Slimy soft water May 2, 2011
We just got a water softener installed in our house, and the plumber said that slimy feeling is due to your body retaining more of its natural oils, which is believed to be a good thing.  It turns out it's kind of complicated but basically soft water makes it more difficult to completely wash the soap off your body, hence the slimy feeling.  The reason this is true regardless of whether you use soap or not is because of the process of saponification, which is how soap is made by combining a high-pH substance with fat.  To make soap, you'd use lye and animal fat.  To make slimy water, you'd use soft water and human skin oil.  In other words, you're creating soap each time you wash your hands with soft water. #science
Convincing the convinced Apr 19, 2011
Psychologist Leon Festinger: 
A man with a conviction is a hard man to change. Tell him you disagree and he turns away. Show him facts or figures and he questions your sources. Appeal to logic and he fails to see your point.
From the Science of Why We Don't Believe Science (via Daring Fireball).  I'm definitely guilty of being unwilling to accept information that doesn't agree with my beliefs, and I feel kinda bad about that. #science
Shark repellent in space (2) Apr 13, 2011
It's claimed that Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space, packed shark repellent with him on his historic voyage.  Not for space sharks with lasers, as Boing Boing commenters suggest, but for his possible landing in the ocean. #science
Brazil nut effect Jan 4, 2011
The Brazil nut effect is what makes the largest objects in a mixture of variously-sized objects end up on top, so named because of the tendency of Brazil nuts to always float to the top of a standard container of mixed nuts.  I just experienced this firsthand the other day! #science
White House solar panels Oct 8, 2010
They're installing solar panels on the White House: 
Obama, who has promoted renewable energy, has come under pressure from environmentalists and the solar industry to install photovoltaic roof panels at the White House. President Jimmy Carter did so in 1979, but the panels were removed during the Reagan administration. President George W. Bush used solar energy to power a maintenance building on the grounds and heat the pool.
See?  Dubya wasn't all that bad. #science
Brazilian Truman Show Sep 13, 2010
There's a guy who lives in the Brazilian jungle who's the last survivor of an uncontacted tribe of indigenous people, and government officials have designated a 31-square-mile area around him off-limits for the purpose of protecting him and preventing human intervention, the last episode of which ended with a arrow in the chest of one of the interveners.  This sounds a little like that movie the Truman Show, where the main character was unknowingly the subject of a reality show in which everyone around him was a character. #science
UAE solar power Sep 7, 2010
The United Arab Emirates is planning to build a 100 megawatt solar power plant in the middle of the Arabian desert.  You know, the people who sell us oil.  For comparison, it'll produce about 1/20 the amount of power as the Hoover Dam.  But it'll be the largest solar plant in the world.  What I don't understand is why we're not simply filling entire deserts with solar panels and collecting the energy.  Oh right, people like California Senator Dianne Feinstein think deserts should be kept free from development, presumably so we can continue to use them for things like 4-wheeling and RV-ing.  Have you ever been to a desert?  They suck.  Sure, there are a few weird trees and some lizards, but honestly, deserts are pretty awful, hence the negative connotation associated with the word "deserted."  I like what the Governator said:  "If we cannot put solar power plants in the Mojave desert, I don't know where the hell we can put it."  Amen, brother. #science
Notable thiols Aug 15, 2010
A thiol is a type of chemical compound that typically has a strong, unappealing odor.  One example, ethanethiol, smells like onions, and is the chemical that's added to propane to make it smell.  Otherwise propane is odorless and we wouldn't realize when our propane-filled house was about to blow up.  Another example, methanethiol, smells like rotten cabbage, and is found in everything from decaying plant matter to animal feces.  A final example, butanethiol, smells like a skunk, and is the primary chemical in stink bombs. #science
Judging local weather Jul 28, 2010
When I travel to a new locale, I tend to forever judge it by the weather I experience while there.  I visited my sister in San Francisco one summer, and it was cold and rainy.  Since then I've always assumed the myths about the wonderful weather of northern California to be completely false.  Another summer I visited a different sister in Seattle, and it happened to be during a week of warm, dry, perfect weather.  As much as I know I'm wrong, I assume the Pacific northwest to be sunny and dry in the summer.  I just got back from a trip to west Texas and New Mexico, where it was cool and rainy.  Apparently, deserts aren't that dry, and now I'm doomed to think that forever, or until I visit again, which won't be soon because if I wanted cold rain, I wouldn't leave New Jersey. #science
Mosquito lifespan Jul 19, 2010
Popular Science reports that scientists have figured out how to genetically prevent mosquitoes from spreading malaria, and that much of the effect is caused by reducing the mosquito's lifespan, since the malaria parasite needs a certain amount of time to develop.  My question is this:  If scientists can reduce the lifespan of mosquitoes, why don't they simply reduce the lifespan to zero?  Mosquitoes are a worthless bunch of jerks. #science