; NASA

Color their world
Biologists at UCSD say the fate of red and yellow varieties of
a common wildflower may hinge upon what happens to two distinctly
different species: hummingbirds and hawkmoths.
Monkeyflowers are pollinated by both birds and insects. The red form
of the flower, common along the coast, is preferred by hummingbirds,
while hawkmoths focus on yellow monkeyflowers found inland.
In the current issue of the Journal of Evolutionary Biology,
researchers say the notable increase in the county's hummingbird
population (fueled by the growth of suburban gardens) is tipping the
balance in favor of the red flowers, which are more frequently
pollinated.  Over time, the researchers say, the red flowers may
spread farther inland, outcompeting their yellow cousins.

Our Ignobel history
John Mack of Harvard Medical School and David Jacobs of Temple
University won the 1993 Ig Nobel Prize in psychology for their
studied conclusion, after many interviews, that people who believe
they were kidnapped by aliens from outer space probably were.
And the reason for the kidnappings?  Aliens' motivations are sex,
loneliness, the desire for a family life. "The focus of the
abduction(s)," deduced Mack and Jacobs, "is the production of
children."

Poetry for scientists
There once was a man from Nantucket
Who kept all of his brains in a bucket
They said: He's the kind
Who screams "Intelligent Design"
I.e., when the bucket got full, he'd just chuck it.
  - Vince LiCata

... If an untidy desk means an untidy mind, what about an empty desk?
___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12