An odd argument
MUCH ado about nothing: in the first weeks of January, authorities in the Indian city of Delhi ran a traffic-calming experiment whereby cars with licence plates ending in an even number could only drive on even-numbered days, and vice versa. The rules are being enforced by thousands of volunteer officers following 鈥淕andhigiri鈥� methods 鈥� issuing polite reprimands and gifts of flowers, rather than fines.
Things got off to a bumpy start when, on 1 January, volunteer traffic wardens approached a man driving a car with a plate ending in a zero. The man argued that zero was neither an odd nor an even number, and he should be permitted to continue his journey. According to the , the driver said he was a student of mathematics and commerce, and insisted that 鈥渮ero did not fit into either category鈥�.
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Eventually the guards admitted defeat, offered him a rose 鈥� which he refused 鈥� and moved on. For now, on the streets of Delhi, the evenness of zero remains open to debate.
鈥淭he single pre-packaged brass door bolt bought by John Lewin declares 鈥渁pproximate contents: 1鈥� 鈥淚f the package was empty, would I have room for complaint?鈥� he wonders鈥�
Something smells rotten
OUR friends at Retraction Watch, who keep a beady eye on scientific misconduct, that a study into cattle manure turned out to be, er, bullshit.
During an investigation by Washington State University into the 2011 study 鈥淓valuation of Co-Digestion at a Commercial Dairy Anaerobic Digester鈥�, first author Craig Frear admitted falsifying data that exaggerated the efficiency of bioreactors used at dairy farms, claiming the original measurements were lost when his laboratory notebook was 鈥渂lown into a manure pit at WSU鈥檚 Knott Dairy Farm鈥�.
That may have been believable, were it not for Frear鈥檚 close commercial ties to the company that manufactures said bioreactors, a conflict of interest not declared in the paper.
As one hardy Retraction Watch reader quipped: 鈥淎ny decent researcher would have dived into the pit to save his work.鈥�
Monkey business
YOU may not know the name Naruto, but you鈥檒l almost certainly have seen his work. The macaque monkey caused a storm when he snapped a now-famous using photographer David Slater鈥檚 camera.
The twist came when the US Copyright Office ruled that Slater could not claim ownership of the image because he hadn鈥檛 taken it. Spying an opportunity, animal rights group PETA filed a lawsuit to have Naruto declared as author of the work and to administrate any profits from it on his behalf, that the monkey 鈥渃annot independently bring this action due to inaccessibility and incapacity鈥�.
However, San Francisco judge William Orrick dismissed the claim earlier this month, on the basis that animals were . So now we know 鈥� although a room of monkeys chained to typewriters may eventually produce the collected works of Shakespeare, the furry little bards will never see a penny in royalties.
A spin of the wheel
ANY chance to wheel out another example of nominative determinism: our colleague spotted a paper in the journal Psychological Science: 鈥淏icycle helmet wearing can increase risk taking and sensation seeking in adults鈥�, by one .
Element of rock
HEAVY metal fans are to name one of four new superheavy elements added to the periodic table after Mot枚rhead frontman Lemmy, who died in December.
However, , laid down by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, make it doubtful that scientists will be forging lemmium in their laboratories any time soon.
Ken Durose, a physicist at the University of Liverpool, UK, and ardent Mot枚rhead fan, reporters: 鈥渢he problem is that elements have to be named after either their properties, a myth, a mineral, a place or a scientist.鈥�
This would seem to exclude music legends. Yet canny fans may have found a loophole 鈥� by christening an astronomical object Lemmy, the name can then be used without contravening IUPAC rules.
Will the hard-living rock star be immortalised on the periodic table? Watch this space.
Protective pants
PREVIOUSLY, Feedback revealed that tinfoil hats were being given a makeover by start-up Shield (9 January). We subsequently discover 鈥淓-smog panties鈥� from , silver lam茅 undergarments that promise 鈥�99% effective shielding against electromagnetic fields for everyday protection鈥�.
The range also includes trousers, a bra and a long sleeved top all made from the same metalled material, granting you not only the style sensibilities of a comic book superhero, but the power to repel electromagnetic fields, sunlight and most likely, other people.
Flat-packed town
A CHANGE in perspective: Anthony Richardson reports news that Telford town centre鈥檚 shopping malls are getting an exciting revamp. A glossy brochure informs him that the buildings will be 鈥渄ramatically transformed and given a 3D look鈥�.
Anthony says: 鈥淭hat鈥檒l be handy for all those citizens of Telford who have had to manage with a 2D building up to now.鈥�