Friday, December 26, 2008

Strangest Science of 2008

Alan Boyle's Cosmic Log asks visitors to vote for the strangest science stories of 2008. Contenders include:
- The discovery of a 2,700-year-old marijuana stash
- The bizarre Bigfoot costume hoax
- A Japanese scientist who taught beluga whales to make different vocal sounds for different objects
- The induction of near-death experiences in the laboratory (actually, I remember undergoing one in a chemistry professor's lecture hall)
- The translation of a Greek joke book written 1,600 years ago, which includes (really) a version of Monty Python's "Dead parrot" sketch and puns that still work in English.
- My vote probably goes to the creation of transparent fish... which have actual uses in cancer research, but could lead to a new Monty Python sketch with a pet shop owner and a customer arguing whether there are actually fish in a tank or not.

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