For over 17 years, Professor Jean-Marc Branden Broeck, a 47-year-old mathematician from East Anglia University (UK), has conducted thousands of calculations and molded a teapot… that cannot pour water. This peculiar project, valued at $72,000, is funded by U.S. Customs, the U.S. Air Force, and the American Scientific Association. However, it is not the only unique scientific research.
The Navel of the Universe
Even a tiny navel has many names: “the hollow” (according to the Romans) and “the center” (according to the Greeks). The Greeks erected a sacred stone at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi on Mount Parnassus, calling it “The Navel of the Universe.” The expression “to admire the navel” has a long and respectable history. Since ancient times, mystics in Greece often gazed intently at their navels to create a dreamy hypnotic power. However, gazing at the navel is not always a sacred meditative art, as a quick glance can reveal how many children a woman is capable of bearing (by counting the knots – the bulges in the folds of the umbilical cord when a baby girl is born).
However, psychologist Gerhard Reibmann (Germany) believes that the navel can reveal many other things, such as longevity, overall health, and psychological status. He presented all of this in a book titled “Understanding Yourself Through the Navel.” According to him, there are six types of navels; each type carries distinct personality traits along with lifespan. A horizontal navel indicates a person rich in emotions, living to 68 years; a straight navel signifies a generous, confident, straightforward person, living to 75 years; a protruding navel denotes someone full of zest for life, living to 72 years; a sunken navel signifies someone who loves deeply but suffers greatly, living only to 65 years; an eccentric navel indicates a pleasure-loving person who often goes astray in love, living to 70 years; lastly, a perfectly round navel represents someone with a balanced emotional life, humble, living to… 81 years! But what if your navel has the characteristics of more than six types? It’s simple; Gerhard advises you to add all the ages together and then divide by the total number of navel types to find the average lifespan. Therefore, those over 100 years old must surely have a navel that is more perfectly round than any geometric circle(!).
But the amusing story about the navel doesn’t stop here. Theologians continue to debate whether Adam—being the first man in the world with non-mortal parents—could have had a navel at all. So how did artists 500 years ago handle this issue? Some artists employed camouflage tactics by using a fig leaf, a branch, or an arm to cover it. However, bolder artists like Raphael or Michelangelo casually gifted Adam a navel…
Such an important navel seems to go unwashed and scrubbed by most people. Therefore, on September 10, 2000, the South China Morning Post published news about a new invention from Japan: a navel cleaning patch! You simply stick it on your navel and remove it after 10 minutes.
Over $720,000 for Research on a Non-Pouring Teapot
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Information about the unique teapot. |
For over 17 years, Professor Jean-Marc Branden Broeck, a 47-year-old mathematician at East Anglia University (UK), has performed thousands of calculations and molded a teapot… that cannot pour water. This project has been funded by U.S. Customs, the U.S. Air Force, and the American Scientific Association because the results will answer questions about the vessel’s resistance to waves.
According to the professor, all types of teapots are at risk of leaking water in two ways: either pouring neatly from the spout into a cup or spilling wildly from the mouth of the pot. The difficulty lies in not knowing from which direction the water will flow. Professor Jean is still brainstorming for this fantastical project.
The Impact of Beer, Garlic, and Sour Cream on the Appetite of… Leeches?
Norwegian Medical Association’s journal published research on the protective effects of garlic against the risk of… vampires, specifically testing with leeches. For a long time, leeches have been used in microsurgery to extract blood from swollen body parts due to grafting.
Sometimes, leeches can be lazy, refusing to work (bite into human skin for the expected 300 seconds), leading scientists Anders Baerheim and Hogne Sandvik to experiment with various appetite-stimulating therapies. First, six leeches were “quickly bathed” three times in Guinness stout, Hansa bock beer, and plain water, then placed on an arm. After drinking beer, some leeches changed behavior: spinning around, rolling over. Those that drank Guinness attacked after 187 seconds; those that drank Hansa beer attacked after 136 seconds; while those that drank plain water took only 92 seconds. In the second trial, six different leeches were placed on the arm with or without sour cream applied. Those that were smeared with sour cream bit like crazy into the container after being removed from the arm, even faster than those that drank plain water. In the third trial, an arm was smeared with garlic, but the leeches struggled and died after 2 hours. And for humanitarian reasons, the research was paused here!
Why Do Frogs Prefer to Scratch Their Bellies with Their Right Hands?
Do all frogs use their right hand to scratch their bellies? If so, is this a biological cause, or is it merely a “cultural” gesture? For example, some people insist on using their left hand for “unclean” actions and their right hand for clean actions (like eating). The question remains: What does the brain tell the frog’s hand, and to which hand?
Expert Richard Wassersug from Dalhousie University conducted research that can largely explain this inquiry. The scientific answer is that frogs scratch their bellies with their right hand because their stomach protrudes upward, always extending towards the right side of their mouths. This is not about any cultural significance but simply due to the asymmetry of the belly in all amphibians and the modest length of the mesentery that positions the stomach within the belly.
Cats’ Reactions to Images of Men with Thick Beards
In 1988, Winthrop Grover Norquist decided to conduct a series of experiments on cats’ reactions to photos of Robert Bock (Robert was a Supreme Court nominee whose thick beard extended past his chin, used for experiments on the reactions of dogs, cats, and… flatworms!). In addition, the MIT Museum lent Norquist 71,000 photos of men with bushy beards. After viewing these images, 26% of cats became stiff in their legs and bodies, including their necks; 31% of cats exhibited signs of neurological disturbances, pulmonary distress, and violent behaviors. The participants were female cats aged between 4 to 6 years, including 15 mother cats that had given birth after viewing the images. The conclusion is: Cats do not like men with long, bushy black beards.
Thúy Hân
