The first mass media April Fool joke was reportedly the BBC’s 1957 Panorama segment on spaghetti harvesting, for which a cameraman hung “pounds of spaghetti over trees in a little Swiss village” and persuaded locals to harvest the crop. The BBC was inundated with calls. “[T]he majority either wanted to know where they could see a spaghetti harvest, or obtain information to start a spaghetti farm” (Humphrys 1999).
It was a simpler time. Here are some research goodies from last month. Continue reading “April PsychNotes”
Hey, you wanna buy a car? Here’s my offer: If you give me $50,000 I’ll deliver a vehicle to you next year. Until then, you don’t get to drive it or see it. Maybe it’s a new Lamborghini, or maybe it’s a ’77 Pinto with a tendency to explode.
What is green and pecks on trees? Woody the Woodpickle. (That joke never fails with kids.) Here are some goodies from last month, including studies on woodpecker brain damage, preventing extramarital affairs, and why your brain might not trust certain people. 
Wanna hear a joke? A neuron and a glial cell went to summer camp. When they arrived at the barracks, the neuron demanded the top bunk. “Why should I get stuck on the bottom,” asked the glial cell. The neuron answered, “because I want to have a high resting potential!” (I didn’t say it was a good joke.) Here’s some recent news, starting with the brain’s tiny unsung heroes. 
So you’re thinking about tying the knot. Congratulations! Not to rain on your parade, but have you considered what might happen if you ever need to untie the knot? 
Someone once said the problem with the future is that it usually arrives before we’re ready for it. Ready or not, happy new year! Here are a few items that caught my attention as 2017 wound down. 
My favorite study of the week says dogs have about 
Happy November! Sometimes it seems like everything is a competition. My own brain can’t even get along with itself. Here are some recent tidbits about our subtle inner tug-o-wars.