Scientific History Filter / Native German Speaker Filter. What did Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard's 1985 exclamation, "Das war ja toll!" mean? [more inside]
posted by kisch mokusch on Feb 25, 2008 - 11 answers

When I was a kid, I took a trip once. The whole time, a plush Hello Kitty doll was in the back of the car, bombarded by the sun. It changed color from pink to dark blue. Any explanation for this phenomenon? [more inside]
posted by reenum on Oct 27, 2007 - 13 answers

"A human is halfway in size between an atom and the known universe"... This is a paraphrased quote I have come across several times. I like it. Who said it first? How true is it in the most literal sense? And, finally, what errors arrive in postulating a universe, or an atom, which can be measured AT ALL from our singular, relativistic, perspective? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Feb 18, 2007 - 14 answers

What sort of weird and wonderful stuff have people made with chili? [more inside]
posted by divabat on Nov 30, 2006 - 24 answers

Is Dark Matter the new Phlogiston? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Jun 26, 2006 - 35 answers

Scientific explanation for UFO sightings? [more inside]
posted by Sallysings on Apr 3, 2006 - 13 answers

Many years ago someone told me the recognised term for the kind of involuntary shudder that commonly affects people at rest. You know the kind that spontaneously rocks you, just for a moment, like you are shaking off the ghoulies, like the cliche says 'someone was walking on your grave'? I have since lost this word to time, and searching the internet has brought only partial results. Does anyone know it?
posted by 0bvious on Nov 15, 2005 - 31 answers

When I was in college, beer was a central part of my life. In fact, we did all sorts of interesting things with beer, besides simply drink the stuff. One particular stupid-beer-trick that a friend did frequently - but which I have never been able to exactly replicate - intrigues me. Physicists and amateur scientists, lend me your eyes: [more inside]
posted by luriete on Jun 2, 2005 - 22 answers