Are cats solid or liquid? And other award-winning absurd scientific research of 2017

#1

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2017/09/15/are-cats-solid-or-liquid-and.html

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#2

Vaginal Speakers was a new one on me!. A new market in Bluetooth Vibe Radios?

#3

Absurd indeed. Everyone already knows that cats are liquid.

#4

No, they are evolved houseplants.

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#5

Why do old men have Big Ears?

#6

The better to heeeeaaaar you with, dearie. What? Wait? What did you say?

#7

Now these trailblazers can check to see if the Pope is still Catholic.

#8

Because Noddy is refusing to pay the ransom.

I’m pretty sure that Jacob Rees-Mogg has his doubts on that score.

#9

Having just googled him, I think I preferred not knowing he existed.

Still, is he trying to look like Terry Jones in glasses? He could be right out of The Meaning of Life.

#10

In order to combat evil we must first recognise it.
He’s basically what Trump would be like if he had a very competent PR man massaging his image.

#11

Just so, but I don’t have to be happy about it. :wink:

#12

Why do old men in hats drive slowly? There’s a PhD dissertation in there.

#13

Thank you!

#14

I assumed they were Mewtonian fluid?

Liquid in a relaxed state, and then in the next second, on top of the fridge.

#16

What about summer? Old guys wear hats in summer too.

#17

As fun as the Ig Nobels are, the narrative of “absurd scientific research” has become a dangerous part of the ongoing political war on science. For anyone who doesn’t appreciate how much this can be an issue for serious, committed scientists, I recommend the following excellent podcast:

#18

Mammals are 75% bags of water. 90% of the solid left overs is bacteria. Cats may have a higher water content. Continued research funding required.

#19

Well that doesn’t say anything about their phase; ice is 100% water, and there are gels that are almost all water but don’t flow, even at high temperatures.

Strictly speaking I suppose cats are neither solid nor liquid but rather a type of colloid. But studying their flow characteristics sounds like an interesting and not necessarily fruitless exercise. I mean, cats obviously are more fluid than dogs, so we should be able to quantify that.

#20

This is my year in research, obviously.

#21

Actually cats are just furry cupcakes.