Last week's Curios covered why cilantro tastes like soap for some people, the psychology of suits, and the life-saving Plimsoll line.
Curio #755 | The whole honesty idea
The island of Canna, Scotland was recently hit with an unprecedented crime wave. As in, somebody stole something. Only four square miles, and with a population of just 26 people, crime isn't normally a thing on Canna. But last month thieves stole six woolly hats, a few candy bars, coffee, biscuits, and batteries from a--the only, actually--store on the island. It was the first crime on Canna since...keep reading
Curio #754 | A life saving graphic
You'd be hard pressed to find a man who has saved more lives than Samuel Plimsoll. He's the 19th century British merchant who fought for all commercial ships to have a line painted on its side to mark the maximum loading point. The invention of insurance in the 19th century created a perverse incentive for ship owners to purposely sink their ships for the insurance payout. The practice quickly became widespread, killing over 1000 merchant seamen per annum--enough that merchant vessels became known as "coffin ships." Enter Samuel Plimsoll...keep reading
Curio #753 | Soap or cilantro?
When it comes to cilantro, people either love it or hate it. Anti-cilantroans often say it tastes like soap. Sounds crazy, but they just discovered a gene that makes cilantro taste like, well, soap. A genetic survey of nearly 30,000 people by genetics firm 23andMe has pinpointed the genetic variants that are linked to cilantro aversion. The strongest variant was...keep reading
Curio #752 | Samsung's road ahead
Now this is a good idea. Samsung has just unveiled the "Safety Truck." It's a semi truck/trailer that displays the road ahead on a screen on the rear of the truck. This allows trailing drivers to see the road which is otherwise obscured by the truck. This is great news for anybody who's been stuck behind a semi-truck on a two-lane road. The truck uses a wireless...keep reading
Curio #751 | Farewell smooth eggs
This one should crack you up. If you've peeled a hard-boiled egg recently, chances are it never comes off cleanly. Instead the shell cracks into a bunch of tiny pieces that cling tight... right? Less than a decade ago, you probably didn't have this problem. It's not your imagination, eggs are getting harder to peel. As an egg ages...keep reading
Curio #750 | Remote controlled legs
Remote control people? If you have ever inadvertently collided with a pole or pedestrian while walking down the street, this invention could be for you. Scientists are working on remote controlled legs. Using tiny electrical stimulations, they have built a device to make a walking person turn left or right. As the subject walks, another person can use a smartphone app--like a virtual joystick---to send ...keep reading
Curio #749 | You are what you wear
We are what we... wear. The clothes we wear actually change how our minds function. A recent psychological experiment examined how specific attire changed a person's thought processes. It has long been known that what we wear affects how other people think about us. But this study shows what we wear affects how we...keep reading
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